纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 010绳纹陶钵（4）

In fact, some of the very early ones, some of those ones that are now dated to about 14,000 years ago-there's black incrustations, and its that carbonised material that has been dated-we think they were probably used for cooking up some vegetable materials?

事实上有些器皿中的黑色陈淀物差不多了一万四千年历史了。这些黑色碳化物已经被科学家年代定位了，我们在猜想也许当初绳纹人是在烹饪一些蔬菜汤？

Perhaps they were cooking up fish broths¹? And it's possible they were cooking up nuts, using a wide range of nuts-including acorns-that you need to cook and boil for a long time before you can actually eat them.'

或者是鲜鱼汤？也有可能是在炖坚果，像橡子之类的，那种东西可真是要熬很久时间可以吃。”

I think that this is a really interesting point-that pots change your diet. New foods become available and useable only once they can be boiled. Heating shellfish in water forces the shells to open, making it easier to get at the contents, but also, and no less importantly, it sorts out which ones are bad-bad ones stay closed. It's alarming to think of the trial-and-error involved in discovering which foods are in fact edible-there must have been plenty of horrible accidents along the way-but it's a process that was going on all over the world.

说起来真是有趣，这种罐头钵头可以改变你的饮食。通过煮沸，就出现了很多可食用的新食物了。把贝壳类水煮一下，壳就打开了，吃里头的肉就轻而易举。而且，同样重要的是，人类是摸着石头过河，一路试吃试过来的。历史上不乏第一个吃螃蟹的人的例子。不过在这过程中，这种盲目性很强的冒险行为肯定导致了相当多的意外事件；然而这在全世界各地都是一种不可避免的过程。

The Jomon hunter-gatherer way of life, enriched and transformed by the making of Jomon pottery², didn't radically³ change for over 14,000 years.

绳纹陶器的制作，丰富与改造了绳纹人这种狩猎与采集的生活方式；而后在一万四千年的漫漫岁月中，一切没有多大的改变。

Although the oldest pots in the world were made in Japan, the technique didn't spread from there.

虽说日本人制造出世界上最古老的陶罐陶钵，这种技术并不能从那里蔓延开来。

Pottery seems to have been invented in different places at different times right across the world. The first pots known from the Middle East and North Africa were made a few thousand years after the earliest Jomon pots, and in the Americas it was a few thousands of years after that.

制陶似乎是在世界各地不同时期、不同地区独立发明的。比最早期绳纹盆晚了几千年，在中东与北非出现了当地第一批陶器，而在美洲，那是还要再晚几千年的事。

But almost everywhere in the world, the invention of the pot was connected with new cuisines⁴ and a more varied⁵ menu.

然而在全世界各地，锅碗瓢盆的出现，毫无例外地促成了新烹饪与人类更加丰富多样的菜谱。

Nowadays Jomon pots are used as cultural ambassadors for Japan in major exhibitions around the world. Most nations look back to imperial glories or invading armies-and I think it's extraordinary that a technologically⁶, economically powerful nation like Japan proudly places the very origins of its identity in the early hunter-gatherers.

如今绳纹陶器已经充当起日本文化大使的角色，在世界各地的大型展览与人们见面。大多数国家都以自己帝国时代的辉煌或军队的入侵略扩张为荣，我认为像日本这种技术领先、经济实力强大的民族可以很自豪地向世人展示最早期的狩猎采集者身份，无疑是件了不起的事。

As an outsider, I find the meticulous⁷ attention to detail and the patterning of the surface, and the long continuity of Jomon traditions, already very Japanese. Professor Takashi Doi again:

作为一个局外人，我发现绳纹陶品上那种对细节一丝不苟还有精致的表面图案，再加上长期连续的绳纹传统，真是相当的日本。隆土井教授说道：

'Japan has the longest pottery-making tradition in the world. The fine porcelains⁸ made by Japan's top craftsmen⁹ and women today have an inheritance lasting¹⁰ over 17,000 years. Jomon pots and culture have great resonance¹¹ for many Japanese people today, perhaps because it speaks of the distinctive¹² nature of Japanese culture that often stresses continuity through change.'

“日本拥有世界上最长的制陶传统。由日本顶尖工匠与妇女们制造出精细瓷器是一种长达一万七千年的传统。绳纹陶器与文化在许多当今的日本人民心头仍然可以产生强烈的共鸣，也许是因为它叙说了日本文化的独特性质，强调改变需要在传承性与连续性中进行。”

But the story of our small Jomon pot doesn't end here, because I haven't yet described to you what is perhaps the most extraordinary thing of all about it-that the inside is, when you look, carefully lined with lacquered gold leaf.

但是我们这小小绳纹钵的故事并不是就这么结束了。因为我还没开始告诉你这件物品中最不寻常的事情呢。来瞧瞧这钵的里头，仔细瞧瞧这精心贴上的漆金箔内衬。

1 broths   

n.肉汤( broth的名词复数 )；厨师多了烧坏汤；人多手杂反坏事；人多添乱

参考例句：

• Other ingredients commonly used to thicken soups and broths include rice, flour and grains. 其它用来使羹汤或高汤变浓的配料通常包括米，面粉和谷物。 来自互联网
• When meat products, especially broths, are cooked, they often have lower oxidation-reduction potentials. 肉制品尤其是当肉汤被蒸煮时，它们经常有较低的氧化还原电势。 来自互联网

2 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

3 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

4 cuisines   

n.烹饪( cuisine的名词复数 )；菜肴；（通常指昂贵的饭店中的）饭菜；烹饪艺术

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the different features of these cuisines? 能不能告诉我这些不同的烹调流派各自有哪些特点？ 来自地道口语脱口SHOW 高中超越版
• Ice sculptures are used as decorations in some cuisines, especially in Asia. 冰雕在某些菜肴中被当作装饰品，尤其在亚洲。 来自互联网

5 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

6 technologically   

ad.技术上地

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a technologically advanced city. 上海是中国的一个技术先进的城市。
• Many senior managers are technologically illiterate. 许多高级经理都对技术知之甚少。

7 meticulous   

adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的

参考例句：

• We'll have to handle the matter with meticulous care.这事一点不能含糊。
• She is meticulous in her presentation of facts.她介绍事实十分详细。

8 porcelains   

n.瓷，瓷器( porcelain的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the stress tooth preparation with two kinds of porcelains. 〔摘要〕目的：研究瓷贴面复合体应力分布规律。 来自互联网
• Objective To study the distribution of the chromatic value of gingival porcelains. 目的了解临床常用牙龈瓷的颜色参数。 来自互联网

9 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

10 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

11 resonance   

n.洪亮；共鸣；共振

参考例句：

• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
• The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。

12 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。