Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in an archaeology class.

旁白：听一段考古学的对话。

Professor: One of the important aspects of the field of archaeology…one of the things that excites me about the field…is that seemingly insignificant things can suddenly change the way we think about a culture.

教授：考古学领域中一个重要的方面，一个让我对这个领域非常兴奋的事情就是：看上去很微不足道的一件事可能会突然改变我们对一个文化的看法。

We are always making new discoveries that have the potential to challenge widely held beliefs.

我们一直有新的发现，这些发现有着挑战普遍信仰的潜力。

Take something like the banana, for example.

拿香蕉来举个例子。

It turns out that this ordinary fruit may be forcing scientists to rewrite major parts of African history!

原来这种非常普通的水果也可能迫使科学家去重写非洲历史的重要部分。

We know the bananas were introduced to Africa via Southeast Asia.

我们知道香蕉是从东南亚引进到非洲的。

And until recently, we thought we knew when they were introduce--about 2,000 years ago.

直到最近，我们都认为我们知道它们是什么时候被引进的，大约在2000年以前。

But discoveries in Uganda, that’s in Eastern Africa, are throwing that into question.

但是东非的乌干达的发现，却使得这个说法受到质疑。

Scientists studying soil samples there discovered evidence of bananas in sediment that was 5,000 years old.

研究土壤样本的科学家们在5000年前的沉淀物中发现了香蕉存在的证据。

Now, let me explain that it’s not easy to find traces of ancient bananas.

现在，让我来解释一下要发现古代的香蕉痕迹是非常不容易的一件事情。

The fruit is soft and doesn’t have any hard seeds that might survive over the ages.

这种水果是非常软的，并且没有任何坚硬的种子可以存活几个时代。

So after 5,000 years, you might think there would be nothing left to study.

因此，在5000以后，你可能会认为没有什么会留下来被研究的。

Well, fortunately for archaeologists, all plants contain what are called phytoliths in their stems and leaves.

对于考古学家们幸运的是，所有的植物的茎叶中都含有植物岩。

Phytoliths are microscopic structures made of silica, and they do not decay.

植物岩是非常小的由二氧化硅组成的结构，并且他们是不会腐烂的。

When plants die and rot away, they leave these phytoliths behind.

当植物死了烂掉之后，它们把这些植物岩留下了。

Because different plants produce differently shaped phytoliths, scientists can identify the type of plant from ancient remains.

由于不同的植物会产生不同形状的植物岩，科学家们可以从远古的残余中识别出植物的类型。

So, those scientists in Uganda, dug down to sediments that were 5,000 years old.

因此，在乌干达的科学家们挖掘到5000年历史的沉淀物。

And what do you think they found?

你觉得他们发现了什么？

Banana phytoliths!

发现了香蕉植物岩！

Obviously this meant that we had to rethink our previous notions about when bananas first arrived in Africa.

很明显这就意味着我们必须要重新考虑我们之前关于香蕉在什么时候第一次到达非洲的认识。

But, well, this discovery had other implications for history.

但是，这个发现对于历史来说还有别的寓意。

As soon as bananas appear in the archaeological record, we know we have contact between Africa and Southeast Asia.

当香蕉一出现在考古学记录中时，我们就知道非洲和东南亚之间有联系。

It would appear now that this contact occurred much earlier than previously thought.

现在看上去这样的联系比我们之前想的出现的还要早。

Al…although…now here’s where the uncertainty comes in…we don’t really have any solid evidence of trade between the people of these two regions that long ago.

尽管这就是不确定性所在的地方……我们并没有什么那么久之前关于这两个地方之间贸易的确凿证据。

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.

假设：如果人们将香蕉带到非洲，他们也会将其他一些东西带过去的，如陶器、工具、一些其他在贸易和日常生活中使用的东西。

But any such evidence is missing from the archaeological record.

但是这样的证据在考古学的记录中是缺失的。

The early appearance of bananas also suggests that agriculture began in this part of Africa earlier than scientists imagined.

早期香蕉的出现还暗示着在非洲的这个地方，农业可能比科学家们想象的更早开始。

You see, bananas, at least the edible kind, can’t grow without human intervention.

你知道的，香蕉，至少那些可食用的类型，是不可能在没有人类介入的情况下生长的。

They have to be cultivated.

他们需要被耕种。

People need to plant them and care for them.

人们需要去种植并且照顾它们。

So if bananas were present in Uganda 5,000 years ago, we would have to assume…that…that…that someone planted them.

因此香蕉在5000年前就在乌干达存在着，我们必须假定…有人种植它们。

But, there are questions about this too.

但是，这当中也有问题。

We know that bananas can be a staple food that can support large populations, as they did in Uganda in the more recent past.

我们知道香蕉是可以作为主食的，可以支撑很大的人口，就像在不远的过去它们在乌干达所做的一样。

If bananas were grown thousands of years ago, why don’t we see evidence of large populations thriving in the area earlier?

如果香蕉在几千年以前就已经被种植了，那么我们为什么没看见之前在这个地方有大量人口的证据？

So, we are left with this mystery.

因此，这对我们还是个迷。

We have what appears to be strong biological evidence that bananas were being cultivated in Uganda as early as 5,000 years ago.

我们有着很强的生物学的证据证明香蕉早在5000年前就在乌干达被耕作。

But we are missing other kinds of evidence that would conclusively prove that this is so.

但是我们缺失其他一些可以证明这一点的决定性的证据。

Clearly, more research needs to be done.

很明确的是，还需要做更多的研究才行。

Perhaps by some young scholars from this university?

可能由这个学校一些年轻的学者们来进行？

At least give it some thought.

至少也思考一下这个。