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

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

I'm a paleontologist,

我是古生物學家，

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

據說這工作是每個七歲孩子的夢想。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

但我的時間並不是花在 挖掘死亡動物的遺骸。

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

反之，我是在追蹤恐龍 及其他絕種動物在活著

and other extinct animals

when they were active and very much alive.

且很活躍的時候留下的線索。

If I were to share with you some tracking tips,

如果我和各位分享一些追蹤密訣，

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

各位也能成為追蹤大師， 找到同樣的線索嗎？

Why not?

為什麼不能？

Fifty years ago, most paleontologists thought that fossil footprints,

五十年前，

大部分古生物學家認為 化石腳印，也稱為生痕化石，

which we also call trace fossils,

were rare and unimportant.

很稀有且不重要。

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

事實上，一些科學期刊實際上還會

退回關於化石腳印的論文， 連送審查的機會都沒有。

without even sending them out for review.

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

那是因為在當時， 這類論文的重點都是骨頭。

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

這點很明顯，你只需要看看 有多少恐龍骨骼被展示

in museums around the world.

在世界各地的博物館裡。

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

但是，

有時這些骨頭沒辦法告訴我們太多 資訊，這點與我們的想像不同。

Take a look at your own body.

看看你自己的身體， 你也有一套骨骼對吧？

You've got one skeleton, right?

But how much could we really learn about you

但我們能從中了解多少關於你 以及你日常活動的資訊？

and all your day-to-day activities

just by looking at your bones alone?

光看你的骨頭就能看出來？

Not much, perhaps.

可能不多。

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

因此，化石足跡

協助我們讓這些骨頭活過來。

They are the nearest thing we really have to motion pictures

它們是目前我們能取得最接近

or movies of extinct animals.

絕種動物電影的資料。

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

這兩者有很大的差別：研究

化石腳印（生痕化石）和研究骨頭。

or trace fossils and bones.

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

比如，想像一個恐龍遺址， 大小和一個足球場一樣，

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

裡面有五千或甚至一萬個化石腳印。

This is direct evidence of the activity of dozens,

這是直接的證據，

可以證明數十隻或可能數百隻

possibly hundreds of dinosaurs going about their daily activity.

恐龍在進行牠們的日常活動。

Sites like this give us dinosaur detectives

像這樣的遺址對我們這些

恐龍偵探而言是最終的 CSI （犯罪現場調查）挑戰。

the ultimate CSI challenge.

And so it's no wonder

所以，也難怪

that the famous Sherlock Holmes once said,

有名的夏洛克‧福爾摩斯曾經說過：

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

「偵探科學的分支當中，

非常重要卻又被大大忽視的

as the art of tracing footsteps.”

就是追蹤腳步的技藝。」

He understood.

他了解，他完全了解 化石腳印的重要性，

He fully understood the importance of fossil footprints

in reconstructing the activity and behavior

這些腳印能重建出活動和行為，

of track makers

找出已經離開犯罪現場的 足跡製造者。

that had left the scene of the crime.

Fossil footprints bring animals back to life, then.

化石腳印讓動物起死回生。

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

今天我在追蹤一隻暴龍， 明天我在追蹤一隻劍龍。

tomorrow I'm tracking a Stegosaurus.

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

活生生的動物能 走、跑、蹦、跳、躍、

dig a burrow, excavate a nest.

挖掘洞穴、挖掘巢穴。

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

足跡能告訴我們動物朝哪個方向去、

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

是小型或大型的動物， 是年幼或成年的動物。

Tracks of fast-moving dinosaurs can even tell us

移動快速的恐龍留下的足跡 甚至可以告訴我們

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

牠們衝得比短跑選手 尤塞恩‧博爾特還快，

時速達三十英里。

Tracks may also tell us

足跡也能告訴我們，

if an animal was limping or injured

動物是否跛行或受傷，

or whether it was traveling alone or in a group.

或者牠是獨自行動或和群體一起。

Tracks, therefore played a pivotal role

因此，近年來，足跡在 所謂的恐龍文藝復興中

in what we call the dinosaur renaissance of recent years.

扮演關鍵的角色。

This is when dinosaurs got a sophisticated makeover

在恐龍文藝復興中， 恐龍得以精緻大變身，

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

牠們不再被視為

愚蠢、過時的失敗者。

Instead, they were transformed into dynamic, athletic,

牠們反而被轉變為 動感十足、運動能力強、

intelligent movie stars.

聰明的電影明星。

I've probably found and studied

這些年來，

我可能發現並研究了 幾百個化石腳印遺跡。

a few hundred fossil footprint sites over the years.

