Good morning everyone.

大家早上好。

Last week we were looking at the hunter-gatherers in Ireland, across the Irish Sea from England.

上周我们探讨了爱尔兰依靠狩猎和采集生活的人，他们是从英格兰横跨爱尔兰海而来。

Today, we're going to move on to the period between four and six thousand years ago, known as the Neolithic period, which is when a total farming economy was introduced in Ireland.

今天，我们转到距今4千到6千年之间被称作新石器时代的一个时期，也是完整的农业经济被引入爱尔兰的时期。

Now, there are several hypotheses about the origins of the first Neolithic settlers in Ireland, but most of these contain problems.

现在有两种关于新石器时代第一批爱尔兰移民者的假设，但是基本上都存在一些问题。

For instance, there are considerable archaeological difficulties about the theory that they came from England.

比如说，有种理论说他们是来自于英格兰，这种理论存在着大量的考古学上的难题

The evidence doesn't really add up.

而且也没有证据进一步证明此理论。

But there are even greater practical problems about the theory that they came directly from continental Europe.

但是存在更严重实际问题的理论是说他们是直接从欧洲大陆过来的。

For one thing, it's not clear just how sufficient numbers of men and women could have been transported to Ireland to establish a viable population.

其中一点是，只有数量充足的男性和女性才能确保建立起一个可延续的人口群体，但却一直无法确定他们是怎样被运送到爱尔兰的。

As you know, the hunter-gatherer economy which existed beforehand was based on small scattered groups.

如你所知，之前存在的那种靠狩猎和采集为生的经济秩序是基于规模小而且分散的群体之上的

The farming economy would almost certainly have required much larger communities to do all the work needed to plant and tend sufficient crops to sustain them through the year.

然而农业经济却几乎需要大更多的群体来执行所有的耕种劳动，还需要一直照料这些庄稼让它们能够维持到第二年。

The early farmers kept various animals, including cattle and sheep.

早期的农民拥有多种动物，其中包括牛和羊。

There's also evidence of pigs, but it is possible that these could have been descended from the native wild species.

也有证据表明当时是有猪的，不过猪很可能是由当地野生的猪繁衍下来的。

Now, we know from modern farming that if the level of breeding stock falls below about three hundred females, the future of the species locally is at risk.

那么，依据现代农业我们知道如果繁衍种群当中的雌性动物的数量水平低于300只的话，那么当地这个种群就会有灭绝的危险。

So we must assume that from the beginnings of Neolithic farming the number of breeding sheep would have considerably exceeded three hundred, and the national cattle herd must have been of a similar size.

所以我们需要假设在新石器时代农业的开始阶段，种羊的数量必须要超出300只很多，而且牛群的规模也应该差不多才对。

The question is how these were brought to the area and where they came from.

问题是它们是如何引入这里，而且它们又来自何方。

It's usually suggested that the Neolithic settlers used skin-covered boats to transport livestock.

之前通常认为新石器时代移民者是用动物皮覆盖的船来运送牲畜的。

But this method would have severely restricted the range of the colonizing fleets.

但是这种方式会严重的限制他们迁徙所能去到的范围。

The sheer volume of animal transport necessary means it's unlikely that this livestock could have been brought from anywhere further than England.

必须要运送大量的动物意味着这些动物不太可能从远于英格兰的地方带过来。

What about crops?

那么关于庄稼方面呢？

Well, two main cereal crops were introduced to Ireland during this time: wheat and barley, both in several varieties.

是这样的，当时有两种主要的谷物庄稼被引入到爱尔兰：小麦和大麦，两者也都包含多种不同的品种。

The main evidence for their presence consists of impressions on pottery, where a cereal grain accidentally became embedded in the surface of a pot before it was fired.

当时存在庄稼的主要证据是陶器上面留下来的痕迹，恰巧有一颗谷物在生火之前嵌在了锅的表面，这颗谷物虽然被火烧掉了。

The grain itself was destroyed by the firing, but it left an impression on the pot which could be studied and identified by botanists.

但却在锅上面留下了一个痕迹，使得后来植物学家得以研究辨别出来。