The secret society of the Great Dismal Swamp - Dan Sayers

翻译人员: 思辰 李 校对人员: Helen Chang

横跨弗吉尼亚和北卡罗莱纳

Straddling Virginia and North Carolina is an area that was once described as the

有个地方曾被称为 “最令人嫌弃的美国领土”

“most repulsive of American possessions.”

By 1728, it was known as the Great Dismal Swamp.

到了1728年，这里被称为 迪斯默尔大沼泽（大苍凉沼泽）。

But while many deemed it uninhabitable,

尽管许多人认为这里不适宜居住，

recent findings suggest that a hidden society persisted in the Swamp

近期的调查结果表明

这个沼泽中曾经有过 一个大隐隐于市的社会，

until the mid-1800′s.

这个群落一直延续到 19 世纪中叶。

So, who lived there? And what happened to them?

那么谁曾经生活在那里？ 发生了什么事？

People long suspected that communities had settled in the Swamp,

许久以来，人们怀疑沼泽里有人居住，

but the historical record was spotty.

但鲜有任何有关的历史记录。

It wasn’t until 2003 that the first systematic archaeological foray

直到 2003 年，我们才开始了 第一次系统性的考古行动。

finally launched.

But, despite having been extensively drained over the years,

但就算附近的湿地 在过去几年逐渐干涸，

the wetland still presented many practical challenges.

探索这片湿地依旧是个不小的挑战。

Researchers had to penetrate thorny thickets,

研究人员需要穿越荆榛满目的树丛，

wade through waters studded with sinkholes,

跋涉充满沟壑的水潭，

and braved the threats of dangerous animals.

斗胆直面凶险的野兽。

After several months, they finally found islands in the Swamp’s interior.

几个月后，他们终于找到了 沼泽内部的小岛。

These formations quickly revealed traces of centuries-old secrets.

这些地形立马揭露了世纪秘密的踪迹。

Archeologists found buried markings that appear to have been left

考古学家们发现了埋藏的痕迹， 看似是垫高的小木屋、

by raised log cabins, fire pits, and basins

火坑和饮用水蓄水池的遗迹。

that may have collected drinking water.

They identified what seems to have been a palisade wall

他们发现了类似栅栏的建筑，

and excavated more than 3,000 artifacts,

出土了 3000 多件文物，

including weaponry, stone tools, and fragments of ceramic pipes and vessels.

有武器、石器，和陶管和容器的碎片。

These discoveries, combined with previous findings,

结合过去的发现，

helped tell a story that reaches far back in time.

这些新发现完述了 一个可以溯源过去的故事。

Indigenous American people began regularly inhabiting or visiting the area

美洲原住民在大约 在公元前 11,000 年时

就定期去到和暂住该区域了，

around 11,000 BCE, before it was even a swampland.

那时候这里甚至还不是沼泽。

A second era of occupation began much later.

然而，过了很久才有第二批人居住。

In the early 1600′s, more Indigenous people came seeking refuge

17 世纪初期，这里成了 更多原住民逃离外来殖民的避难所。

from colonization.

And later that century, it seems that Maroons—

同一个世纪的后期 似乎又有一批人涌入了这地区，

or people escaping from slavery— began entering the area.

他们是马龙人，也就是黑人逃奴。

In fact, the team’s findings support the theory

考古队的发现正巧证明了一个理论：

that the Great Dismal Swamp was home to the largest Maroon settlement

迪斯默尔沼泽 是北美最大的逃奴居住地。

in all of North America.

Because their success and survival depended on staying hidden

因为只有藏于外界才能生存，

from the outside world,

沼泽里的居民基本上自给自足。

these Swamp communities were largely self-sufficient.

Based on primary sources,

第一手资料表明，

historians believe that people cultivated grains and created homes, furniture,

历史学家认为这些人种植谷物， 建造房屋、家具、乐器等，

最大化利用了沼泽里一切可用的资源。

musical instruments, and more from the Swamp’s available resources.

These organic materials had probably already decomposed

不过在考古学家来访之前，

by the time archaeologists came to investigate.

这些有机材料可能早就分解了。

But researchers were able to find more durable objects,

但是研究人员有幸找到了 更结实耐久的物品：

like ceramic and stone items that were likely left by ancient Indigenous people

比如陶瓷和石器，

它们似乎被古代的原住民留下， 然后经由后人改造、重新使用。

then reused and modified by others later on.

Around the turn of the 19th century, It seems the relationship

即将步入 19 世纪时，

沼泽居民和外界的关系似乎发生了变化。

between the Swamp’s community and the outside world changed.

Lumber and manufacturing companies began encroaching on the Swamp’s interior.

木材和制造业公司开始进军沼泽里。

They brought thousands of free and enslaved workers to live in the Swamp

他们给沼泽带来了数以千计 奴隶和自由人的工人。

and made them harvest wood, excavate canals, and drain fields.

要他们砍伐林木、开掘河道， 还排干了田地。

Certain findings suggest that the Swamp’s hidden communities

一些调查结果表明，隐秘的沼泽居民们

might have switched to a more defensive mode during this period.

在这个时候似乎已经开始有所防备。

But researchers also observed more mass-produced objects from this time,

不过因为研究人员也发现此时 有了更多大规模炮制的产品，

indicating that trading was taking place.

显示双方可能也有贸易往来。

Researchers think that the secret Swamp communities dispersed

研究人员认为

隐秘的沼泽居民社区四散的时间是在

during or soon after the American Civil War,

在美国内战期间或结束不久后，

by the end of which slavery was abolished in the United States.

那时美国废奴了。

Some people may have stayed in the Swamp until they passed away

或许有些人留在沼泽终其一生，

or left to settle elsewhere.

或许另外的人择地迁居。

Most of what we know about these hidden communities has come to light

在考古学家发掘出 其中一个岛屿的躯块后，

after archeologists excavated sections of a single island.

这些隐秘居民的故事 终于被曝光于大众。

However, there may have been hundreds of habitable islands

然而，当时的沼泽里 可能有数百个可居住的岛屿。

dotting the Swamp’s interior at the time.

Between 1600 and 1860, many people lived in these hidden settlements.

1600 年至 1860 年间， 有许多人曾栖身在这些隐世居所。

Some probably lived their entire lives within the Swamp

有些人甚至一辈子都在沼泽里度过，

and never saw a white person or experienced racial persecution

没有见过白人，也没有经历过 美国社会的种族迫害。

in broader American society.

Generations of Black Maroons and Indigenous Americans

一代又一代的逃亡黑人和美洲原住民

通过在大沼泽的中心 建立一个独立的社会

resisted slavery and colonization by creating an independent society

来抵抗奴隶制和殖民化。

in the heart of the Great Dismal Swamp.

They fostered a refuge in what might seem like the unlikeliest of places—

他们把自己的避难所 建立在看似最荒凉的地方，

but one that was more hospitable than what lay outside.

但这地方远比外面的世界 更友好、更怡人。

Today, this area offers a partial record of that secret, self-reliant world,

如今，这个地方不完全地记录了 一个秘密，自给自足的世界，

imagined and built for survival and the preservation of freedom.

一个为生存和自由的存续 而创造的世界。