第 1 單元，第 1 課
Creation narratives and the study of human origins創世敘事與人類起源研究
這課一眼看
Creation narratives創世敘事
- creation narratives創世敘事: A story a culture tells about how the world and people began.
Tools for studying the deep past研究遠古的工具
- radiocarbon dating放射性碳定年: Dating once-living remains by measuring carbon-14.
- ancient DNA古 DNA: Genetic material recovered from old bones.
1Creation narratives創世敘事
AStories of beginnings關於起源的故事
- For thousands of years, communities have told creation narratives, stories that use a group’s beliefs and the evidence it has to explain how the world and people came to be. These stories differ from culture to culture because they reflect what each community valued.數千年來，各個社群都流傳著創世敘事：運用群體的信仰和手上的證據，解釋世界與人類如何出現的故事。這些故事因文化而異，因為它們反映了各個社群重視的價值。
- The Hebrew Bible (Genesis) describes one God creating the world in six days, traditionally understood as creation from nothing.
- A Yoruba story from West Africa tells of a god who came down from the sky, made dry land, and founded the city of Ife.
- Early Hindu texts imagine a universe millions of years old, and Chinese thinkers of the Han dynasty described the world beginning from formless emptiness that separated into heaven and earth.
- The Maya Popol Vuh says the gods made the first people from maize dough.
- 希伯來聖經（創世記）描述唯一的神在六天內創造世界，傳統上理解為從無中創造。
- 西非約魯巴人的故事說，一位神從天而降，造出陸地，建立了伊費城。
- 早期印度教經典想像宇宙已有數百萬年歷史；漢代中國思想家則描述世界起源於混沌虛空，再分化為天與地。
- 馬雅的《波波爾烏》說眾神用玉米麵團造出最早的人類。
- Historians do not study these stories to decide which one is “true.” They study them to learn what each community believed about people, nature, and the gods. In all traditional stories, people appear fully formed at one moment; none imagined that humans slowly evolved or that humanity began in Africa.歷史學家研究這些故事，並不是要判斷哪一個「正確」，而是要了解每個社群對人類、自然與神靈抱持什麼看法。在所有傳統故事裡，人類都是在某一刻以完整的樣貌出現；沒有一個故事想到人類是慢慢演化而來，或人類起源於非洲。
BThe scientific timeline科學的時間尺度
- Modern science offers its own account of beginnings, built on evidence that keeps growing. The universe is about 13.8 billion years old, Earth about 4.5 billion years old, and the first life appeared about 3.8 billion years ago. Hominins split from the apes only about 7 million years ago, a tiny fraction of Earth’s history.現代科學也提出自己的起源說明，而且隨著證據增加不斷更新。宇宙大約有 138 億年歷史，地球約 45 億年，最早的生命約在 38 億年前出現。人族大約在 700 萬年前才和猿類分開，只占地球歷史極小的一部分。
From the big bang to modern humans從大爆炸到現代人類
| Event事件 | About when大約時間 |
|---|---|
| Universe begins (big bang)宇宙誕生（大爆炸） | 13.8 billion years ago138 億年前 |
| Sun and Earth form太陽與地球形成 | 4.5 billion years ago45 億年前 |
| First life on Earth地球上最早的生命 | 3.8 billion years ago38 億年前 |
| First hominins最早的人族 | 7 million years ago700 萬年前 |
| Homo sapiens appears智人出現 | 300,000 years ago30 萬年前 |
| Farming begins農業開始 | 12,000 years ago (about 10,000 BCE)1 萬 2 千年前（約公元前 10,000 年） |
注意
Dates far in the past are often written as BP (“before the present”). For the last 12,000 years historians switch to BCE and CE. To convert, subtract about 2,000 years: 12,000 BP ≈ 10,000 BCE.很久以前的年代常寫成 BP（距今多少年）。最近一萬二千年，歷史學家改用 BCE（公元前）和 CE（公元）。換算時大約減去 2,000 年：距今 12,000 年 ≈ 公元前 10,000 年。
自我檢查
Why do historians compare creation narratives instead of judging which one is correct?歷史學家為什麼比較各種創世敘事，而不是判斷哪一個正確？
