VOA慢速：肯尼亚发现七万八千年前一个幼儿的墓地
欢迎来到今天的VOA慢速专区。
今天为大家带来一篇关于考古的新闻。
It is a place of sadness:
这是一个令人伤心的地方:
a child perhaps 2-1/2 or 3 years old buried under the overhang of a cave, the upper part of the body once carefully wrapped in a cloth.
一个大概2岁半或3岁的孩子被埋在一个洞穴的悬垂下，身体的上半部分曾经被小心地裹在一块布里。
Scientists said last week they have found the oldest-known human burial in Africa, the continent that gave rise to our species.
科学家上周表示，他们在非洲发现了已知的最古老的人类墓穴。非洲是人类起源的大陆。
The area dates to about 78,000 years ago at a cave called Panga ya Saidi near the Kenyan coast.
该地区可追溯到大约7.8万年前，位于肯尼亚海岸附近一个名为Panga ya Saidi的洞穴。
Scientists called the child 'Mtoto,' which means 'child' in Swahili.
科学家称这个孩子为“Mtoto”，在斯瓦希里语中是“孩子”的意思。
The discovery explains some of the development of early social behaviors in human species, known as Homo sapiens, researchers say.
研究人员称，这一发现解释了人类(即智人)早期社会行为的一些发展。
María Martinón-Torres is the director of the National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH) in Spain.
玛丽亚·马蒂农·多雷斯是西班牙国家人类进化研究中心(CENIEH)主任。
She is also the lead author of the study published in the publication Nature.
她也是发表在《自然》杂志上的这项研究的主要作者。
Martinón-Torres said the child was buried near where he lived.
马蒂农·多雷斯说这个孩子被埋在他住的地方附近。
She added, "Only humans treat the dead with the same respect, consideration and even tenderness they treat the living.
她补充说:“只有人类才会像对待生者那样尊重、体谅甚至温柔地对待死者。
Even when we die, we continue to be someone for our group."
即使我们死了，我们仍然是这个群体的一部分。”
Human species first appeared in Africa more than 300,000 years ago, later spreading worldwide.
人类最早出现在30多万年前的非洲，后来扩散到全世界。
The remains of the bones were found in a round hole.
骨头的残骸是在一个圆洞里发现的。
They were secured in plaster and later taken to the research center for study.
他们被固定在石膏上，然后被带到研究中心进行研究。
The researchers believe that the child was placed in the grave with his knees upward, lying on his side.
研究人员认为，这个孩子被放在坟墓里时，膝盖朝上，侧身躺着。
It is not yet known if the child is a male or female.
目前尚不清楚该儿童是男孩还是女孩。
The body was fresh when it was buried, then quickly covered with dirt from the floor of the cave.
尸体刚被埋葬时还是一尘不染的，然后很快就被洞穴地板上的泥土覆盖了。
"This would likely have been a group act, perhaps by members of the child's family.
“这可能是集体行为，可能是孩子的家庭成员所为。
All of these behaviors are, of course, very similar to those observed in our own species today,
所有这些行为，当然，与我们今天观察到的我们自己的物种非常相似，
so we can relate to this act even though the burial dates to 78,000 years ago," said study co-author Nicole Boivin.
所以我们可以联系到这种行为，即使埋葬可以追溯到78000年前，”研究合著者尼科尔·博伊文说。
She is an archaeologist and director at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany.
她是德国马克斯·普朗克人类历史科学研究所的考古学家和主任。
The researchers wondered about the special meaning of a child's burial.
研究人员想知道儿童葬礼的特殊意义。
It is unclear when funereal behavior began,
目前还不清楚这种葬礼行为是从何时开始的，
but both Homo sapiens and its closely related species, Neanderthal, practiced it.
但智人和其近亲尼安德特人都有这种行为。
Martinón-Torres called it "a type of behavior that allow us to maintain links with those who died and offer a farewell."
马蒂农·多雷斯称这是一种“允许我们与死者保持联系并告别的行为”。
The oldest Neanderthal burial area, in Israel, dates to about 120,000 years ago,
在以色列发现的最古老的尼安德特人墓葬区可以追溯到12万年前，
similar in age to the oldest-known Homo sapiens burials, also in Israel, Boivin said.
与同样在以色列发现的最古老的智人墓葬年代相似，博伊文说。
The researchers said it is unclear whether funereal behavior began outside Africa and was later practiced in Africa or began in Africa.
研究人员说，尚不清楚葬礼行为是起源于非洲以外，后来在非洲盛行，还是起源于非洲。
There is not enough archeological evidence to know.
没有足够的考古证据来了解。
Mtoto was part of a hunter-gatherer culture.
Mtoto是狩猎采集文化的一部分。
Animal remains were also found in the area, set in a forest.
在该地区的森林里也发现了动物遗骸。
Stone tools were also found, including pointed stones for weapons.
还发现了石器，包括用于武器的尖石。
"So, we have a picture of what life was like at the time of Mtoto's life and death," Boivin said.
“所以，我们有了一幅这个孩子生和死时的生活图景，”博伊文说。
I'm Susan Shand.
苏珊·尚德报道。
这里是 美国之音 频道