Dog stew offerings found in ancient Chinese tomb

     XI'AN, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Archeologists(考古学家) in the northwestern Shaanxi Province confirmed Thursday, after weeks of lab work, that the bones they found in a bronze cooking vessel¹ from a 2,400-year-old tomb belonged to a male dog under a year old.

    Altogether 37 bones were found in the cooking vessel, which was unearthed² in November 2010 from a tomb near the Xianyang International Airport in the suburbs of Xi'an, said Liu Daiyun, a researcher with the Shaanxi Provincial³ Archeological Institute.

    "When we opened the 20-cm tall cooking vessel, we were shocked to find bones and soup inside," said Liu.

    The bones and soup had all turned greenish, similar in color to the bronze container, he said.

    Cooking vessels⁴ were a typical offering Chinese once presented to their deceased ancestors, said Liu.

    The custom became prevalent around the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC), the time Liu and his colleagues believed this dog stew⁵ was offered.

    Hu Songmei, a researcher who did most of the lab work to identify the bones, said they found the bones were "strikingly similar" to four complete sets of canine⁶ skeletons preserved at the institute's lab.

    The newly found bones, however, were smaller, indicating the dog was just a pup, said Hu.

    Hu said further lab work was needed to tell the exact species of the canine. "Dogs were domesticated⁷ by humans at least 10,000 years ago, but the early dog species that evolved from wild wolves could be very different from today's pet dogs."Besides the dog bones, experts also found a wine-like liquid in another airtight kitchen ware⁸ from the same tomb. "Whoever the tomb owner was, he must have loved liquor and meat, so his sons wished he could still enjoy the feast in his grave."(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

2 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。

6 canine   

adj.犬的，犬科的

参考例句：

• The fox is a canine animal.狐狸是犬科动物。
• Herbivorous animals have very small canine teeth,or none.食草动物的犬牙很小或者没有。

7 domesticated   

adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ware   

n.(常用复数)商品，货物

参考例句：

• The shop sells a great variety of porcelain ware.这家店铺出售品种繁多的瓷器。
• Good ware will never want a chapman.好货不须叫卖。