第1756期:Stone Age Tool Discovery Raises Questions about Who Used Them

Scientists have discovered some of the oldest stone tools ever found at a research site in Kenya. But the find created a mystery about which group of early humans made and used the tools.

科学家们在肯尼亚的一个研究地点发现了一些最古老的石器。但这一发现创造了一个谜团，即哪一群早期人类制造并使用这些工具。

A study recently published in Science suggests early humans used the tools to cut up animals for food about 3 million years ago.

最近发表在《科学》杂志上的一项研究表明，大约 300 万年前，早期人类使用这些工具将动物切碎作为食物。

In the past, scientists thought our direct ancestors were the ones making and using tools. But two teeth from an extinct human-like creature were found at the site. This led researchers to believe that other kinds of hominins might have picked up tools too.

过去，科学家认为我们的直系祖先是制造和使用工具的人。 但在该地点发现了两颗已灭绝的类人生物的牙齿。 这让研究人员相信其他种类的古人类也可能会使用工具。

The term hominin is still developing and is used to describe species that are considered human or closely linked to humans.

人类一词仍在发展中，用于描述被认为是人类或与人类密切相关的物种。

The team said the newly found tools are probably the oldest example of what is known as the Oldowan toolkit. This was a set of tools that spread across Africa and beyond during the Stone Age.

该团队表示，新发现的工具可能是所谓的 Oldowan 工具包中最古老的例子。 这是一套在石器时代传播到非洲及其他地区的工具。

Rick Potts is the director of the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program. He told the Associated Press that he thinks the find adds to existing evidence that our direct ancestors may not have been the only users of Stone Age technology.

里克·波茨 (Rick Potts) 是史密森尼人类起源计划的负责人。 他告诉美联社，他认为这一发现增加了现有证据，证明我们的直系祖先可能不是石器时代技术的唯一使用者。

“Those teeth open up an amazing whodunit – a real question of, well, who were these earliest toolmakers?” Potts said.

“那些牙齿打开了一个惊人的侦探小说——一个真正的问题，嗯，这些最早的工具制造者是谁？” 波茨说。

The researchers said the tools date back to about 2.9 million years ago, when early humans used them to cut up hippopotamuses and other big animals for food. The study suggests these kinds of tools were widely used earlier than had been believed.

研究人员表示，这些工具可以追溯到大约 290 万年前，当时早期人类使用它们来切割河马和其他大型动物作为食物。 该研究表明，这些工具的广泛使用早于人们的想象。

Three kinds of tools were found. These included some with flat sides believed to have been used to crush plants, bone and meat. Others had sharp edges for cutting meat.

发现了三种工具。 其中包括一些据信用于压碎植物、骨头和肉类的扁平侧面。 其他人有锋利的边缘来切肉。

Thomas Plummer is with Queens College of the City University of New York and was the lead writer of the study. He told the AP that, with the tools found, early humans could cut and crush a wide range of materials. In addition, he said tools from the Kenyan site also suggested they had assisted early humans with eating.

Thomas Plummer 就职于纽约市立大学皇后学院，是该研究的主要作者。 他告诉美联社，利用发现的工具，早期人类可以切割和压碎各种材料。 此外，他说来自肯尼亚遗址的工具也表明它们曾帮助早期人类进食。

The site, known as Nyayanga, is in a hilly area on the shores of Lake Victoria. Since starting work there in 2015, researchers have also found many objects and animal bones.

该遗址被称为 Nyayanga，位于维多利亚湖岸边的丘陵地区。 自 2015 年开始在那里工作以来，研究人员还发现了许多物体和动物骨骼。

Plummer said cut marks on several hippo bones show they were cut up for their meat. The early humans also likely used the tools to break open antelope bones to get out marrow and tissue inside the bones, the study said.

Plummer 说，几块河马骨头上的切割痕迹表明它们是为了取肉而被切开的。 该研究称，早期人类也可能使用这些工具打开羚羊的骨头，以取出骨头内的骨髓和组织。

Plummer added that the stone tools permitted the early humans to get and process a lot of necessities from the environment. “If you can butcher a hippo, you can butcher pretty much anything,” he said.

Plummer 补充说，石器使早期人类能够从环境中获取和处理许多必需品。 “如果你能屠杀河马，你几乎可以屠杀任何东西，”他说。