How to fossilize...yourself - Phoebe A. Cohen

如何让你自己成为化石——菲比A·科恩

翻译人员: Xinrong Li 校对人员: Dongxue Sun

想象自己若成为化石：

Imagine being a fossil:

touring the world's great museums,

在世界各大博物馆之间游走，

inspiring awe in onlookers of all ages,

使各年龄层的游客们都心怀敬畏，

posing for hordes of fawning photographers.

在大批殷勤的摄影师面前摆造型。

Sound like something you'd like?

听起来觉得还不错？

Well, good luck!

那么，祝你好运！

At least 99.9% of creatures that have ever lived

至少99.9%曾经存在过的生物

aren't preserved in the fossil record.

没能成为化石。

But forget about them,

不过不用管它们，

everyone else will,

因为剩下的都会成为化石，

and listen up!

仔细挺好！

If you want your corpse

如果你想要你的遗骨

in the exclusive 0.01% Club,

成为那0.01%，

the Hall of Preserved Fossil Fame,

进入名人化石保存室，

it will not be easy.

并不容易。

You better work!

你最好努力！

Step one: die.

第一步：死亡。

It's a cold, hard fact of fossilization.

成为化石的过程是冰冷无情的。

Everything paleontologists find

古生物学家发现的一切

was once alive and, at some point, died.

都是曾经活过，并且最终死掉的。

We'll skip the details

我们把细节跳过

and assume you had a long, fulfilling life

假设你拥有长久而幸福的一生

so we can get to what is really important --

然后再来看看最关键的部分——

how you die.

你怎么死的。

There are many ways to become a fossil,

变成化石的方式有很多，

so let's highlight your top death options.

我们着重聊聊那些高端一些的死法。

You could get yourself trapped in tree sap,

你可以将自己裹在树的汁液中，

which, when hardens, turns into amber

汁液会凝固变成琥珀

and can survive intact for millions of years.

可以完好无损的保存几百万年。

But unless you find a really big tree to sit under,

但除非你找到一棵足够大的树，

amber preservation will likely remain

不然琥珀很可能只会保存

the domain of insects and other very small animals.

昆虫和其他很小很小的动物尸体。

Generally, the right place to be

如果你想成为化石，

if you want to end up a fossil

一般来讲，最好的地方是

is wherever sediment is actively being deposited,

沉积物容易保存的地方，

like a lake or an ocean floor.

像湖底或海底。

A mountaintop or prairie?

山顶或大草原？

Not good!

不靠谱！

You need to get buried,

你要被埋起来，

the faster the better,

埋的越快越好，

because the longer you hang around on the surface,

因为你暴露在外的时间越久，

the more likely you'll get eaten,

就越可能被吃掉，

scavenged,

被捡走，

or otherwise destroyed

或者被破坏

before ever having a chance to get preserved.

在能够得到机会长久保存之前

If you can get buried someplace

如果你被埋在一个地方

with little to no oxygen,

一个缺少氧气甚至无氧的地方，

like a bog or a deep lake bottom,

像泥塘或者深湖底，

even better.

那就更好了。

That lack of oxygen will slow down your decay

缺氧会减缓你尸体的腐烂

and give you more time to fossilize.

给你更多时间变成化石。

So, let's say you're lucky enough to die

那么，假设你幸运地

and get buried in a shallow sea

死掉并且被埋在浅海

under muddy, sandy sediments.

在泥泞的、布满砂石的沉积物下。

What's your next move?

下一步干吗呢？

One option is a process

一种选择是经历

called permineralization.

所谓的石化过程。

While all your soft parts decay away,

伴随着你身上柔软的部分都慢慢腐烂，

your bones get saturated with mineral-rich waters.

你的骨骼充满富含矿物质的海水。

Bit by bit, microscopic crystals precipitate

渐渐地，这些海水中

out of these waters

凝结的微小晶体

to fill in the empty spaces and pores in your bones.

填充进你骨骼里的细孔。

Otherwise, you'd better hope

不然，你最好盼着

the sediments around you harden

在你骨骼渐逝时，

while your bones decay away

你周边的沉积物硬化

and another sediment or mineral fills in the spaces

有别的沉积物或矿物填充

your bones leave behind,

你骨骼留下的空间，

creating a perfect cast of your skeleton.

铸造成完美的骨骼造型。

Over time, the sediments around your fossil

久而久之，你身体化石周围的沉积物

will lithify or turn into rock.

将岩石化或者变成岩石。

But you're not in the clear yet!

但你还不是不能放心！

Many things could happen

这些沉积岩还会

to those sedimentary rocks

发生很多变化

that might destroy your chances

并且可能导致后人

of getting discovered.

没办法发现你身体变成的化石

They could get uplifted into a mountain range

他们可能因为地壳上升成为山脉

and eroded away

又被侵蚀流失

or carried along in an oceanic plate

或是随着大洋板块

and subducted back into the Earth's mantle,

潜没又进入地幔，

melting your fossil into hot mush.

将你的化石熔化。

Fingers crossed your rock surroundings

穿流过你周围的岩石

will get gently lifted up

会通过板块构造

by plate tectonics,

慢慢抬升，

sea levels will change,

海平面会变化，

and you'll end up under dry land

你最终会在干燥的陆面下

close to the surface,

接近地表，

but not so close

但又不是特别近

that erosion from wind and rain wipes you away

所以在你被发现之前

before someone can come find you.

表层的岩石被风雨侵蚀流失。

The last step in this long process,

这个漫长过程的最后一步，

an intrepid paleontologist has to come find you.

一位勇敢的古生物学家必须要找到你。

Maybe she's a research scientist

也许她是一名研究员

scouting for fossils your age and type

四处寻找你这样年龄和类型的化石

or just an amateur collector

或者只是业余收藏者

hoping for a fortuitous find.

期待偶然的发现。

She whacks away at layers of rock above you

她打碎你上面的层层岩石

or spots your fossil exposed

或者在河边经过一场洪水后

in a creek bank after a flood.

你化石的一部分露出来。

And there you are,

你就这样出现了，

a magnificent scientific discovery,

一个重大科学发现，

millions of years in the making!

经历几百万年的磨砺！

She and her colleagues gently extract you

她和她的同事们小心翼翼地

from the surrounding sediment,

把你从周围沉积物中取出，

measure and photograph

测量、拍照

all the bits and pieces they find,

对他们发现的一点一滴，

and begin the complex task of reconstructing

然后基于他们在你骨骼中发现的证据

how and when you lived

开始复杂的工作

based on the evidence they find in your bones.

重现你如何以及何时生活过。

Paleontologists will be some of your biggest fans

古生物学家会是你的一部分超级粉丝

along with all those admiring crowds at the museum.

还有博物馆里那些欣赏的众人。

You made it!

你成功了！

You spent years underground in obscurity,

你在地下默默无闻了那么多年，

shedding blood,

流血，

sweat,

流汗，

tears,

and your internal organs.

流泪，

失去五脏六腑。

You worked yourself to the bone

你努力到只剩骨头

until your bones disintegrated

直到你的骨骼分解

and were replaced by minerals and sediments.

被矿物和沉积岩取代。

But it was all worth it

当这一切都值得

because you're a famous fossil!

因为你成了著名的化石！

Now, you better hold that pose!

现在，最好保持那个姿势！