在印度发现了神秘的石器，由此可能早期人类起源于非洲 [英国媒体]

Mysterious stone tools found in India suggest early human exit from Africa

在印度发现了神秘的石器，由此可能早期人类起源于非洲



Advanced stone tools and blades found at a site in India have made archaeologists question the origins and early evolution of humans outside Africa.

印度一处遗址发现了先进的石器和刀片引起了考古学家对非洲以外人类的起源和早期进化提出了质疑。

Over 7,000 artefacts were unearthed at Attirampakkam in southern India, some of which suggest a level of development known as “Middle Palaeolithic culture”.

在印度南部的阿提帕马卡姆发现了超过7000件文物，其中一些表明了一种被称为“中旧石器时代文化”的发展水平。

Based on analysis of the tools, this culture appears to have emerged in India around 385,000 years ago, roughly the same time it developed in Europe and Africa.

根据对这些工具的分析，这种文化似乎在大约385000年前出现在印度，大致与它在欧洲和非洲发展的时间相同。

The findings challenge the assumption that Middle Palaeolithic technology was brought to India between 46,000 and 140,000 years ago.

这一发现挑战了46000到140000年前中旧石器时代中期技术被带到印度的假设。

Crucially, it could also mean migration by modern humans out of Africa took place earlier than previously thought.  

至关重要的是，这也意味着现代人类从非洲迁移的时间比之前想象的要早。

However, the researchers noted they were “very cautious on this point” because no human fossils were found with the tools.

然而，研究人员指出，他们“在这一点上非常谨慎”，因为这些工具没有发现与人类化石一起。

Recently the discovery of a 200,000 year-old jawbone in Israel provided the earliest direct evidence of humans migrating out of Africa.

最近，以色列发现了一具200000岁的下颌骨，这是人类从非洲迁徙的最早直接证据。

That discovery was described as “exciting” by experts as it pushed the date of human migration out of Africa back by up to 100,000 years.

这一发现被专家们描述为“令人兴奋”，因为它将人类从非洲迁出的日期推迟了100000年。

However, the lack of human remains with the Indian tools means it is impossible to say for certain whether they were made by modern humans – Homo sapiens – or some other species of archaic human such as Neanderthals.

然而，缺乏人类遗骸与印度工具在一起的意味着这不可能确切地说它们是由现代人--智人--还是其他一些古老的人类制造的，比如尼安德特人。

Professor Shanti Pappu of the Sharma Centre for Heritage Education said it is unclear whether the technology is the result of migration bringing in new ideas, or early non-Homo sapiens inhabitants of the region developing advanced tools in isolation.

夏尔马遗产教育中心教授尚不清楚这项技术是移民带来的新观念，还是早期非智人居民在该地区孤立地开发先进的工具。

The results of the study were published in the journal Nature.

这项研究的结果发表在“自然”杂志上。

Dr Michael Petraglia, an archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, who was not involved in the research, said he did not think these tools provided enough evidence to push humanity’s departure from Africa even further back.

迈克斯·普朗克人类历史科学研究所考古学家迈克尔·彼得利亚博士没有参与这项研究，说他不认为这些工具提供了足够的证据来推动人类更早地离开非洲。

“I simply don’t buy it,” said Dr Petraglia, who specialises in early human evolution in Asia.

“我根本不相信它，”彼得利亚博士说，他专门研究亚洲早期人类进化的。

Instead, he agreed with the other option offered by Professor Pappu – that early, non-modern humans living in southern India developed the tool style without the need for input from outsiders.

相反，他同意帕普教授提供的另一种选择--居住在印度南部的早期非现代人类发展了这种工具风格，而不需要外界的投入。

The tools discovered at the Attirampakkam site show a range of complexities, and appear to show a development in style which could mean the more advanced Middle Palaeolithic tools were arrived at gradually.

在阿提帕帕克卡姆遗址发现的工具显示出一系列的复杂性，并且似乎在风格上有所发展，这可能意味着更先进的中旧石器时代工具逐渐出现。

Understanding the transition of tool making across India is difficult, as there are very few well-studied archaeological sites across the region.

了解整个印度的工具制造的过渡是困难的，因为在整个区域有非常少仔细研究过的考古遗址。