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

讓我帶大家實地去看看 我最喜歡的地點之一，

South Korea.

南韓。

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

這裡是南韓的海岸，

可以看到這些岩石階。

and each one represents a mini landscape

每一個岩石階都代表了 一個迷你的景觀，

a hundred million years old.

有一億年的歷史。

If we look at this first surface,

我們來看看這第一個表面，

可以看到一隻移動快速的肉食恐龍，

we'll see one of those fast-moving theropods

heading off to the north at high speed.

高速向北方前進。

On the next level,

在下一層，

we see a series of parallel trackways

可以看到一連串平行的足跡軌道，

representing the dinosaurs we call Brontosaurus.

代表我們所謂的雷龍。

They were probably subadults, not fully grown,

可能是亞成年的雷龍，

還沒完全長大，但仍然 比大象寶寶還大隻。

but they were still larger than baby elephants.

再下一層，

On the next level,

we see the tracks of thousands of birds.

可以看到數千隻鳥的足跡。

These are only one inch long.

它們只有一英吋長。

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

但它們看起來和現代 沙鷸或鴴在湖濱留下的足跡

or a plover on a lake shore.

很難區別。

Up on the next level,

再下一層，

we see another trackway of a giant.

可以看到另一條巨型的足跡軌道。

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

這隻動物的腳印直徑有三英尺，

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

牠應該有十公噸重，一百英尺長。

On the next level,

再下一層，

we find the extraordinary trackway of a bipedal crocodile.

可以發現一條很特別的足跡軌道，

屬於一隻兩足鱷魚，

These are extremely rare,

非常罕見。

and they probably looked like the carnivorous dinosaurs

牠們看起來可能很像肉食性恐龍，

and were just as ferocious at 15 feet long.

且同樣兇猛，有十五英尺長。

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

最後，我們再往上爬一層， 這裡有一隻蜥蜴的小足跡，

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

旁邊有著一隻鷺鷥般的 鳥類留下的足跡。

This heron might have been a lizard-eater.

這隻鷺鷥可能以蜥蜴為食。

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

我們沿著湖濱還沒有走很遠，

but we still stepped up through 1,000 years,

但我們就已經跨越了一千年的時間，

represented by five or six layers of strata.

透過這五、六層的地層展現出來。

Each surface is a mini landscape.

每一個表面都是一個迷你景觀。

Each surface is a time-lapse frame

每一個表面都是一段縮時影片，

in a documentary about life

屬於一支關於生命的紀錄片，

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

沿著有一億年歷史的韓國湖濱拍攝。

When we go around this next headland,

我們繞過下一個海角時，

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

我們碰上了一群學生，

帶著筆記本和測量尺，

and they're busy estimating the size and speed

他們忙著透過數十隻不同恐龍的足跡

of a dozen different dinosaurs from their tracks.

來測量牠們的大小和速度。

Their young teacher is a paleontologist.

他們的老師很年輕， 是位古生物學家。

She studied fossil footprints for her master's degree,

她攻讀碩士學位時 研究的是化石腳印，

and since she graduated,

從她畢業之後，

this area has become a national natural monument.

這個地區就變成了

一個國家大自然歷史遺跡。

And so above us,

在我們上面，可以看見

we see a huge new dinosaur museum

一個巨大的新恐龍博物館，

and arching up the huge neck of a stainless steel sauropod

還有不鏽鋼蜥腳類動物或雷龍的

頸部向上弓起，

or Brontosaurus,

looming over a courtyard studded with dinosaur tracks.

隱約出現在庭院上方，庭院中滿是

恐龍的足跡。

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

這個地區還被命名為

「韓國白堊紀恐龍海岸」，

or the KCDC.

縮寫為 KCDC。

Let's take another field trip

咱們再來一趟實地旅遊， 這次前往科羅拉多。

and we'll find ourselves in Colorado.

Meet my friends Ken and Jason.

見見我的朋友，肯和傑森。

They're not paleontologists,

他們不是古生物學家， 不過若給他們看

but they know the difference between a bobcat track

山貓的足跡和土狼的足跡， 他們分得出差別。

or a coyote track if they see one.

These two lads have actually found more fossil footprints sites

這兩個傢伙發現的化石腳印遺跡

than most professional paleontologists,

比大部分專業古生物學家還多，

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

那是因為他們學會了 怎麼找、找哪裡。

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

如他們所言，

光是觀察就能看到很多。

We're looking at these extraordinary traces.

我們可以看到這些很特別的

They're very puzzling.

且非常讓人困惑的足跡， 它們是什麼？

What are they?

They looked like they might be digging traces.