看答案
Because each story shows the values, beliefs, and setting of the community that told it, which is useful historical evidence.因為每個故事都反映了講述它的社群的價值觀、信仰與背景，這些都是有用的歷史證據。
2Tools for studying the deep past研究遠古的工具
ADating methods定年方法
- Since there are no written records from before about 5,000 years ago, scholars rely on science. In the mid-1900s, radiocarbon dating became the first major breakthrough. Living things take in carbon-14; after death it decays at a steady rate, so measuring what is left shows the age of bones, wood, or seeds up to about 40,000 years old.大約五千年前以前沒有文字紀錄，學者只能依靠科學。二十世紀中葉，放射性碳定年成為第一個重大突破。生物會吸收碳十四，死後碳十四以穩定速率衰變，因此測量剩餘的量，就能推算約四萬年以內的骨頭、木頭或種子的年代。
- Older finds need other methods. Potassium-argon dating measures volcanic rock, uranium-series dating works on shells, teeth, and bones, and thermoluminescence measures objects that were once heated, such as burnt soil or pottery. Even when a fossil cannot be dated directly, the layer of earth around it can be.更古老的發現需要其他方法。鉀氬定年用於火山岩；鈾系定年適用於貝殼、牙齒和骨頭；熱釋光定年則測量曾經受熱的物品，例如燒過的土壤或陶器。即使化石本身無法直接定年，也可以測定它周圍的地層。
How scientists date the past科學家如何測定年代
| Method方法 | What it measures測量對象 | Useful range適用範圍 |
|---|---|---|
| Radiocarbon (C-14)放射性碳（碳十四） | remains of living things生物遺骸 | up to about 40,000 years約 4 萬年以內 |
| Potassium-argon鉀氬定年 | volcanic rock火山岩 | about 100,000 years and older約 10 萬年以上 |
| Uranium-series鈾系定年 | shells, teeth, bones貝殼、牙齒、骨頭 | up to about 500,000 years約 50 萬年以內 |
| Thermoluminescence熱釋光定年 | heated soil, pottery, crystals受熱的土壤、陶器、晶體 | up to about 500,000 years約 50 萬年以內 |
| Ancient DNA古 DNA | genes from old bones古老骨頭中的基因 | rebuilds people from a few bones從少量骨頭重建人的樣貌 |
BDNA and climate evidenceDNA 與氣候證據
- Mitochondrial DNA passes only from mothers to children, so comparing it among living people shows how closely groups are related. These studies point to one African population, about 150,000 to 200,000 years ago, as the ancestor of all living humans.粒線體 DNA 只由母親傳給子女，因此比較現代人之間的粒線體 DNA，就能看出群體之間的親緣遠近。這些研究指出，所有現代人的祖先是約十五萬到二十萬年前非洲的同一個族群。
- ancient DNA (aDNA), taken from old bones, lets scientists rebuild the genes of people who lived tens of thousands of years ago, even when only a finger bone or tooth survives. Climate scientists also study ice cores and tiny sea creatures in deep-sea mud to learn how warm or cold Earth was millions of years ago.從古老骨頭中取得的古 DNA，讓科學家即使只找到一根指骨或一顆牙齒，也能重建數萬年前人類的基因。氣候科學家則研究冰芯和深海泥中的微小海洋生物，了解數百萬年前地球的冷暖。
注意
In 2017, fossils and tools from Jebel Irhoud in Morocco were dated to about 315,000 years ago, pushing the earliest known Homo sapiens back by more than 100,000 years. Human origins keep being revised as new evidence appears.2017 年，摩洛哥伊羅島山（Jebel Irhoud）的化石和工具被測定為距今約 31.5 萬年，使已知最早的智人提前了十萬年以上。隨著新證據出現，人類起源的說法不斷被修正。
自我檢查
A team finds a 30,000-year-old wooden spear and a 1-million-year-old layer of volcanic ash. Which dating method fits each?研究團隊發現一支三萬年前的木矛，以及一層一百萬年前的火山灰。各適合用哪種定年方法？
看答案
Radiocarbon dating for the spear, since it is organic and younger than about 40,000 years; potassium-argon dating for the volcanic ash.木矛用放射性碳定年，因為它是有機物且不到四萬年；火山灰用鉀氬定年。
這課的重點字
- creation narratives創世敘事
- radiocarbon dating放射性碳定年
- ancient DNA古 DNA