評(píng)論
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Obviously this meant that we had to rethink our previous notions about when bananas first arrived in Africa.
很明顯，這意味著我們要重新思考之前的觀點(diǎn)，關(guān)于香蕉首次抵達(dá)非洲的時(shí)間了。
But, well, this discovery had other implications for history.
但是這個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)還有其他跟歷史相關(guān)的含意。
As soon as bananas appear in the archaeological record, we know we have contact between Africa and Southeast Asia.
香蕉剛出現(xiàn)在考古記錄里，我們便知道非洲和東南亞有過(guò)交流。
It would appear now that this contact occurred much earlier than previously thought.
現(xiàn)在表明似乎這個(gè)交流比我們之前想象得要早很多。
Although...now here's where the uncertainty comes in...we don't really have any solid evidence of trade between the peoples of these two regions that long ago.
但是現(xiàn)在這里有不確定因素。我們沒有任何真正的確鑿證據(jù)能夠表明這兩個(gè)地域的人民在那么久遠(yuǎn)之前有過(guò)貿(mào)易往來(lái)。
Presumably, if people were bringing bananas to Africa, they'd also be bringing other things too: pottery, tools...all sorts of objects made for trade or daily use.
很有可能地是如果人們把香蕉帶到非洲，他們應(yīng)該也會(huì)帶其他的物品：瓷器、工具、各種用做貿(mào)易或日常生活的物品。
But any such evidence is missing from the archaeological record.
但是考古記錄沒有這方面的證據(jù)。
The early appearance of bananas also suggests that agriculture began in this part of Africa earlier than scientists imagined.
香蕉早期的出現(xiàn)也表明農(nóng)業(yè)在非洲這部分開始的時(shí)間比科學(xué)家們想象得要早。
You see, bananas, at least the edible kind, can't grow without human intervention.
你看，香蕉至少是可食用的種類，必須要在人的干預(yù)下才能生長(zhǎng)。
They have to be cultivated. People need to plant them and care for them.
它們必須要人類耕種才能生長(zhǎng)。人們需要種植它們并照顧它們。
So if bananas were present in Uganda 5,000 years ago, we would have to assume that someone planted them.
所以如果香蕉5000年前就出現(xiàn)在烏干達(dá)的話，我們應(yīng)該可以假定是有人類耕種的。
But, there are questions about this too.
但是這個(gè)理論也有一些問(wèn)題。
We know that bananas can be a staple food that can support large populations, as they did in Uganda in the more recent past.
我們知道香蕉可以是一種夠養(yǎng)活很多人的主食，就像它們近些年在烏干達(dá)那樣。
If bananas were grown thousands of years ago, why don't we see evidence of large populations thriving in the area earlier? So, we are left with this mystery.
如果香蕉幾千年前就種植了，那為什么我們沒有看到那個(gè)地方早些時(shí)候有過(guò)很多人口呢？這是還未解答的謎團(tuán)。
We have what appears to be strong biological evidence that bananas were being cultivated in Uganda as early as 5,000 years ago.
我們有看似強(qiáng)有力的生物證據(jù)表明香蕉早在5000年前就在烏干達(dá)耕種了。
But we are missing other kinds of evidence that would conclusively prove that this is so. Clearly, more research needs to be done.
但是我們?nèi)鄙倨渌梢宰詈笞C明這個(gè)結(jié)論的一些證據(jù)。很明顯，還需要做更多的研究。
Perhaps by some young scholars from this university? At least give it some thought.
或許這個(gè)大學(xué)的一些年輕學(xué)者可以做？至少思考一下它。
