Zeresenay Alemseged: Finding the origins of humanity

譯者: Calvin Ma 審譯者: Shelley Krishna Tsang

I have 18 minutes to tell you what happened

在接下來的18分鐘裡，我要向你們講述

over the past six million years.

過去六百萬年所發生的事情。

All right.

好的。

We all have come from a long way,

我們都歷經了漫長的歷程，

here in Africa, and converged in this region of Africa,

在非洲這裡，在非洲這地區聚集，

which is a place where 90 percent of our evolutionary process took place.

這裡是我們 90% 的進化過程的發生之地。

And I say that not because I am African,

我會這麼說的原因並不是因為我是非洲人，

but it's in Africa that you find the earliest evidence

而是因為在非洲，你可以找到

for human ancestors, upright walking traces,

人類祖先最早的證據、直立行走的痕跡，

even the first technologies in the form of stone tools.

甚至是最早的科技----石頭工具(石器)

So we all are Africans, and welcome home.

所以我們都是非洲人，歡迎你們回家。

All right.

好的。

I'm a paleoanthropologist, and my job is to define

我是一名古人類學家，我的工作是去定義

man's place in nature and explore what makes us human.

人類在大自然中的地位，並且探索人類的本質，

And today, I will use Selam, the earliest child ever discovered,

今天我會透過 Selam -- 至今發現最遠古的小孩，

to tell you a story of all of us.

來告訴你一個關於我們所有人的故事。

Selam is our most complete skeleton of a three-year-old girl

Selam 是我們所擁有最完整的三歲女孩骸骨，

who lived and died 3.3 million years ago.

她生活且死於 330萬年前，

She belongs to the species known as Australopithecus afarensis.

她屬於的物種是阿法南猿 (古人類種)

You don't need to remember that.

你不用記住這個。

That's the Lucy species, and was found by my research team

那也是與 Lucy 同一物種，是由我們的研究小組

in December of 2000 in an area called Dikika.

在2000的12月在一個叫做 Dikika 的地方發現的，

It's in the northeastern part of Ethiopia.

它在依索比亞東北部。

And Selam means peace in many Ethiopian languages.

Selam 在很多依索比亞的語言中都代表著"和平"

We use that name to celebrate peace in the region and in the planet.

我們選用了這個名字來祝願這一地區和這個地球的和平。

And the fact that it was the cover story of all these famous magazines

事實上它已成為很多著名雜誌的封面故事，

gives you already an idea of her significance, I think.

我想這一點已經告訴了你其重要性。

After I was invited by TED, I did some digging,

在受到 TED 的邀請後，我做了一些鑽研，

because that's what we do, to know about my host.

畢竟這就是我們在幹的事情，去了解關於我們的主顧。

You don't just jump into an invitation.

你總不能亳無準備就接受邀請。

And I learned that the first technology appeared

通過我的資料搜查，最早出現的科技

in the form of stone tools, 2.6 million years ago.

是在 260萬年前的石頭工具 (石器)

First entertainment comes evidence from flutes that are 35,000 years old.

最早有證據證明的娛樂是來自於 35000年前的笛子，

And evidence for first design comes 75,000 years old -- beads.

而最早有證據證明的設計是來自於 75,000年前的珠子。

And you can do the same with your genes and track them back in time.

你也可以用同樣的辦法去追溯你的基因的歷史。

And DNA analysis of living humans and chimpanzees

而對現在存的人類和黑猩猩的研究

teaches us today that we diverged sometime around seven million years ago

告訴我們大約在 750萬年前，人類和黑猩猩分道揚鑣，

and that these two species share over 98 percent of the same genetic material.

這兩個物種有 98%的基因結構是相同的。

I think knowing this is a very useful context

我認為了解這些是對我們想像我們的祖先

within which we can think of our ancestry.

提供了非常有用的背景資料。

However, DNA analysis informs us only about

不過，這些分析資料只告訴了我們

the beginning and the end, telling us nothing

關於開始和結局，卻沒有告訴我們

about what happened in the middle.

其中經歷了什麼。

So, for us, paleoanthropologists, our job is to find the hard evidence,

而對於我們古人類學家而言，我們的工作就是去找出實質的證據，

the fossil evidence, to fill in this gap

化石證據，來填補其中的空白，

and see the different stages of development.

