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that is long before we’d thought previously.
這比我們之前以為的時間要早得多。
It was unclear whether the forest had been cleared by farmers to plant fields, or by hunter-gatherers, so they could hunt more easily.
但是森林是農民為了種地而清除的，還是采集狩獵的人為了更容易狩獵而清除的尚不清楚。
And many plant remains like seeds and fruits don’t preserve well in swampy soils, in humid environments like you often find in New Guinea.
而且很多植物的剩余物比如種子和果實在濕軟的土壤中不好保存，在新幾內亞經常能發現那種潮濕的環境。
So really, the proof was limited. But recent research has turned up some pretty convincing support.
所以真的，那時的證據很有限。但是在最近的調查中出現了一些特別有說服力的支持。
A group of archaeologists returned to a site that had been previously examined, Kuk Swamp,
一群考古學家回到了之前檢測過的一個地點Kuk Swamp，
which is in a mountain valley in the highlands of what is now Papua, New Guinea.
這是現新幾內亞Papua高地的一個山谷。
Based on their findings, they identified a succession of phases of agricultural development in the wetland there,
根據他們的發現，他們辨認出了那里濕地的一個農業發展階段更替，
with several of these phases predating the earliest known agricultural influence from Southeast Asia.
其中好幾個階段在日期上都早于最早已知的從東南亞傳來的農業影響。
At the site in Kuk, they used an array of modern archaeological methods to analyze sediment samples from the soil.
在Kuk的地點，他們用了一系列現代考古學手段來分析從土壤中取到 的泥沙試樣。
From the oldest soil layer dating back 10,000 years, they found evidence of pits, stake holes and ditches.
從日期能追溯到1萬年前的最古老的土層中，他們發現了地坑、樁洞和渠溝的痕跡。
Now, these all indicate that crops were being planted.
這些都顯示那時已經種植了莊稼。
Plants are tied to stakes, the ditches are for...for drainage, a proof of a very early, first phase of agricultural development.
植物被綁在木樁上，渠溝用來排水，這是證明很早期的農業發展最初階段的證據。
The second phase, which they identify from a higher layer of soil, featured regularly distributed mounds.
他們從更淺層一些的土壤中辨認出的第二階段中有按規律分布的護堤。
