VOA慢速英语--科学家发现 “可爱的”史前婴儿奶瓶

Scientists Discover ‘Cute’ Prehistoric¹ Baby Bottles

Scientists say ceramic² containers were used in prehistoric times to feed animal milk to human babies.

Archaeologists recently published their findings in the journal Nature. They say they found three such objects in ancient child burial places in Germany. The objects contained very small amounts of milk from cows, sheep and goats.

The oldest of the three vessels⁴ dated back to the Bronze Age, and was between 2,800 and 3,200 years old.

Julie Dunne is a biomolecular archeologist with the University of Bristol in Britain. She was the lead writer of the study. She said, “I think this has provided us the first direct evidence of what foods babies were eating or being weaned on to in prehistory.” She added, “I think this shows us the love and care these prehistoric people had for their babies.”

The objects were small enough to fit into a baby’s hands. The archeologists believe they were vessels for milk. They had a narrow spout⁵ for the baby to drink the liquid.

While the three objects examined by the study were somewhat plain, others were in the shapes of animals. Those vessels had animal heads with long ears or horns and human-looking feet.

“I find them incredibly cute. And prehistoric people may have thought so, too…” said archaeologist Katharina Rebay-Salisbury. She is with the Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology⁶ of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. She co-wrote the study.

“They testify to the creativity and playfulness we often forget to attribute to our ancestors,” Rebay-Salisbury added.

She noted⁷ that life at the time was not easy. Many people lived in unclean conditions, experienced hunger and disease and faced low life expectancy⁸. During the Bronze Age and the Iron Age that followed in Europe, about one-third of all newborns died before their first birthday. Only about half of children reached adulthood⁹, Rebay-Salisbury said.

These feeding vessels may have made life easier for mothers. Animal milk could be used instead of breastfeeding, the researchers said. This meant the duties of motherhood could “also be undertaken by other members of the community when children are fed with feeding vessels,” Rebay-Salisbury noted.

I’m Mario Ritter Jr.

Words in This Story

archaeologist –n. a science that deals with human life in the past by studying bones, tools and other artifacts

ceramic –n. something made of baked clay

vessel³ –n. a container for liquids

wean –v. to start feed a child food instead of mother’s milk

spout –n. a tube that permits liquid to flow out of something

attribute –v. to think that someone else has certain qualities

1 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

2 ceramic   

n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺

参考例句：

• The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
• Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。

3 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。

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 spout   

v.喷出，涌出；滔滔不绝地讲；n.喷管；水柱

参考例句：

• Implication in folk wealth creativity and undertaking vigor spout.蕴藏于民间的财富创造力和创业活力喷涌而出。
• This acts as a spout to drain off water during a rainstorm.在暴风雨季，这东西被用作喷管来排水。

6 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

9 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。