科學家發(fā)現由猛犸骨骼構成的奇特冰河時期結構

科學家發(fā)現由猛犸骨骼構成的奇特冰河時期結構

Archaeologists have unearthed a bizarre monument built by ancient humans in Russia. It’s a large circular structure built using the bones of a creature that no living human has ever seen: a mammoth. Nobody has any idea what it was used for why it exists in the first place.

考古學家在俄羅斯發(fā)現了一座由古代人類建造的奇特紀念碑。這是一個巨大的圓形結構，是用一種從未見過的生物的骨骼建造的：猛犸象。沒有人知道它最初被用來做什么，為什么會存在。

Other mammoth bone monuments have been found in Russia in the past, though this particular location has the others beat in terms of size. At a whopping 41 feet across, it’s quite large, but figuring out who made it and why are proving difficult.

過去在俄羅斯也發(fā)現過其他的猛犸象骨骼遺跡，盡管這個特殊的地點在尺寸上比其他地方更勝一籌。它的直徑高達41英尺，相當大，但很難弄清楚是誰制造了它，以及為什么要制造它。

The best guess at this point is that the mammoth bone structures littered across the region were the sites of homes or other shelters. This supersized example dating back 25,000 years could have provided safety from the elements for several people, but was that really its primary use? That’s a question researchers are still trying to answer.

在這一點上，最合理的猜測是，這些散落在該地區(qū)的猛犸象骨結構是住宅或其他避難所的遺址。這個巨大的例子可以追溯到25000年前，它可以為一些人提供安全的環(huán)境，但這真的是它的主要用途嗎?這是一個研究人員仍在試圖回答的問題。

The circular monument that survived through to today doesn’t offer many clues. There doesn’t appear to be designated entrance and its circular shape suggests it may have had a purpose beyond mere shelter. Inside the circle, the team was able to find evidence of burnt wood, suggesting the structure may have been used during the frigid winters.

幸存至今的圓形紀念碑并沒有提供多少線索。這里似乎沒有指定的入口，它的圓形形狀表明，它可能有超越僅僅是避難所的目的。在圓圈內部，研究小組找到了燒焦的木頭的證據，表明這個結構可能在寒冷的冬天被使用過。

“Mammoth bones are very heavy and building the circular structure represents a huge investment of time and energy by the humans that built this,” lead author Alexander Pryor said in a statement. “It clearly meant something to them and there was very likely a ritual element to it, even if the structure ultimately had some sort of practical purpose too.”

研究報告的主要撰寫人亞歷山大·普賴爾在一份聲明中說:“猛犸象的骨頭非常重，建造這種圓形結構需要人類投入大量的時間和精力。”“這顯然對他們有意義，很可能是一種儀式元素，即使這個結構最終也有某種實際用途。”

The structure includes the remains of a huge number of mammoths. The team counted an incredible 64 mammoth skulls and 51 mandibles. That’s a whole lot of hunting and hauling for the purpose of building it and suggests that the ancient humans were wiping the animals out in huge numbers.

該結構包括大量猛犸象的遺骸。研究小組發(fā)現了令人難以置信的64個猛犸象頭骨和51個下顎骨。為了建造它，人類進行了大量的狩獵和運輸，這表明古代人類正在大量地消滅動物。

Along with the mammoth bones, the researchers were able to find clues as to what the site’s residents were eating besides plenty of mammoth meat. “We found pieces of soft plant tissue typically found in edible roots or tubers, hinting at a plant food component in peoples’ diet,” Pryor reveals. “These finds are important because they illustrate how our human ancestors adapted to survive the harsh environments of the last Ice Age by making use of the resources they found around them.”

除了猛犸象的骨頭，研究人員還發(fā)現了一些線索，表明除了大量的猛犸象肉外，該地區(qū)的居民還吃些什么。“我們發(fā)現了一些通常存在于可食用的根或塊莖中的軟植物組織，這暗示了人們飲食中的一種植物性食物成分，”普萊爾說。“這些發(fā)現很重要，因為它們說明了我們的人類祖先如何利用在周圍發(fā)現的資源，在上一個冰河時代的惡劣環(huán)境中生存下來。”

It’s an interesting window into the lives of ancient humans and even if we don’t know exactly why it exists, the fact that we found it 25,000 years later is something pretty special.

這是了解古代人類生活的一扇有趣的窗戶，即使我們不知道它存在的確切原因，但我們在兩萬五千年后發(fā)現它的事實是相當特別的。