The Dinosaur Detectives of Real-Life Jurassic Parks | Martin Lockley | TED

翻译人员: Yip Yan Yeung 校对人员: Jacky He

I'm a paleontologist,

我是一名古生物学家，

which means I have what I'm told is every seven-year-old's dream job.

我知道这是每一位 七岁小朋友的梦想职业。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But I don't spend my time digging up the remains of dead animals.

但我不是花大把时间挖掘动物遗骸，

Instead, I'm on the trail of clues left by dinosaurs

而是寻找恐龙

and other extinct animals

和其他已灭绝动物

when they were active and very much alive.

存活时留下的痕迹。

If I were to share with you some tracking tips,

如果我与大家分享 一些追踪的小提示，

could you also become master trackers and find these same clues?

你能成为追踪大师， 找出这些线索吗？

Why not?

为什么不呢？

Fifty years ago, most paleontologists thought that fossil footprints,

50 多年前，很多古生物学家 认为化石足迹，

which we also call trace fossils,

也名叫“遗迹化石”，

were rare and unimportant.

是罕见且无价值的。

In fact, some scientific journals actually rejected papers on fossil footprints

实际上，有些科学期刊拒收了 研究化石足迹的论文，

without even sending them out for review.

甚至不将其送去评审。

And this was because at that time, it was mostly all about bones.

这是因为当时基本都是关于骨化石。

And you can see this by just looking at how many dinosaur skeletons there are

看看世界各地的博物馆里 放着多少具恐龙骨架

in museums around the world.

就很明显了。

But sometimes these bones don't tell us quite as much as we might think.

但有时这些骨头并不能 告诉我们所想象那么多的信息。

Take a look at your own body.

看看你自己的身体。

You've got one skeleton, right?

你也有骨架，对吧？

But how much could we really learn about you

但是你对自己

and all your day-to-day activities

和日常活动的了解

just by looking at your bones alone?

有多少仅仅是通过 研究你的骨头得出的？

Not much, perhaps.

也许没多少吧。

Fossil footprints, therefore, help us to bring these bones alive.

所以，化石足迹使我们得以 让这些骨头重获新生。

They are the nearest thing we really have to motion pictures

它们是最接近灭绝动物

or movies of extinct animals.

真实影像的东西。

So there's a big difference between the study of fossil footprints

研究化石足迹和遗迹化石 与骨化石之间

or trace fossils and bones.

有着很大的区别。

For example, imagine a dinosaur track site the size of a football field

比如，想象有一个 足球场这么大的恐龙遗址，

with 5,000 or maybe even 10,000 fossil footprints.

有五千甚至一万个化石足迹。

This is direct evidence of the activity of dozens,

这是好多头，

possibly hundreds of dinosaurs going about their daily activity.

也许是上百头恐龙 日常在此活动的明显证据。

Sites like this give us dinosaur detectives

这样的遗址是我们“恐龙侦探”的

the ultimate CSI challenge.

终极“犯罪现场调查”挑战。

And so it's no wonder

那么著名的

that the famous Sherlock Holmes once said,

夏洛克·福尔摩斯 曾经这样说便不奇怪了，

“There’s no branch of detective science so important and so much neglected

“侦探学的各个分支中， 没有比追踪足迹这项技术

as the art of tracing footsteps.”

更重要却被人忽略的了。”

He understood.

他是理解的。

He fully understood the importance of fossil footprints

他完全理解化石足迹

in reconstructing the activity and behavior

在还原已经离开案发现场的

of track makers

目标活动与行为中的重要性。

that had left the scene of the crime.

Fossil footprints bring animals back to life, then.

化石足迹使得动物“复活“。

Today, I'm on the trail of a T-Rex,

目前，我在追踪一只霸王龙，

tomorrow I'm tracking a Stegosaurus.

明天，我又去追踪剑龙。

The living animal can walk, run, hop, skip, jump,

活的动物能奔走跑跳、

dig a burrow, excavate a nest.

钻洞、造窝。

Tracks will tell us the direction an animal's going in,

足迹可以告诉我们 一只动物的去向，

whether it was small or large, a juvenile or an adult.

不论是小是大、 幼年还是成年。

Tracks of fast-moving dinosaurs can even tell us

敏捷恐龙的足迹 甚至能够显示

that they could out-sprint Usain Bolt at 30 miles per hour.

它们以每小时 30 英里的速度超过 尤塞恩·博尔特 (Usain Bolt)。

Tracks may also tell us

足迹也能告诉我们

if an animal was limping or injured

一只动物是否是跛脚，受伤的，

or whether it was traveling alone or in a group.

是独自出行还是集体行动。

Tracks, therefore played a pivotal role

所以，足迹在我们近年来

in what we call the dinosaur renaissance of recent years.

所谓的“恐龙文艺复兴”中 扮演了至关重要的角色。

This is when dinosaurs got a sophisticated makeover

这时，恐龙被重新认识，

and they were no longer regarded as stupid, defunct failures.

不再是愚蠢、无能的次品；

Instead, they were transformed into dynamic, athletic,

相反，它们摇身一变 成为生动、健壮、

intelligent movie stars.

