評論
打印
But...we've found that...um...we've found what maybe pens or corrals in the Botai settlements.
但我們發現……我們在博泰人定居之地發現了一些可能是圍欄或畜欄的東西。
And not too long ago, a new approach was used to find out if the Botai people were keeping horses.
而且，不久之前，人們采用了一種新方法，來弄清楚到底博泰人有沒有飼養馬匹。
Soil samples from these pens or corrals show ten times the concentration of phosphorus.
從這些圍欄或畜欄上采集的泥土樣本顯示，其磷濃度是十倍之高。
Student: Um...phosphorus? -Professor: Yes.
磷？ 對。
Phosphorus is a very significant indicator that horses, large numbers of horses were being kept in the settlements.
磷是非常重要的標志，說明了馬匹，且是大批馬匹被馴養在這些定居地。
You see, horse manure, horse waste is rich in phosphorus and also nitrogen compared to normal soil.
比起普通泥土，馬糞更富含磷元素和氮元素。
But nitrogen is an unstable element.
但氮元素不穩定。
It can be washed out when it rains or it can be released to the atmosphere, whereas phosphorus combines with calcium and iron, and can be preserved in the soil for thousands of years.
下雨時氮會被沖走，或釋放入大氣，但磷與鈣和鐵結合，能在土里保存上千年。
The soil from the Botai settlement sites was found to have high concentrations of phosphorus and low nitrogen concentrations, which is important since it suggests that what we've got is really old, not something added to the soil more recently.
人們發現，在博泰人定居地采集到的泥土含磷高，含氮低，這非常重要，因為這表明我們收集到的是非常古老的（泥土），而不是最近加到土里的。
Student: Wait. So if horses have been there recently, there'd still be lots of nitrogen in the soil.
等等。那假如最近那里有馬匹，土里還會有很多氮元素。
Professor: That's right. Yes, Karen.
對。凱倫。
Student: I just read an article. It said that one way to determine if there was an ancient fireplace at an archaeological site was to check the soil for phosphorus.
我剛看了一篇文章。里面說到，要確定考古點那兒的是不是生火點，一種方法就是檢測泥土里有沒有磷。
So couldn't the phosphorus at the Botai sites just be from the frequent use of fireplaces?
所以，難道在博泰人所在地的磷就不能是因頻繁在生火點生火留下來嗎？
Professor: You are absolutely right.
你說的很對。
However, when a fireplace leaves behind a lot of phosphorus in the soil, we'd also find an unusually high concentration of potassium.
不管怎樣，當生火點在土里留下大量磷時，我們同時也會發現，這里的鉀含量高得出奇。
But the soil at the Botai settlements, it was found with relatively little potassium, which makes it far more likely that the phosphorus came from horses. OK?
但博泰人所在地的泥土里，發現的鉀相對很少，使得這看起來更可能磷是來自馬匹的。好嗎？
Now, later on, people of the same region, northern Kazakhstan, started raising sheep and cattle.
接著，在同一地區的人們，即哈薩克斯坦北部，開始養羊和牛。
And that led to a more nomadic culture.
這就催生了更傾向于游牧生活的文明。
Since sheep and cattle can't survive harsh climates, they needed to be taken south every winter.
因為羊和牛在惡劣氣候中無法存活，每年冬天人們都要把它們帶往南方。
Moving around meant working harder but the trade-off was far richer, fattier milk year round and warm clothing from the sheep.
不斷遷移意味著耗費更多精力，但回報則是每年有更多更濃郁的奶和來自羊身上的暖和衣物。