及呈現發展過程中定的各個階段，

Because it's only when you do that, that you can talk about --

因為你做了這些，你才有東西可以說....

(Laughter) --

(笑聲)

it's only when you do that, [that] you can talk about

你做了這些，你才有東西可以說出

how we looked like and how we behaved at different times,

在不同時期我們是長什麼樣，我們的行為是怎樣，

and how those likes and looks and behaviors changed through time.

以上這些喜好、長相和行為如何隨著時間流逝而變化，

That then gives you an access

那就可以結我們一個途徑

to explore the biological mechanisms

去探索生物學的機際，

and forces that are responsible for this gradual change

正是這些機際的力量

that made us what we are today.

逐漸把我們變成今天這個樣子。

But finding the hard evidence is a very complicated endeavor.

但是要找到實質的證據是一件非常複雜的任務。

It's a systematic and scientific approach,

這是一個系統的、科學的方法

which takes you to places that are remote, hot, hostile and often with no access.

來帶你去遙遠、炎熱、抗拒並且難以進入的地方，

Just to give you an example, when I went to Dikika,

例如，當我去了 Dikika，

where Selam was found, in '99 -- and it's about 500 kilometers

也就是於 99年 Selam 被發現的地方，

from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

那裡距離衣索比亞的首都阿地斯阿貝巴 (Addis Ababa) 約有500公里。

It took us only seven hours to do the first 470 kilometers of the 500,

500公里的前470公里只花了我們7個小時的時間，

but took four, solid hours to do the last only 30 kilometers.

但最後的30個小時足足花了我們整整4個小時。

With the help of the locals and using just shovels and picks, I made my way.

在當地人使用鏟子和鐵鎬的幫助之下，使得我能前進。

I was the first person to actually drive a car to the spot.

我算是開車到達這個地方的第一人。

When you get there, this is what you see,

當你到達那兒時，這就是你所看到的，

and it's the vastness of the place which makes you feel helpless and vulnerable.

這片區域的遼闊會讓你感到人類自身的無助和脆弱。

And once you make it there, the big question is where to start.

一旦你到了那裡，最大的問題是該從那裡著手。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

And you find nothing for years and years.

之後年復一年的，你什麼也找不到。

When I go to places like this, which are paleontological sites,

當我去到這樣的，屬於古人類學家研究的地點時，

it's like going to a game park, an extinct game park.

就像是去了野生動物保護區，一個已滅絕了的野生動物保護區。

But what you find are not the human remains,

但你將找到的並不是人類的遺骨，

such as Selam and Lucy, on a day-to-day basis.

就像是 Selam 和 Lucy，

You find elephants, rhinos, monkeys, pigs, etc.

一天又一天，你找到的是大象、犀牛、猴子、野豬等等。

But you could ask, how could these large mammals

但是你可能會問，這樣的大型動物

live in this desert environment?

如何能夠生存在這樣的沙漠環境中？

Of course, they cannot, but I'm telling you already

他們當然不能，但是我已告訴了你

that the environment and the carrying capacity

這個地區的環境和容納生物的最高容量

of this region was drastically different from what we have today.

已經和我們今天是截然不同的。

A very important environmental lesson could be learned from this.

我們可以從這裡學到生態課程非常重要的一課。

Anyway, once we made it there, then it's a game park, as I said, an extinct game park.

不管怎樣，一旦我們到了那裡，它就是個野生動物保護區，正如我所說的一個已滅絕的野生動物保護區，

And our ancestors lived in that game park,

而我們的祖先就是生活在那野生動物保護區了。

but were just the minorities. They were not as successful

但他們 (人類祖先) 只是少數族群，且他們並不像智人那樣的

and as widespread as the Homo sapiens that we are.

成功生存且廣泛分布。

To tell you just an example, an anecdote about their rarity,

再給你們舉一個例子，一個有關他們稀有的趣事。

I was going to this place every year and would do fieldwork here,

我每年都要去這個地方，去做實地調查，

and the assistants, of course, helped me do the surveys.

當然的，我的助手們會幫我一起去做這些調查。

They would find a bone and tell me, "Here is what you're looking for."

他們找到一塊骨頭然後會告訴我："這就是你要找的。"

I would say, "No, that's an elephant."

我會說："不，這是大象的。"

Again, another one, "That's a monkey." "That's a pig," etc.

再一次，另一回是 ---- "這是猴子的" "那是野豬的" 等等

So one of my assistants, who never went to school, said to me, "Listen, Zeray.

