The Paleolithic Age舊石器時代

這課一眼看

Discovering Prehistory探索史前時代

• Homo sapiens智人: The species of modern humans, which first appeared in Africa.
• fossil化石: The remains of a living thing from long ago, like bones or teeth.
• artifact人工製品；文物: An object made by people, such as a tool.
• archaeologist考古學家: A scientist who finds and studies objects people left behind.
• Paleolithic Age舊石器時代: The Old Stone Age, about 2.5 million B.C. to 8000 B.C.

The Elements of Culture文化的要素

• culture文化: The whole way of life of a group of people.
• anthropologist人類學家: A scientist who studies human cultures and societies.

Changing Environments環境的變遷

• drought乾旱: A long period of very dry weather.
• Sahara撒哈拉: A huge desert in North Africa that was once green.
• oasis綠洲: A green area in a dry place where plants can grow.
• migration遷徙: The movement of people or animals from one place to another.
• technology科技；技術: Using knowledge, tools, and inventions to meet people's needs.

Moving into New Environments遷移到新環境

• Ice Age冰河時期: A long, cold period when ice covered much of Earth.
• land bridge陸橋: A strip of land connecting two large landmasses.
• Beringia白令陸橋: The land bridge that once joined Siberia and North America.
• megafauna巨型動物: Very large animals, like the woolly mammoth.

Tracking Migration Out of Africa追蹤走出非洲的路線

Cave Art洞穴藝術

• Lascaux Cave拉斯科洞窟: A cave in France with famous Paleolithic animal paintings.

1Discovering Prehistory探索史前時代

AClues from long ago來自遠古的線索

1. Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. Our own species, Homo sapiens, has existed for only about 200,000 years. Scientists know this from two kinds of evidence. Fossils are the remains of living things from long ago, such as bones and teeth. Artifacts are objects made by people, such as stone tools. Both help us study prehistory, the long time before written records.地球大約已有 45 億年的歷史，但我們這個物種「智人」只存在了大約 20 萬年。科學家是從兩種證據得知的。化石是遠古生物留下的遺骸，例如骨頭和牙齒；人工製品則是人類做出來的物品，例如石器。兩者都能幫助我們研究史前時代，也就是人類還沒有文字紀錄的漫長時期。
2. An archaeologist is a scientist who finds fossils and artifacts and explains what they mean. The job is a bit like solving a mystery. One method uses layers of soil. At a site that has not been disturbed, newer layers of dirt pile up on top of older ones. So the objects buried deepest are usually the oldest.考古學家是負責尋找化石和人工製品，並解釋它們意義的科學家。這份工作有點像在解謎。其中一種方法是觀察土層：在沒有被翻動過的遺址裡，較新的泥土會一層層堆在較舊的泥土上面。因此，埋得最深的物品通常年代最久遠。

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BWhere humans began人類從哪裡開始

1. Most scientists now agree that Homo sapiens first appeared in Africa. Earlier human-like species had lived there for millions of years before that. In 1967, a team led by Richard Leakey found two Homo sapiens skulls near the Omo River. This river is in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa. The valley's soil has preserved many human fossils.現在大多數科學家都同意，智人最早出現在非洲。在那之前，其他類似人類的物種已經在非洲生活了數百萬年。1967 年，理查·李奇帶領的團隊在奧莫河附近發現了兩個智人頭骨。這條河位於東非大裂谷，那裡的土壤保存了許多人類化石。
2. At first, people thought the Omo skulls were 130,000 years old. Newer tests show they are about 195,000 years old. They are the oldest known fossils of modern humans. These early people lived in the Paleolithic Age, from about 2.5 million B.C. to about 8000 B.C. It is also called the Old Stone Age, because people made simple stone tools and weapons.人們原本以為奧莫頭骨有 13 萬年歷史，但較新的測定顯示大約有 19.5 萬年，是目前已知最古老的現代人類化石。這些早期人類生活在舊石器時代，大約從公元前 250 萬年到公元前 8000 年。這個時期又叫「舊石器時代」，因為當時的人用石頭做簡單的工具和武器。