聪明的电影明星。

I've probably found and studied

几年间，我大概 已经找到并研究了

a few hundred fossil footprint sites over the years.

几百个化石足迹地点。

So let me take you on a little field trip to one of my favorite locations,

我想请大家一起踏上旅途， 前往我最钟爱的地区之一——

South Korea.

韩国。

Here, on the shores of South Korea, we see these rocky steps

这儿，在韩国的海岸上， 我们看到这些石板，

and each one represents a mini landscape

而每一块代表着一亿年前的

a hundred million years old.

微型地貌。

If we look at this first surface,

在这片表面上，

we'll see one of those fast-moving theropods

可以看出有一头 行动迅速的兽脚亚目恐龙

heading off to the north at high speed.

正高速向北边前进。

On the next level,

向上一层，

we see a series of parallel trackways

我们可以看到一系列平行足迹，

representing the dinosaurs we call Brontosaurus.

来自我们所称的“雷龙”。

They were probably subadults, not fully grown,

它们可能处于亚成体阶段， 还没有完全成熟，

but they were still larger than baby elephants.

但仍比大象幼崽要大。

On the next level,

再往上一层，

we see the tracks of thousands of birds.

我们可以看到许多只鸟的足迹。

These are only one inch long.

它们只有一英寸长，

But they're indistinguishable from the tracks of a modern sandpiper

但它们与现代鹬 和湖边的鸻

or a plover on a lake shore.

留下的足迹别无二致。

Up on the next level,

更上一层，

we see another trackway of a giant.

我们看到了另一头巨型动物的踪迹。

This is an animal with a footprint three feet in diameter.

这只动物的足迹直径为三英尺。

It must have weighed 10 tons and been 100 feet long.

它应该重达 10 吨， 长达 100 英尺。

On the next level,

继续往上，

we find the extraordinary trackway of a bipedal crocodile.

我们看到双足鳄鱼 留下的特别足迹。

These are extremely rare,

这类鳄鱼非常少见，

and they probably looked like the carnivorous dinosaurs

看起来可能像肉食恐龙，

and were just as ferocious at 15 feet long.

并且长达 15 英尺， 同样地凶暴。

Lastly, we step up one more level and we have the tiny tracks of a lizard,

我们最后再往上一层， 看到蜥蜴留下的细小足迹，

and next to it the tracks of a heron-like bird.

旁边的是来自类似鹭的 鸟类的足迹。

This heron might have been a lizard-eater.

这只鹭也许以蜥蜴为食。

Well, we haven't walked that far along the shoreline,

我们沿着海岸线没走多远，

but we still stepped up through 1,000 years,

但穿过了一千年，

represented by five or six layers of strata.

五六层地层。

Each surface is a mini landscape.

每个表面是个微型地貌。

Each surface is a time-lapse frame

每一层都是一帧延时摄影，

in a documentary about life

沿着一亿多年的韩国湖岸

along a 100-million-year-old Korean lakeshore.

所展现的生命纪录片。

When we go around this next headland,

我们在这个海角兜兜转的时候，

we run into a group of schoolchildren with clipboards and tape measures,

遇见了一队小学生， 带着写字板和卷尺，

and they're busy estimating the size and speed

忙着通过足迹估计 各种恐龙的大小和速度。

of a dozen different dinosaurs from their tracks.

Their young teacher is a paleontologist.

他们那位年轻的老师 是一名古生物学家。

She studied fossil footprints for her master's degree,

她在硕士期间研究了化石足迹，

and since she graduated,

在她毕业后，

this area has become a national natural monument.

这一带变成了国家级自然遗址。

And so above us,

在我们之上，

we see a huge new dinosaur museum

那是一座新建的 大型恐龙博物馆，

and arching up the huge neck of a stainless steel sauropod

一只不锈钢蜥脚龙或 雷龙的巨大脖颈伸展着，

or Brontosaurus,

looming over a courtyard studded with dinosaur tracks.

俯瞰着布满恐龙足迹的后院。

This area has also been designated the Korean Cretaceous Dinosaur Coast,

这一块地域也被命名为 “韩国白垩纪恐龙海岸”，

or the KCDC.

即 KCDC。

Let's take another field trip

我们踏上另一场旅途，

and we'll find ourselves in Colorado.

来到科罗拉多洲。

Meet my friends Ken and Jason.

见见我的朋友肯（Ken） 和杰森（Jason）。

They're not paleontologists,

他们不是古生物学家，

but they know the difference between a bobcat track

但他们也能快速分辨

or a coyote track if they see one.

山猫与郊狼的足迹。

These two lads have actually found more fossil footprints sites

这两位兄弟发现的化石足迹遗址

than most professional paleontologists,

比大多数专业古生物学家都多，

and that's because they've learned how and where to look.

这是因为他们知道 怎么样、上哪儿去找。

As they say, just observe and you'll see a lot.

他们说，观察吧， 你会看到很多东西的。

We're looking at these extraordinary traces.

我们看着这些奇特的足迹。

They're very puzzling.