因此，我的一位從未上過學的助手對我說："聽著，Zeray

You either don't know what you're looking for,

或許你不知道你要找什麼，

or you're looking in the wrong place," he said.

或許是你找錯了地方了。" 他說。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

And I said, "Why?" "Because there were elephants and lions,

然後我說："為什麼？" "因為這裡有大象和獅子，

and the people were scared and went somewhere else.

所以人類會感到恐懼，就搬到其他地方去了。

Let's go somewhere else."

所以我們該去別的地方吧。"

Well, he was very tired, and it's really tiring.

好吧，他非常疲憊了，實際上這事真的很讓人疲憊的。

It was then, after such hard work and many frustrating years that we found Selam,

我們經過了如此艱苦的工作和令人沮喪的歲月后才在找到 Selam

and you see the face here covered by sandstone.

你看看這裡被砂岩覆蓋著的面孔，

And here is actually the spinal column

實際上這裡的脊柱和整個軀幹

and the whole torso encased in a sandstone block,

是嵌在砂岩中的

because she was buried by a river.

因為她是被埋葬於河流之中 (河葬)

What you have here seems to be nothing,

你所看到的這個東西好像什麼都沒有，

but contains an incredible amount of scientific information

但其實包含了極大量的科學訊息，

that helps us explore what makes us human.

那是能夠幫助我們探索為什麼我們會成為人類。

This is the earliest and most complete juvenile human ancestor

這是古人類學歷史上所找到的

ever found in the history of paleoanthropology,

最早和最完整的人類祖先----

an amazing piece of our long, long history.

一段是我們長久歷史中最嘆為觀止的片段。

There were these three people and me, and I am taking the pictures,

這裡有三個人，而我負責拍照，

that's why I am not in.

所以我不在照片中。

How would you feel if you were me? You have something extraordinary in your hand,

如果你是我，你手中捧住意義非凡的東西，但你對它一點了解都沒有，

but you are in the middle of nowhere?

你會怎麼想？

The feeling I had was a deep and quiet happiness and excitement,

我的感覺即是，深深的快樂和激動，

of course accompanied by a huge sense of responsibility,

當然隨之而來的是巨大的責任，

of making sure everything is safe.

那種要確保東西一切都安全的責任感。

Here is a close-up of the fossil, after five years of cleaning,

這是一塊化石的特寫，

preparation and description, which was very long,

它經過了五年清理、準備和修飾 --- 那是非常長的時間，

as I had to expose the bones from the sandstone block

我需要從砂岩塊中把骨頭取出來，

I just showed you in the previous slide.

就是在前一張片子給大家展示的投影片。

It took five years.

這就花費了5年。

In a way, this was like the second birth for the child, after 3.3 million years,

在某種程度下，這就像是這年孩子在330萬年之后的第二次重生，

but the labor was very long.

但勞動的時間是很長的，

And here is full scale -- it's a tiny bone.

這裡是一個真實的比例----這是一塊小骨頭。

And in the middle is the minister of Ethiopian tourism,

中間是衣索比亞的旅遊部長，

who came to visit the National Museum of Ethiopia while I was working there.

當我在衣索比亞的國家博物館工作的時候來造訪了那裡。

And you see me worried and trying to protect my child,

你可以看到我很擔心，並且試圖保護我的孩子，

because you don't leave anyone with this kind of child,

因為你不會把這樣的孩子託付給任何人，

even a minister.

即使是一個部長。

So then, once you've done that, the next stage is to know what it is.

所以一旦你那樣做了，下一步就是去明白這是為什麼。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Once that was done, then it was possible to compare.

一旦工作完成了，就有進行比較的可能性了。

We were able to tell that she belonged

我們能夠告訴大家的是她屬於

to the human family tree because the legs, the foot,

人類大家庭的族譜，因為她的腿、腳

and some features clearly showed that she walked upright,

和其他一些特徵很明顯的顯示了她是直立行走的，

and upright walking is a hallmark in humanity.

而直立行走的是人類的標誌。

But in addition, if you compare the skull

但再進一步，如果你將這個頭骨

with a comparably aged chimpanzee and little George Bush here,

一個對等年齡的黑猩猩以及小布西 (前美國總統) 相比，

you see that you have vertical forehead.