自我檢查

Why do archaeologists think objects in the deepest soil layers are the oldest?為什麼考古學家認為埋在最深土層的物品最古老？

看答案

At an undisturbed site, newer layers of dirt build up on top of older layers over time.在沒有被翻動過的遺址裡，較新的泥土會隨著時間堆在較舊的泥土上面。

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下一個： 2 The Elements of Culture文化的要素

2The Elements of Culture文化的要素

AWhat culture means什麼是文化

1. Culture is the whole way of life of a group of people. It includes language, clothing, music, art, laws, religion, government, and family structure. Parents pass culture on to their children. It shapes how people act and what they believe, such as which foods they eat or avoid. Culture unites a group and makes it different from other groups.文化是一群人整體的生活方式，包括語言、服裝、音樂、藝術、法律、宗教、政府和家庭結構。父母會把文化傳給孩子。文化影響人們的行為和信念，例如吃哪些食物、不吃哪些食物。文化讓一個群體團結在一起，也讓它和其他群體不一樣。
2. Early Homo sapiens already had culture. They talked with each other, painted on cave walls, made tools, and buried their dead. Language, art, toolmaking, and religion were the most important parts of early cultures. Still, each group did things a little differently. These differences came from each group's skills, its art style, and the natural resources nearby.早期的智人就已經有文化了。他們用語言溝通、在洞穴牆上作畫、製造工具，也會埋葬死者。語言、藝術、製造工具和宗教是早期文化最重要的部分。不過，每個群體的做法都有些不同，這些差異來自各群體的技術、藝術風格，以及身邊可用的自然資源。

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BWhy scientists study culture科學家為什麼研究文化

1. Culture changes over time, and some skills can almost disappear. Scientists study prehistoric cultures to see how they differ from modern ones and what all cultures share. An anthropologist is a scientist who studies human cultures and societies. Anthropologists and archaeologists work together. The objects archaeologists dig up help both groups picture how early people lived.文化會隨著時間改變，有些技能甚至可能幾乎消失。科學家研究史前文化，是想了解它們和現代文化有什麼不同，以及所有文化有什麼共同點。人類學家是研究人類文化和社會的科學家。人類學家和考古學家會互相合作，考古學家挖出的物品能幫助雙方想像早期人類的生活。
2. Tools from an ancient site show how skilled their makers were and what jobs they needed to do. Comparing objects from different sites can show why one group did better than another. Comparing objects from different time periods shows how people changed. This knowledge helps us understand the present and even make guesses about the future.古代遺址裡的工具可以顯示製造者的技術有多高，以及他們需要做哪些工作。比較不同遺址的物品，可以看出為什麼某個群體比另一個更成功；比較不同時期的物品，則能看出人類如何改變。這些知識幫助我們了解現在，甚至推測未來。

自我檢查

What were the four most important elements of early human cultures?早期人類文化最重要的四個要素是什麼？

