評論
打印
Since the Clovis people were highly mobile, it's plausible that they would set up spots along established travel routes where they keep a variety of items.
由于克洛維斯人經常遷移，有可能他們會在既定的旅行路線上設一些落腳點并存放一些東西。
Either so that they wouldn't have to carry everything with them or so they could save time once they arrived at a site by not having to make stuff from scratch.
這么做就能省去把所有東西都帶上的麻煩，或者能省去他們到了一個地方后從頭再造物品的時間。
But there's another theory about the caches based on the quality of some of the points we've found.
但關于這些貯藏物，還有另一種理論，其基礎是已發現的矛頭的質量。
You see, the points in some caches differ from other points, from points at Clovis camp sites for example.
一些貯藏物的矛頭和其它矛頭不同，比如說在克洛維斯人的扎營點發現的矛頭吧。
For one thing, these cache points are quite large, up to twice as large as regular points, so big that you couldn't attach one to a spear say, and expect to throw the spear accurately over any distance.
一方面，這些貯藏物矛頭很大，達到普通矛頭的兩倍大，這些矛頭太大了，以致于不能接在矛上，更別說把矛精確地投出任何距離。
So what were they for?
那它們有什么用呢？
Well, it was originally thought that they were unfinished, that someone was working away a point, then had to stop and put it aside in one of these caches to work on later.
一開始人們認為這些矛頭未完工，即有人在做這些矛頭途中不得不暫停工作，把這些矛頭和別的貯藏物放在一起，以后再接著做。
The problem is: it's unlikely that a point would have started out as large as the points in these caches, that would be a lot of stone to chip away.
問題是：要做一個矛頭，不可能一開始就用和這些貯藏物矛頭一樣大的石頭，因為這意味著要鑿開很多石頭才行。
A toolmaker starts with a smaller piece.
造工具的人會從更小的石塊入手。
And actually, far from being unfinished, a lot of these points really show excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail.
而且實際上，很多矛頭根本算不上未完工，它們都展示了杰出的工藝和對細節的關注。
And not just with respect to the skill, but also with respect to the raw material, it seems that cached points are made from the very best pieces of stone.
不僅僅就工藝方面而言，還有原材料方面，這些貯藏物矛頭看上去都是用頂好的石頭做的。
So we have to ask—could these points have served another purpose?
那么我們要問了，這些矛頭會不會另有用處？
Maybe be they weren't just tools.
也許它們不僅僅是工具。
Look at it this way: when the Clovis people first arrived in the Americas, they had a lot to learn about their new environment.
這么看吧，當克洛維斯人剛來到美洲時，對于這個新環境，他們有很多東西要學。
Over time, they would have begun to recognize some places as special, important for some reason.
經過一段時間，他們會開始意識到，出于某些原因，一些地方是比較特別的，較為重要的。
Maybe there was always water available there, or the hunting was especially good.
可能那兒通常都有水，或在那兒打獵特別好。
So maybe the cache was a way to mark the place as significant.
所以，可能這些貯藏物是用來標志這個地方很重要的。