你可以看到你擁有垂直的前額，

And you see that in humans, because of the development

這是你在人類中看得到的，

of the pre-frontal cortex, it's called.

由於大腦前葉的發展所構成的 ----

You don't see that in chimpanzees,

而你在黑猩猩身上看不到這一點，

and you don't see this very projecting canine.

且你也看不到這樣突出的犬齒，

So she belongs to our family tree, but within that, of course,

所以她是屬於我們這一族譜，當然的，

you do detailed analysis, and we know now

隨著我們進行了詳細的分析，現在我們知道

that she belongs to the Lucy species,

她是屬於跟 Luzy 同一種族的，

known as Australopithecus afarensis.

這被稱為阿法南猿 (古人類) 的種族。

The next exciting question is, girl or boy?

下一個令人感興趣的問題是這是女孩還是男孩，

And how old was she when she died?

及她死亡的時候是多大？

You can determine the sex of the individual

你可以根據牙齒的大小

based on the size of the teeth.

去判斷她的性別。

How?

怎麼做到？

You know, in primates, there is this phenomenon

大家都知道，在靈長類動物中，有這樣的一種現象

called sexual dimorphism, which simply means

叫做兩性異性，簡單來說就是

males are larger than females and males have larger teeth

男性要比女性長得大一些，

than the females.

男性的牙齒比女性的更大。

But to do that, you need the permanent dentition,

不過要做到比較，你需要找到恆齒，

which you don't see here, because what you have here

在這裡我們是看不到的，因為這是

are the baby teeth.

嬰兒的牙齒。

But using the CT scanning technology,

但使用CT掃瞄技術，

which is normally used for medical purposes,

就是在醫療目的常用的那種------

you can go deep into the mouth and come up with this beautiful image

你可以深入口腔，這細緻的圖象

showing you both the baby teeth here

顯示了嬰兒牙齒

and the still-growing adult teeth here.

及正在成長的成人牙齒。

So when you measure those teeth,

所以當我們檢驗這些牙齒時，

it was clear that she turned out to be a girl

以這麼小的犬齒來看，

with very small canine teeth.

很明顯的表示了她是個女孩。

And to know how old she was when she died, what you do is

要想知道她死時是多少歲，你能夠做到的是

you do an informed estimate, and you say, how much time would be required

去做一個有根據的估計，去知道形成這樣的牙齒要花多久，

to form this amount of teeth, and the answer was three.

我們得到的答案是三歲。

So, this girl died when she was about three,

因此這個女孩是約在三歲時夭折，

3.3 million years ago.

是在距今330萬年前。

So, with all that information, the big question is --

所以有了這所有的信息後，最大的問題是-----

what do we actually -- what does she tell us?

我們實際上----從她那裡告訴了我們什麼事情？

To answer this question, we can phrase another question.

要回答這個問題，我們可以引用另一個問題-----

What do we actually know about our ancestors?

我們實際上對我們祖先有多少了解？

We want to know how they looked like, how they behaved,

我們想去了解他們是長什麼樣子、行為是怎樣、

how they walked around,

是如何行走、

and how they lived and grew up.

及她們是如何生活與成長。

And among the answers that you can get from this skeleton

你可以從這骸骨中找到包含以上的答案------

are included: first, this skeleton documents,

首先，這具骸骨首次記錄了

for the first time, how infants looked over three million years ago.

距今300萬年前的嬰兒是長什麼樣子。

And second, she tells us that she walked upright,

其次，她告訴了我們她是直立行走的，

but had some adaptation for tree climbing.

不過還是具有一些爬樹的適應性，

And more interesting, however,

更令人感到有趣的是，然而，

is the brain in this child was still growing.

這個孩子的大腦仍然在成長。

At age three, if you have a still-growing brain,

在3歲時，如果你的大腦還在成長，

it's a human behavior.

這就是屬於人類的特徵。

In chimps, by age three, the brain is formed over 90 percent.

三歲時的黑猩猩，其大腦已經90%成型。

That's why they can cope with their environment

這正是他們出生后很快就能適應環境的原因-----

very easily after birth -- faster than us, anyway.

比我們人類成型得更快，不管怎樣

But in humans, we continue to grow our brains.

反觀人類，我們的腦部會繼續發育，

That's why we need care from our parents.

這也是我們為何還需要父母照顧的原因，

But that care means also you learn.

不過這樣的照顧也意味著在學習。

You spend more time with your parents.