它们让人很迷惑。

What are they?

这些是什么呢？

They looked like they might be digging traces.

看起来是挖掘的痕迹。

Long story short, we figure out that these are the traces

长话短说，我们发现这些是

left by dinosaurs excavating what are called pseudo nests.

恐龙挖掘伪巢时留下的痕迹。

It turns out that these particular dinosaurs

原来这些特殊的恐龙

are the ancestors of modern birds,

是现代鸟类的祖先；

and they liked to show off their prowess as nest builders

它们喜欢在繁殖季节炫耀自己

高超的筑巢技巧。

during the breeding season.

This is an extraordinary discovery

这是一个非比寻常的发现，

because it’s practically a dinosaurian lover’s lane.

因为这可被比作恐龙的 情人小径。

It's a rendezvous for dinosaurian trysts,

这是恐龙的幽会地点，

a rendezvous for lovebirds.

爱情鸟的碰头地点。

What's also interesting is that paleontologists,

更有趣的是 古生物学家们

once they learned that these particular dinosaurs

知道了这类恐龙

were the ancestors of modern birds,

是现代鸟类的祖先后，

they wrote hundreds of scientific papers speculating, and I say speculating,

写下了上百份学术论文“推测”， 我说是“推测”，

on whether they used their colored crests and colored feathers to show off

这些恐龙是否在 繁殖季节利用自己的

during the breeding season.

彩色鸟冠和羽毛炫耀。

They probably did show off.

也许是这样。

But here at our feet,

但在我们的脚边，

we actually have the first physical evidence

这是第一片 恐龙求偶的实体证据。

of dinosaur courtship.

And what's more, it tells us

这还反映出

that this behavior went back for a hundred million years.

此行为可以追溯到上亿年前。

So males showing off to females

雄性向雌性炫耀，

or partners showing off to one another,

或者配偶互相炫耀，

it's nothing new.

没什么新奇的。

My dad was actually an ornithologist

我的父亲就是一名鸟类学家，

and he studied the behavior of modern birds

他研究了现代鸟类

during their frenzied, energetic activity in the breeding season.

在繁殖季节激情狂热的 活动中的行为。

He'd be absolutely astonished by this kind of evidence

他一定会对这类恐龙行为的

of fossil behavior among dinosaurs.

化石证据感到惊奇。

Imagine for a minute these little birds scratching in the sand

想象一下， 小鸟在沙子上经过，

and how different it would be to see a giant,

这与一头巨型

2,000-pound carnivorous dinosaur gouging huge scoops in the substrate.

2000 磅的肉食恐龙在地层上 踩出巨坑的差别。

Imagine the hormonal cries and the frenzied roars.

想象一下求偶的叫声和歇斯底里的咆哮。

This seems newsworthy.

这似乎是有新闻价值的。

We predict that it will be more than just another report

我们预测这将不单单是 有关恐龙发现的

of a dinosaur discovery.

另一篇报告而已。

And sure enough,

没错，

we make the lead on the "Nature" journal website

我们确实登上了 《自然》期刊的网站首页，

and we get into the monologues of the late night talk show comedians.

我们也在深夜 脱口秀中被提及。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I'd be rich if I had a dollar for every person

如果每个告诉我长大后想成为

who told me that they really wish they'd been a paleontologist

古生物学家的人都给我一美元，

when they grew up.

那我得发财了。

I'd also do OK if I had a dollar for every fossil footprint I found.

如果我每发现一处化石足迹 就得到一美元，我也会过得不错。

But knowing that the Earth's bedrock is full of these treasures,

但既然知道地球的基岩 充满着这些宝藏，

my motto is quite simple:

我的座右铭很简短：

Just keep on tracking, keep on exploring.

持续地追寻，持续地探索。

But the real satisfaction comes from the thrill

不过真正的满足感来源于

of knowing that I can find these sites,

知道我能找到这些遗迹，

that my friends and colleagues can find these sites,

我的朋友同事们 能找到这些遗迹，

that people like you can find these sites

像在座各位的大众 也可以找到这些遗址的欣喜，

and that they have become valued

知道它们会成为受保护、

and protected institutions or destinations.

具有价值的机构或地点。

It's very important that these landscapes,

这些地貌，这些古老的地貌

these ancient landscapes are preserved because they are actual Jurassic parks.

受到保护至关重要， 因为它们是现实中的侏罗纪公园。

They are places where dinosaurs and extinct animals lived and loved

这是恐龙和灭绝的动物生存、择偶

and fought for survival.

并为生存而拼搏的地方。

Just as we protect sites like Stonehenge or Pompeii

像我们保护巨石阵、庞贝古城

or the Grand Canyon,

和大峡谷这般，

we need to protect these sites for the future.

我们该将这些遗址保留至今后。

This is what we call our geoheritage.

这是我们所谓的“地质遗产”。

It is a memory,

它是记忆，

and it's vitally important that we preserve it

而我们为以后七代七岁多的恐龙侦探

for the next seven generations of seven-year-old dinosaur trackers.

保存它至关重要。

Thank you very much.

非常感谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）