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

旁白：请听一段考古学讲座的节选。

Professor:One of the frustrating things about archaeology, especially for beginning students, is that theories are constantly evolving.

教授：考古学其中一个令人沮丧的事情，特别是对于初学者，就是考古理论是不断在进化的。

A theory that's been accepted for many years may suddenly be called into question.

大家已经接受了很多年的理论可能突然就被发现是有问题的。

Student:But why would that happen?

学生：但是为什么会这样呢？

Professor:There are probably a number of reasons.

教授：原因可能有这几个。

Earlier finds are always being reexamined in the context of newer finds.

早期的发现总是会在新发现的背景下被重新检验。

Or it may just be that someone looks at the evidence in a different way, has a different idea of what it suggests.

或者是有人从不同的视角重新审查现有证据，然后做出了新的解读。

Take the theory about the earliest permanent settlements.

我们举有关最早的永久定居的理论作为例子。

They were found in an area to the east of the Mediterranean Sea called the Levant.

它们是在地中海东部一个叫做勒旺的地方被发现的。

And the people who lived there were the Natufians.

所有住在那里的人被称为纳图夫人。

For quite some time, it's been widely accepted that about 15,000 years ago, the Natufians developed a sedentary lifestyle.

在相当长的一段时间里，人们一直以为大约15000年之前，纳图夫人就形成了定居的生活方式。

Can someone remind us what that means?

谁能告诉我们这意味着什么？

Student:It means that they stopped being nomadic, that they began staying in one area year round instead of moving around all the time.

学生：这意味着他们停止了游牧生活，开始常年呆在一个地方而不是一直在东奔西跑。

Professor:Right. And we think there was an abundance of edible plants and animals in the area at that time that make this shift away from a nomadic lifestyle possible.

教授：对。我们认为当时在那片地区有丰富的可食用植物和动物，使得他们从游牧生活转到定居生活成为可能。

Uh...keep in mind that the Natufians were hunter-gatherers.

嗯……你们要记住，纳图夫人是采集狩猎的人。

So in spite of other changes, they were always a pre-agricultural society.

所以尽管他们的生活方式发生了种种改变，他们还是属于前农业社会。

Anyway, after being sedentary for around 2,000 years, something happened that forced the Natufians to change their lifestyle.

不管怎样，在定居生活了大约2000年后，纳图夫人被迫改变了自己的生活方式。

The general consensus is that there was a period of climatic cooling, which had a negative effect on the availability of food.

我们一般认为当时出现了一段时间的气温下降，使得食物开始变少。

And this food shortage likely caused the Natufians to revert to a nomadic lifestyle.

这就使得纳图夫人开始回归到游牧生活。

Then around 11,500 years ago, the climate warmed again.

接下来，在大约11500年前，气候又开始变暖了。

Food became more abundant and the people in that area became sedentary again.

食物重新变充足，那个地区的人们就又回到了定居生活。

Now, no one is contesting that these people, probably descendants of the Natufians, were indeed sedentary by 11,500 years ago.

现在，没有人会质疑这些人（他们很可能是纳图夫人的后代）真的在11500年前是定居生活的。

The evidence is quite strong.

证据太具有说服力了。

Archaeologists have uncovered numerous circular structures dating from that period that appear to have been used to store grain.

考古学家发现那个年代建了很多圆形建筑用来储存谷物。

We think this for a couple of reasons.

我们推测了几个这种设施出现的原因。

First, the remains of barley houses have been found inside them.

第一个原因是，这些建筑里面有储存大麦的小仓库。

Barley was the main type of grain that grew in this area.

大麦是当地种植的主要谷类。

And secondly, the floors on these structures were elevated.

第二个原因是，这些建筑上有层层上升的阶梯。

This design would have been consistent with the need to keep the barley dry and safe from rodents.

这个设计符合当时保持谷物干燥和不被啮齿动物偷吃的需要。

So, that makes sense.

所以，这就说得通。

And there are lots of these structures in the settlements.

并且，在这些建筑里面还有很多的这种构造。

In one settlement that was only partially excavated, archaeologists have already found four of these structures.

在其中一个仅部分发掘建筑里面，考古学家发现了四个这种构造。

Student: So it's the earlier part, that the Natufians were sedentary 15,000 years ago, that's changed?

学生：所以说在更早之前认为的纳图夫人1500年前是定居生活的事实是不对的了？

Professor:Well, there's evidence, but some archaeologists have questioned the criteria used to identify permanent settlements.

教授：是有证据，但是一些考古学家质疑前人判断永久定居的标准。

See, circular structures have also been found in early Natufian settlements, so archaeologists believe that these were also food storage structures based on their physical similarity to the structures in later settlements.

你看，在早期的纳图夫人居住地我们也发现了圆形的建筑结构，所以基于两者结构的物理相似性，考古学家相信这也是储存食物的地方。

And they would indicate that the Natufians were sedentary 15,000 years ago.

这些建筑说明了纳图夫人15000年前也是定居生活的。

But now, there are doubts about the use of these earlier structures.

但是现在，我们对于这些早期建筑结构的用处还是存有疑惑的。

Researchers point to the lack of grain remnants in these earlier structures.

研究人员指出，这些建筑里谷物的残留其实很少。

In fact, things other than grains have been found in them.

实际上，他们在里面发现了不是谷物的东西。

So at the very least, they say, these structures probably had multiple purposes.

所以他们认为，至少这些建筑很可能是多用途的。

And another problem they point to is that most early settlements have only one of these so-called storage structures.

他们提出的另一个问题是大多数人类早期定居地只有一个这种所谓的储存食物的地方。

But do you think one structure would be enough to hold the surplus for an entire settlement?

但是你们觉得，一个粮仓足够储存整个居住地的余粮吗？

Student:Well, whatever these structures were used for, couldn't they just have built them at a place they came back to regularly?

学生：不管这些建筑是被用来做什么的，它们也可能是仅仅被建在人类经常回来的一个地方的？

Maybe to store things for their next visit?

可能是用来储存什么东西，等下一次来到这个地方的时候用？

Professor:Exactly! So-called base camps, where the Natufians didn't stay all year round.

教授：正确！也就是所谓的基础营地，纳图夫人只是偶尔过去住住。

But artifacts that were found at a number of Natufian sites seem to present evidence of a sedentary way of life.

但是在很多纳图夫人营地发现的工艺品好像展示了定居的生活方式。

Large heavy mortars, the sort of thing that would have been used for grinding grain.

比如说我们发现了大的沉重的钵，用来磨碎谷物的一种工具。

Such heavy equipment could indicate that the Natufians would have stayed permanently in one place since the work involved in moving an item like this around constantly would have been substantial.

这种沉重的工具说明纳图夫人会在一个地方呆很长时间，因为需要不断搬动这么巨大的用具的工作量是很大的。

But this evidence of sedentism has also been called into question because the materials used to make the stone mortars did originally come from quite a distance.

但是这个定居生活的证据也被质疑了，因为用来制作这个大钵的石料最初也是从很远地方运来的。

And if the Natufians could move the materials over great distances...

所以如果纳图夫人有能力长距离搬得动这种巨大的石料……