它們看起來像是挖掘的痕跡。

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

長話短說，我們發現它們是

恐龍在挖掘時留下的痕跡，

left by dinosaurs excavating what are called pseudo nests.

牠們挖的是所謂的假巢穴。

It turns out that these particular dinosaurs

結果發現，這些恐龍

are the ancestors of modern birds,

是現代鳥的祖先，

and they liked to show off their prowess as nest builders

牠們喜歡炫耀，

在繁殖季節時展示 牠們建造巢穴的能力。

during the breeding season.

This is an extraordinary discovery

這是一項很不凡的發現，

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

因為這根本就是恐龍的情人巷，

It's a rendezvous for dinosaurian trysts,

是恐龍幽會的地點，

a rendezvous for lovebirds.

情侶約會的地方。

What's also interesting is that paleontologists,

還有一點也很有趣，

一旦古生物學家知道了

once they learned that these particular dinosaurs

這些恐龍是現代鳥的祖先，

were the ancestors of modern birds,

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

他們就寫了數百篇科學論文，

推測，注意，是推測，牠們是否會用

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

彩色冠毛和彩色羽毛來炫耀，

during the breeding season.

在繁殖季找伴。

They probably did show off.

牠們可能真的會炫耀。

But here at our feet,

但在我們的腳邊是我們

we actually have the first physical evidence

初次找到恐龍求偶的實體證據。

of dinosaur courtship.

And what's more, it tells us

此外，它還告訴我們，

that this behavior went back for a hundred million years.

一億年前就有這種行為了。

So males showing off to females

所以公的向母的炫耀 或伴侶彼此炫耀並不是新鮮事。

or partners showing off to one another,

it's nothing new.

My dad was actually an ornithologist

我爸爸實際上是鳥類學家，

and he studied the behavior of modern birds

他研究現代鳥類的行為，

during their frenzied, energetic activity in the breeding season.

牠們在繁殖季節時 瘋狂且精力旺盛的活動。

He'd be absolutely astonished by this kind of evidence

他如果還在，一定會 很驚訝有證據能證明

of fossil behavior among dinosaurs.

恐龍之間會有這樣的化石行為。

想像一下，小鳥們在沙地上刨沙，

Imagine for a minute these little birds scratching in the sand

and how different it would be to see a giant,

是多麼不同於看見一隻巨型的、

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

兩千磅重的肉食性恐龍

在底部挖大穴？

Imagine the hormonal cries and the frenzied roars.

想像牠們的荷爾蒙嘶叫 和瘋狂的吼叫。

This seems newsworthy.

這似乎有新聞價值，我們預測

We predict that it will be more than just another report

這絕對不會又只是 一篇關於恐龍發現的報告。

of a dinosaur discovery.

果然，

And sure enough,

we make the lead on the "Nature" journal website

我們登上了《自然》 期刊網站的頭條，

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

甚至成了深夜脫口秀節目喜劇演員的

獨白內容。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

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

如果凡是告訴我他們長大之後 想要成為古生物學家的人

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

都必須要給我一塊錢， 我就會很富有了。

when they grew up.

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

如果我每找到一個化石腳印 就有一塊錢，也會過得不錯。

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

但，因為知道地球的 岩床中滿是這些寶藏，

my motto is quite simple:

我的座右銘相當簡單：

Just keep on tracking, keep on exploring.

只管繼續追蹤，

繼續探索。

But the real satisfaction comes from the thrill

但真正的滿足感

來自於知道

of knowing that I can find these sites,

我能找到這些遺跡，

that my friends and colleagues can find these sites,

我的朋友和同事能找到 這些遺跡，像各位這樣的人

that people like you can find these sites

也能找到這些遺跡，

and that they have become valued

且這些遺跡已經成為被重視

and protected institutions or destinations.

且成為受到保護的

機構或標的物。

It's very important that these landscapes,

非常重要的是，這些景觀，

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

這些古老的景觀能被 保存下來，因為它們真的是

侏羅紀公園。

They are places where dinosaurs and extinct animals lived and loved

在這些地方，曾經有

恐龍及絕種的動物生活過、求愛過、

and fought for survival.

為生存奮戰過。

Just as we protect sites like Stonehenge or Pompeii

就如同我們保護 一些遺址，如巨石陣、

龐貝城，或大峽谷，

or the Grand Canyon,

we need to protect these sites for the future.

我們也需要為未來 保護這些足跡遺址。

This is what we call our geoheritage.

這些就是我們所謂的地質遺產。

It is a memory,

它們是一種記憶，

and it's vitally important that we preserve it

非常重要的是我們要將它們保存好，

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

為了接下來七個世代的

七歲恐龍追蹤者。

Thank you very much.

非常謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）