2006年VOA标准英语-Researchers Identify What May Be Oldest Known J

By David McAlary
Washington
22 June 2006

Archeologists have identified what might be the world's oldest known jewelry¹.  It consists of 100,000-year-old shells from the Middle East with holes bored in their centers.  If the shells were used as beads² for personal decoration, it means symbolic³ human thinking and the first signs of culture are much older than previously⁴ thought.

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Undated photo provided by journal Science shows modern Nassarius gibbosulus shells - ancient beads identified from sites in Algeria and Israel  
  
When we adorn⁵ our bodies with rings, necklaces, coloring or some other decoration, we behave in a way that University of California archeologist John Bower⁶ says is uniquely human.

"Self adornment⁷ is a very important and perhaps the only really convincing archeological evidence that we have of self recognition, and self recognition is fundamental to the emergence⁸ of the kinds of behavior that we call human culture," he said.

Until recently, researchers believed that the first signs of modern human culture appeared about 40,000 years ago when anatomically modern humans arrived in Europe. 

But two years ago, scientists pushed that date way back when they found 75,000-year-old perforated shells from Blombos cave in South Africa.  They said the type of holes and the wear patterns around the holes showed they were clearly worn as beads.

Now, the same team has found even older perforated shells - 25,000 years older - two of them from Skhul in Israel and a third from an Algerian site named Oued Djebbana. 

The three shells are from the same tiny snail-like creature they had excavated⁹ in South Africa in 2004, but these specimens¹⁰ were dug up by other scientists in the 1940s and were hidden away in London and Paris museums.

University College London researcher Marian Vanhaeren and colleagues came across them in the museums and analyzed¹¹ crusted dirt that stuck to the Israeli shells.  Vanhaeren told Science magazine, where the research appears, that the dirt came from the same layer in Skhul that had yielded human skeletons at least 100,000 years old, meaning the two shells from there are also that old.

"This find indicates the anatomically modern humans from Africa and the Near East created beadwork traditions well before their arrival in Europe, and that there were modern human cultures in Africa quite early in time," Vanhaeren said.

As for the single shell from Algeria, the researchers say it could be up to 90,000 years old based on the style of tools found there.

But the sample size from both locations is very small and the origin of the holes is not nearly as obvious as those on the shells they had found in South Africa.  Vanhaeren argues that Skhul and Oued Djebbana are so far from the sea that the shells were probably brought there intentionally¹², most likely for beadworking. 

By studying modern specimens of the shells, her team also determined¹³ that the chances the holes occurred naturally are extremely small.

"Unfortunately, the state of preservation¹⁴ of the Skhul and Oued Djebbana sites is such that we cannot reach a definite conclusion as to the human origin of the wear," Vanhaeren said.  "In other words, our argument for the symbolic use is based on the remoteness from the sea and the presence of unusual perforations."

Stanford University archeologist Richard Klein is not satisfied.  He did not accept the earlier findings from Blombos Cave in South Africa, suggesting that the holes in the shells and wear patterns could have been caused by soil compacting over time.  He supports the view that modern human culture and the use of symbolism exploded 40,000 years ago in Europe.  Klein told Science magazine that the newest evidence showing otherwise appears weak.

But John Bower of the University of California is more accepting of the evidence, although he acknowledges its shortcomings.

"It is a reasonable argument for the so-called beads to not be occurring naturally in the places where they are found.  These are not creatures that can travel 200 kilometers across desert conditions to an archeological site," he said.  "They must have been transported there some how, most likely by human beings, although it is not impossible to rule out transport by, for example, birds."

But Bower says a larger question remains¹⁵.  How quickly did anatomically modern humans acquire culture and symbolic expression?  Was it rather suddenly or much more slowly over tens of thousands of years?

"That is a major problem in paleoanthropology that this article contributes toward, but is a long way from resolving," he said

1 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

2 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

3 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

4 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

5 adorn   

vt.使美化，装饰

参考例句：

• She loved to adorn herself with finery.她喜欢穿戴华丽的服饰。
• His watercolour designs adorn a wide range of books.他的水彩设计使许多图书大为生色。

6 bower   

n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽

参考例句：

• They sat under the leafy bower at the end of the garden and watched the sun set.他们坐在花园尽头由叶子搭成的凉棚下观看落日。
• Mrs. Quilp was pining in her bower.奎尔普太太正在她的闺房里度着愁苦的岁月。

7 adornment   

n.装饰；装饰品

参考例句：

• Lucie was busy with the adornment of her room.露西正忙着布置她的房间。
• Cosmetics are used for adornment.化妆品是用来打扮的。

8 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

9 excavated   

v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• The site has been excavated by archaeologists. 这个遗址已被考古学家发掘出来。
• The archaeologists excavated an ancient fortress. 考古学家们发掘出一个古堡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。