万物简史 第630期:神秘的两足动物(8)

In an attempt to introduce some order, in 1960 F. Clark Howell of the University of Chicago, following the suggestions of Ernst Mayr and others the previous decade, proposed cutting the number of genera to just two—Australopithecus and Homo —and rationalizing many of the species. The Java and Peking men both became Homo erectus. For a time order prevailed in the world of the hominids. It didn't last.

1960年，为了清理一下杂乱无章的人科动物的名称，芝加哥大学的克拉克·豪成尔根据恩斯特·梅耶以及此前10年间其他人提出的建议，提出减少为两大属——南方古狻属和人属——他还对许多种属进行了合理化归类。爪哇人和北京人都属于直立人。这种归类法有一段时间在人科动物界十分流行，但是却没有持续很久。

Humans are put in the lamely¹ Homimdae. Its members, traditionally called hominids, include any creatures (including extinct ones) that are more closely related to us than to any surviving chimpanzees. The apes, meanwhile, are lumped together in a family called Pongidae. Many authorities believe that chimps², gorillas³, and orangutans should also be included in this family, with humans and chimps in a subfamily called Homininae. The upshot is that the creatures traditionally called hominids become, under this arrangement, hominins. (Leakey and others insist on that designation.) Hominoidea is the name of the aue sunerfamily which includes us.

（注：人类被归人人亚科家族中，其成员传统上被称为人科动物，包括所有比黑猩猩更接近我们的任何动物[绝种的也在其内]。而猿与人科动物汇成人猿超科家族。许多权威认为黑猩猩、大猩猩和猩猩也应归入这个家族，而人类和黑猩猩同属于一个被称为人科的亚科。根据这一说法，所有传统上被称为人科的动物变成了人猿超科。[利基和其他一些人坚持这种说法。]人猿超科是猿类总科的称谓，其中包括我们。）

After about a decade of comparative calm, paleoanthropology embarked⁴ on another period of swift and prolific⁵ discovery, which hasn't abated⁶ yet. The 1960s produced Homo habilis, thought by some to be the missing link between apes and humans, but thought by others not to be a separate species at all. Then came (among many others) Homo ergaster, Homo louisleakeyi, Homo rudolfensis, Homo microcranus, and Homo antecessor, as well as a raft of australopithecines: A.afarensis, A. praegens, A. ramidus, A. walkeri, A. anamensis, and still others. Altogether, some twenty types of hominid are recognized in the literature today. Unfortunately, almost no two experts recognize the same twenty.

在大约10年的相对平静之后，古人类学又迎来了一个发现层出不穷，直到今天也势头不减的时期。20世纪60年代发现的能人被有些人认为是弥补了猿和人类之间的一段空白，可是另外有一些人认为它根本不是另外一个种类。接着（在众多的其他类中）相继出现了匠人、路易斯·利氏人、鲁道夫人、小颅人、前人，而南方古猿也出现了众多的种类：阿法南猿、Walkeri、始祖种南猿、沃克氏南猿、湖泊种南猿等等。到目前为止，有文献记录的人科动物种类总共有近20种，可是究竟是哪20种，没有任何两个专家的看法是一致的。

1 lamely   

一瘸一拐地，不完全地

参考例句：

• I replied lamely that I hope to justify his confidence. 我漫不经心地回答说，我希望我能不辜负他对我的信任。
• The wolf leaped lamely back, losing its footing and falling in its weakness. 那只狼一跛一跛地跳回去，它因为身体虚弱，一失足摔了一跤。

2 chimps   

（非洲）黑猩猩( chimp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chimps are too scarce, and too nearly human, to be routinely slaughtered for spare parts. 黑猩猩又太少，也太接近于人类，不可以作为人器官备用件说杀就杀。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命
• And as nonprimates, they provoke fewer ethical and safety-related concerns than chimps or baboons. 而且作为非灵长类，就不会产生像用黑猩猩或狒狒那样的伦理和安全方面的顾虑。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

3 gorillas   

n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
• Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

5 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

6 abated   

减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• The worker's concern about cuts in the welfare funding has not abated. 工人们对削减福利基金的关心并没有减少。
• The heat has abated. 温度降低了。