看答案

Language, art, toolmaking, and religion.語言、藝術、製造工具和宗教。

練習 4

下一個： 3 Changing Environments環境的變遷

3Changing Environments環境的變遷

AA drought pushes people out乾旱迫使人們遷移

1. About 100,000 years ago, Africa's climate was unstable. Some areas became warmer and wetter, while others became hot and dry. Between 100,000 and 75,000 years ago, East Africa suffered a terrible drought, a long period of very dry weather. Rivers and large lakes shrank. The plants people ate became scarce, and the animals they hunted disappeared.大約 10 萬年前，非洲的氣候很不穩定。有些地方變得更溫暖潮濕，有些地方則變得又熱又乾。在 10 萬年前到 7.5 萬年前之間，東非發生了嚴重的乾旱，也就是長時間非常乾燥的天氣。河流和大湖逐漸縮小，人們吃的植物變得稀少，獵捕的動物也消失了。
2. At the same time, places that had been too harsh to live in became welcoming. The Sahara, now one of the harshest deserts on Earth, turned green like an oasis, an area where plants can grow. These changes may have pushed some of the 10,000 people in East Africa to leave. Their migration, or movement to a new place, led first to North Africa.同一時間，一些原本環境太惡劣、無法居住的地方卻變得適合生活。撒哈拉現在是地球上最嚴酷的沙漠之一，當時卻像綠洲一樣長滿植物；綠洲就是植物能夠生長的綠色地區。這些變化可能促使東非約一萬人中的一部分離開家園。他們的遷徙，也就是搬到新地方的移動，先到了北非。
3. From North Africa, people later moved into the wider world. This journey took tens of thousands of years, and it happened in many small steps. Wherever they went, people met new weather, new plants, and new animals. To survive, they had to find new ways of living, finding food, and staying safe.後來，人們又從北非走向更廣大的世界。這段旅程花了好幾萬年，是一小步一小步完成的。無論走到哪裡，人們都會遇到新的天氣、新的植物和新的動物。為了生存，他們必須找出新的方法來生活、取得食物和保護自己。

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BNew tools for new places新地方需要新工具

1. As people moved, they used technology to meet new challenges. Technology means using knowledge, tools, and inventions to meet people's needs. Controlling fire was one of the most valuable skills. Fire gave warmth and light. It scared away enemies and helped drive animals into traps. Cooking made meat easier to digest and killed harmful bacteria.人們在遷移時，靠科技來面對新的挑戰。科技是指運用知識、工具和發明來滿足人們的需要。控制火是最寶貴的技能之一：火能帶來溫暖和光亮，能嚇走敵人，也能把動物趕進陷阱。把肉煮熟能讓它更好消化，還能殺死有害的細菌。
2. Homo sapiens also improved the simple stone tools that had been used for millions of years. Flint, a hard stone, was very useful because it split into razor-sharp flakes. People designed tools for certain jobs, like chopping wood, cutting meat, or skinning animals. Later they made fishhooks from bone and sewing needles from ivory. These tools helped people survive from icy lands to deserts.智人也改良了已經使用了數百萬年的簡單石器。燧石是一種堅硬的石頭，可以敲成像剃刀一樣鋒利的薄片，因此非常有用。人們會針對特定工作設計工具，例如砍木頭、切肉或剝動物的皮。後來他們還用骨頭做魚鉤、用象牙做縫衣針。這些工具幫助人們在從冰天雪地到沙漠的各種環境中生存。

Paleolithic technology舊石器時代的科技

Technology科技	How it helped用途
Fire火	Warmth, light, protection, hunting, and cooking取暖、照明、防身、打獵和煮食
Flint tools燧石工具	Sharp edges for chopping, cutting, and skinning鋒利的邊緣可用來砍、切和剝皮
Bone fishhooks骨製魚鉤	Catching fish捕魚
Ivory needles象牙針	Sewing warm clothes縫製保暖衣物

自我檢查

Why did some Paleolithic people leave East Africa?為什麼有些舊石器時代的人離開了東非？

看答案

A long drought dried up water and food there, while places like the Sahara became green and livable.長期乾旱讓當地缺水缺糧，而撒哈拉等地方卻變得青綠、適合居住。

練習 6

下一個： 4 Moving into New Environments遷移到新環境

4Moving into New Environments遷移到新環境

ASpreading across the world散布到世界各地

1. Paleolithic people first left Africa for Southwest Asia about 70,000 years ago. That region was warm and tropical, with thick plant life and plenty of wild animals. In time, people spread much farther. From Asia, they reached Australia about 50,000 years ago. By about 40,000 years ago, they had reached Europe. Around 30,000 years ago, they arrived in Siberia, at the eastern edge of Asia.舊石器時代的人大約在 7 萬年前離開非洲，先到達西南亞。那裡溫暖、屬於熱帶，有茂密的植物和大量野生動物。後來人們越走越遠：大約 5 萬年前從亞洲到達澳洲，大約 4 萬年前抵達歐洲，大約 3 萬年前到了亞洲東邊的西伯利亞。

