幾十年來首次在著名的“花葬”洞穴中發(fā)現(xiàn)尼安德特人骨骼

幾十年來首次在著名的“花葬”洞穴中發(fā)現(xiàn)尼安德特人骨骼

Back in 1960, archaeologist Ralph Solecki unearthed a deeply divisive Neanderthal burial site at the Shanidar Cave in the Kurdistan Region. Amongst a set of skeletal remains, found curled up in the fetal position, was discovered the presence of plant pollen seemingly scattered across the grave. Solecki claimed the Neanderthal had been buried on a bed of colorful flowers and branches, indicating funerary rites and suggesting our hominin cousins were emotionally sensitive individuals with clear cognitive abilities, not the heavy-browed dopes they were portrayed as at the time. However, this theory was not without its critics.

早在1960年,考古學(xué)家拉爾夫人在庫爾德斯坦地區(qū)的沙尼達(dá)爾穴發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)很具爭議的尼安德特人的墓地。在一組骨骼殘骸中,在胎兒的位置,發(fā)現(xiàn)了存在看似分散在墳?zāi)沟闹参锘ǚ?。索萊茨基聲稱，尼安德特人被埋葬在一張鋪滿五顏六色的鮮花和樹枝的床上，這表明了葬禮儀式，并表明我們的原始人表親是情感敏感的個(gè)體，擁有清晰的認(rèn)知能力，而不是像當(dāng)時(shí)人們描述的那樣，長著濃密眉毛。然而，這一理論并非沒有受到批評。

Tom Hale

A new project has returned to the Shanidar Cave and unearthed one of the most complete articulated Neanderthal skeletons found in decades. Not only could this discovery shed light on the life and behavior of Neanderthals, but it could also help to settle the hotly debated “flower burial” case.

一項(xiàng)新的研究回到了沙尼達(dá)爾洞穴，并發(fā)掘出了幾十年來最完整的尼安德特人骨骼。這一發(fā)現(xiàn)不僅有助于闡明尼安德特人的生活和行為，而且有助于解決備受爭議的“花葬”問題。

“This find is incredibly exciting for a number of reasons. It’s rare that such complete, articulated – with bones in correct anatomical connection – Neanderthal skeletal remains are found. This is the first to our knowledge in 25 years,” Dr Emma Pomeroy, lead study author from the University of Cambridge's Department of Archeology, told IFLScience.

“這個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)非常令人興奮，原因有很多。尼安德特人的骨骼化石如此完整、清晰，并具有正確的解剖學(xué)聯(lián)系，實(shí)屬罕見。這是25年來我們所知道的第一次，”劍橋大學(xué)考古系的首席研究作者Emma Pomeroy博士告訴IFLScience。

Excavation of the Shanidar Cave between 1951 and 1960. Fred Lewsey/Cambridge University

Reported in the journal Antiquity, early analysis suggests the Neanderthal died around 70,000 years ago, but it’s not yet possible to tell if they were male or female. Given the quality of the skeletal remains, the researchers hope it could provide a wealth of information about Homo neanderthalensis. For example, studying the chemical composition of its bones and teeth could identify insights into their diet and geographic origins.

據(jù)《古物》雜志報(bào)道，早期的分析表明，尼安德特人死于大約7萬年前，但目前還無法確定他們是男性還是女性?？紤]到遺骨的質(zhì)量，研究人員希望它能為尼安德特人提供豐富的信息。例如，研究它的骨骼和牙齒的化學(xué)成分可以洞察它們的飲食和地理起源。

It also presents the possibility of obtaining ancient DNA from a south-west Asian Neanderthal for the first time, a feat that has proved difficult due to warmer climates not preserving genetic material very well.

它還首次展示了從西南亞尼安德特人身上獲取古代DNA的可能性，由于氣候變暖不能很好地保存遺傳物質(zhì)，這一壯舉被證明是困難的。

Most exciting of all, this newly unearthed Neanderthal will provide much-needed revelations into the funerary practices of H. neanderthalensis. For starters, the new skeleton was discovered in the same small cave as at least four other Neanderthal individuals recovered in the 1960s, including the infamous “flower burial” Neanderthal. This suggests the group was buried in an organized fashion, like a Neanderthal graveyard.

最令人興奮的是，這個(gè)新出土的尼安德特人將為尼安德特人的葬禮習(xí)俗提供急需的啟示。首先，在20世紀(jì)60年代，至少有另外四名尼安德特人被發(fā)現(xiàn)，包括臭名昭著的“花葬”尼安德特人，他們在同一個(gè)小洞穴中發(fā)現(xiàn)了這具新骨骼。這表明這群人被有組織的埋葬，就像尼安德特人的墓地一樣。

But was this part of a sophisticated ritualistic ceremony, ripe with meaning, like a human funeral? Or was it simply done out of practical concern, perhaps hiding the bodies from scavengers?

但是，這是一個(gè)復(fù)雜的儀式的一部分，充滿了意義，就像一個(gè)人的葬禮?或者只是出于實(shí)際考慮，也許是為了躲避食腐動物的尸體?

Ribs of the newly discovered Neanderthal. Fred Lewsey/Cambridge University

A preliminary analysis of the new Neanderthal's bones also contains evidence of pollen. While it's still too early to jump to any solid conclusions from this, it could eventually be used to answer the debate around whether the “flower burial” was a coincidence or a conscious effort to memorialize death, just like modern humans.

對新尼安德特人骨骼的初步分析也包含了花粉的證據(jù)。雖然現(xiàn)在下結(jié)論還為時(shí)過早，但它最終可以用來回答“花葬”是巧合還是像現(xiàn)代人一樣有意識地紀(jì)念死亡的爭論。

“Burial of the dead has long been considered a hallmark of modern human behavior, suggesting compassion for group members, care and mourning for the dead, and even perhaps spirituality and ideas about what happens after death,” explained Dr Pomeroy.

“埋葬死者長期以來被認(rèn)為是現(xiàn)代人類行為的一個(gè)標(biāo)志，暗示著對群體成員的同情，對死者的關(guān)心和哀悼，甚至可能是對死后發(fā)生的事情的靈性和想法，”Pomeroy博士解釋說。

“Our initial work on the soil micromorphology has shown mineralized plant material close to the bones of the new Neanderthal, and some evidence of pollen, which is highly relevant to the flower burial debate,” Pomeroy continued. "More work to identify pollen and other plant remains in soil samples taken from precisely recorded locations... will help us to show whether the plant remains are unique to the sediments surrounding the bones, identify the plants they come from, and exclude other explanations such as modern contamination or rodent activities."

“我們對土壤微形態(tài)的初步研究顯示，礦化的植物物質(zhì)接近新尼安德特人的骨骼，還有一些花粉的證據(jù)，與花葬的爭論高度相關(guān)，”Pomeroy繼續(xù)說。“更多的工作是從精確記錄的地點(diǎn)采集的土壤樣本中識別花粉和其他植物遺骸……這將有助于我們證明骨骼周圍的沉積物中是否存在唯一的植物遺骸，識別它們來自哪些植物，并排除其他解釋，如現(xiàn)代污染或嚙齒動物活動。”