When people reached new lands人類何時到達新的土地

Place地區	About how long ago大約多久以前
Southwest Asia西南亞	70,000 years ago7 萬年前
Australia澳洲	50,000 years ago5 萬年前
Europe歐洲	40,000 years ago4 萬年前
Siberia西伯利亞	30,000 years ago3 萬年前
North America (by land bridge)北美洲（經由陸橋）	20,000–15,000 years ago2 萬至 1.5 萬年前
Central and South America中美洲和南美洲	About 12,000 years ago (some evidence says earlier)約 1.2 萬年前（部分證據顯示更早）

練習 7

BReaching the Americas抵達美洲

1. The Americas were the last continents people reached. The Ice Age may have made this possible. Around 20,000 years ago, so much water was frozen as ice that the sea was almost 400 feet lower than today. This uncovered a land bridge, a strip of land joining two landmasses. Many scientists think hunters walked across the Beringia land bridge from Siberia to North America.美洲是人類最後到達的大陸，而冰河時期可能讓這件事成為可能。大約 2 萬年前，大量的水結成冰，使海平面比今天低了將近 400 英尺，露出了陸橋，也就是連接兩塊陸地的一條土地。許多科學家認為，獵人從西伯利亞走過白令陸橋到達北美洲。
2. These crossings probably happened in several waves between 20,000 and 15,000 years ago. Scientists also think more travelers moved south through Central and South America when glaciers melted about 12,000 years ago. However, new evidence questions this timing. The genes of some South American people suggest their ancestors came from Australia about 35,000 years ago.這些穿越行動很可能在 2 萬到 1.5 萬年前之間分好幾批進行。科學家也認為，大約 1.2 萬年前冰河融化時，又有更多人往南穿過中美洲和南美洲。不過，新的證據對這個時間提出了質疑：一些南美洲人的基因顯示，他們的祖先可能在大約 3.5 萬年前從澳洲過來。
3. In addition, human footprints in Central America have been dated to about 40,000 years ago. If these dates are right, people were in the Americas long before the land bridge crossings. These clues support another idea. Some of the first Americans may have come by boat instead of on foot.此外，在中美洲發現的人類腳印，經測定大約有 4 萬年歷史。如果這些年代正確，代表早在走過陸橋之前，美洲就已經有人了。這些線索支持另一種說法：最早的一些美洲人可能是坐船來的，而不是從陸地走過來。

練習 8

CFollowing giant animals追著巨型動物走

1. People may have moved partly to follow the animals they liked to eat. Some were megafauna, which means large animals. The woolly mammoth, a relative of the elephant, stood 9 to 11 feet tall and weighed up to six tons. Its curved tusks could grow 13 feet long. The giant ground sloth weighed about five tons, but it was fairly harmless and mostly ate leaves and bark.人們遷移，可能有一部分是為了追捕愛吃的動物。其中有些是巨型動物，意思就是體型很大的動物。長毛象是大象的親戚，身高 9 到 11 英尺，重量可達 6 噸，彎曲的長牙可長到 13 英尺。大地懶重約 5 噸，但性情相當溫和，主要吃樹葉和樹皮。
2. The saber-toothed cat was more dangerous. It had two huge, sword-like teeth and weighed over 400 pounds. Woolly mammoths lived in northern Asia and parts of Europe and North America. Ground sloths and saber-toothed cats lived mainly in the Americas. About 11,000 years ago, these megafauna became extinct. Many scientists think people overhunted them, or the climate changed as the Ice Age ended.劍齒虎就危險多了，牠有兩根像劍一樣的巨大牙齒，體重超過 400 磅。長毛象生活在亞洲北部，以及歐洲和北美洲的部分地區；大地懶和劍齒虎主要生活在美洲。大約 1.1 萬年前，這些巨型動物都滅絕了。許多科學家認為，原因是人類過度獵捕，或是冰河時期結束時氣候改變。

自我檢查

How did the Ice Age help people reach North America?冰河時期如何幫助人類到達北美洲？

看答案

So much water froze into ice that sea levels dropped and uncovered the Beringia land bridge between Siberia and North America.大量的水結成冰，使海平面下降，露出了連接西伯利亞和北美洲的白令陸橋。

練習 9

下一個： 5 Tracking Migration Out of Africa追蹤走出非洲的路線

5Tracking Migration Out of Africa追蹤走出非洲的路線

AJeffrey Rose's discovery in Oman傑佛瑞·羅斯在阿曼的發現

1. Jeffrey Rose is an archaeologist and National Geographic Explorer who works in Southwest Asia. Geneticists, scientists who study DNA and heredity, had suggested a route for the first people leaving Africa. They thought people went through Ethiopia to Yemen and Oman, along the coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Rose searched Oman for flint tools to test this idea. For years, he found nothing on the coast.傑佛瑞·羅斯是一位考古學家，也是國家地理學會探險家，在西南亞進行研究。研究 DNA 和遺傳的遺傳學家曾提出，最早離開非洲的人是經過衣索比亞，沿著阿拉伯半島海岸到達葉門和阿曼。羅斯到阿曼尋找燧石工具來驗證這個說法，但多年來在海岸一帶什麼都沒找到。
2. In 2010, on the last day at his final site, Rose found a stone spear point. It was made in a style used only by the Nubian Complex, a people of Africa's Nile Valley. By the end of 2013, he had found more than 250 Nubian Complex sites in Oman. The tools were about 106,000 years old. So people had crossed through the middle of Arabia, not along the coast.2010 年，在最後一個遺址的最後一天，羅斯找到了一個石製矛頭。它的樣式只有非洲尼羅河谷的「努比亞文化群」才會使用。到了 2013 年底，他已在阿曼找到 250 多個努比亞文化群的遺址，這些工具大約有 10.6 萬年歷史。由此可見，人們是穿過阿拉伯半島中部，而不是沿著海岸前進。
3. Rose suggests that the spread happened in two stages. First, people may have left North Africa for Arabia more than 100,000 years ago. Then, about 40,000 years later, they left Arabia and settled the rest of the world. Rose now wants to know what made the technology and culture of the Nubian Complex so successful.羅斯認為，人類的擴散分成兩個階段：首先，人們可能在 10 萬多年前從北非來到阿拉伯；大約 4 萬年後，他們再離開阿拉伯，散布到世界其他地方。羅斯現在想知道，努比亞文化群的科技和文化為什麼這麼成功。

自我檢查

What new idea did Jeffrey Rose propose about the migration out of Africa?傑佛瑞·羅斯對走出非洲的遷徙提出了什麼新看法？

看答案

People from the Nile Valley first moved into the middle of Arabia, and the later spread around the world started from Arabia.尼羅河谷的人先遷移到阿拉伯半島中部，之後向全世界的擴散是從阿拉伯開始的。

練習 10

下一個： 6 Cave Art洞穴藝術

6Cave Art洞穴藝術

APainting on cave walls在洞穴牆上作畫

1. Art is an important part of culture because it shows creativity. Around 35,000 years ago, people began painting detailed pictures on cave walls. Such art has been found all over the world. At first, many archaeologists doubted that prehistoric people had the skill or time to make such beautiful work. Cave paintings were made over about 25,000 years, so their subjects vary a lot.藝術是文化的重要部分，因為它展現了創造力。大約 3.5 萬年前，人們開始在洞穴牆上畫出細緻的圖畫，這類藝術在世界各地都有發現。起初，許多考古學家不相信史前人類有能力、也有時間創作出這麼美的作品。洞穴壁畫的創作時間橫跨大約 2.5 萬年，所以題材非常多樣。
2. Many paintings show animals from the side, such as woolly mammoths and horses. Some show daily life, like hunters chasing deer with spears. Others are lines, circles, and geometric shapes. Handprints appear around the world. Artists often made them by blowing paint through a hollow reed over a hand pressed on the wall.許多壁畫畫的是動物的側面，例如長毛象和馬；有些畫的是日常生活，例如獵人拿著矛追鹿；還有一些是線條、圓圈和幾何圖案。手印在世界各地都看得到，畫家常常把手壓在牆上，再用空心蘆葦把顏料吹在手上，留下手的形狀。

練習 11

BFamous rock art sites著名的岩畫遺址

1. The Lascaux Cave in France has about 600 clear paintings made around 17,000 years ago. Most show animals in shades of red, yellow, and brown. Some of these animals are now extinct, including a bull-like creature almost 17 feet long. In Australia's Kakadu National Park, paintings show daily life and the spiritual beliefs of the Aborigines, Australia's first people.法國的拉斯科洞窟有大約 600 幅清晰的壁畫，大約完成於 1.7 萬年前，大多是用紅、黃、褐色畫成的動物。其中有些動物現在已經滅絕，包括一隻將近 17 英尺長、像牛一樣的動物。在澳洲的卡卡度國家公園，岩畫呈現了澳洲最早的居民原住民的日常生活和信仰。
2. Aboriginal beliefs include a deep bond with the land and nature, which people there still share today. In North Africa, the Tassili-n-Ajjer mountains have paintings of wild animals and grasslands in a place that is now desert. In Argentina, the Cave of the Hands has a whole wall of handprints. Researchers think some of them belonged to 13-year-old boys.原住民的信仰包含與土地和大自然的緊密連結，當地人至今仍保有這種想法。在北非，阿傑爾高原的壁畫描繪了野生動物和草原，但那裡現在已是沙漠。在阿根廷，手洞裡有一整面牆的手印，研究人員認為其中有些是 13 歲男孩留下的。
3. No one knows for sure why people painted in dark, hard-to-reach caves. Some researchers think most early art was made outdoors and has faded away over time. We may never fully understand what the paintings meant. Still, they give us a rare look at the lives and culture of our ancestors.沒有人確切知道，為什麼人們要在又暗又難到達的洞穴裡作畫。有些研究人員認為，早期大部分的藝術其實畫在戶外，只是隨著時間褪色消失了。我們也許永遠無法完全了解這些畫的意義，但它們讓我們難得地看見祖先的生活和文化。

Famous Paleolithic art sites著名的舊石器時代藝術遺址

Site遺址	Where地點	What it shows內容
Lascaux Cave拉斯科洞窟	France法國	About 600 animal paintings, some of extinct animals約 600 幅動物畫，部分動物已滅絕
Kakadu National Park卡卡度國家公園	Australia澳洲	Daily life and Aboriginal spiritual beliefs日常生活與原住民的信仰
Tassili-n-Ajjer阿傑爾高原	North Africa (Sahara)北非（撒哈拉）	Wildlife and grasslands where there is now desert如今是沙漠之地曾有的野生動物和草原
Cave of the Hands手洞	Argentina阿根廷	A wall covered with handprints布滿手印的整面牆

自我檢查

What does the rock art of the Tassili-n-Ajjer mountains tell us about the Sahara?阿傑爾高原的岩畫告訴我們撒哈拉的什麼事？

看答案

The Sahara once had grasslands and many wild animals, but it has since become a dry desert.撒哈拉曾經有草原和許多野生動物，後來才變成乾燥的沙漠。

練習 12

下一課： The Neolithic Age新石器時代