你跟父母在一起的時間更長，

And that's very characteristic of humans and it's called childhood,

這是人類很典型的特點，這叫做童年，

which is this extended dependence of human children

即小孩對其家庭或父母

on their family or parents.

更長久的依賴。

So, the still-growing brain in this individual

所以這個大腦正在成長的孩子

tells us that childhood, which requires

告訴我們她有童年，

an incredible social organization,

一個極完善的社會組成才能擁有，

a very complex social organization,

一個非常複雜的社會

emerged over three million years ago.

組成於300多萬年前。

So, by being at the cusp of our evolutionary history,

因此在我們進化的歷史的頂端，

Selam unites us all and gives us a unique account

Selam 將我們統合起來，給予我們人之所以為人的

on what makes us human.

獨一無二的依據。

But not everything was human, and I will give you

不過並不是都屬於人類的特徵，我會給你展示

a very exciting example.

一個令人感興趣的例子。

This is called the hyoid bone. It's a bone which is right here.

這個叫做舌骨，它就是長在這裡的骨頭。

It supports your tongue from behind.

它從後部支撐著你的舌頭。

It's, in a way, your voice box.

在某種意義上，它就是你的聲匣。

It determines the type of voice you produce.

它決定了你發音的聲線，

It was not known in the fossil record,

在化石史中它並不有名，

and we have it in this skeleton.

我們在這具骸骨上發現了它。

When we did the analysis of this bone, it was clear

當我們蔚這骨頭進行分析時，這很明顯的

that it looked very chimp-like, chimpanzee-like.

發現它非常像黑猩猩的 (舌骨)。

So if you were there 3.3 million years ago,

因此，如果你在330萬年前，

to hear when this girl was crying out for her mother,

聽這個女孩哭喊著找媽媽時，

she would have sounded more like a chimpanzee than a human.

她的哭聲聽起來更像黑猩猩而非人類。

Maybe you're wondering, "So, you see this ape feature, human feature, ape feature.

或許你會想："那麼你看了猿類的特徵，人類的特徵，猿類的特徵。

What does that tell us?"

這到底意味了什麼？"

You know, that is very exciting for us,

要知道，這對我們來說是非常興奮，

because it demonstrates that things were changing slowly and progressively,

因為它說明了事物的進展是緩慢而有漸漸的變化著。

and that evolution is in the making.

進化正在慢慢形成。

To summarize the significance of this fossil,

總結這個化石的重要性，

we can say the following.

我們可以談到以下幾點。

Up to now, the knowledge that we had about our ancestors

迄今為止，我們所擁有的關於祖先的知道知識，

came essentially from adult individuals

基本上來自於成年人的化石，

because the fossils, the baby fossils, were missing.

因為是嬰孩的化石是缺少的。

They don't preserve well, as you know.

正如大家所知道的，他們不易保存。

So the knowledge that we had about our ancestors,

所以我們擁有關於我們祖先的知識

on how they looked like, how they behaved,

如長相如何、行為如何。

was kind of biased toward adults.

只是基於成年人的片面觀點。

Imagine somebody coming from Mars

想象一下有人從火星而來，

and his job is to report on the type of people

他的工作就是記錄正在統治地球的

occupying our planet Earth, and you hide all the babies,

各種人類，而我們把所有的嬰兒、孩童都藏起來了，

the children, and he goes back and reports.

接著他回去匯報。

Can you imagine how much biased his report would be?

你可以想像這個報告將有多大的偏差麼？

That's what somehow we were doing so far

這就是我們長久以來進行的工作，

in the absence of the fossil children,

尋找孩童的骸童的化石。

so I think the new fossil fixes this problem.

因此我認為這一具新的化石解決了這問題，

So, I think the most important question at the end is,

所以我覺得最終最重要的問題是

what do we actually learn from specimens like this

我們實際在上從這樣的標本了解什麼

and from our past in general?

和在我們過去常規中學到什麼？

Of course, in addition to extracting this huge amount

當然，進一步來說得到這麼大量的科學信息

of scientific information as to what makes us human,

來證明我們人類之所以為人類，

you know, the many human ancestors that have existed

很多存在於過去600萬年的遠古人類的祖先

over the past six million years -- and there are more than 10 --

至少有10個以上------

they did not have the knowledge, the technology and sophistications

他們並不具備我們智人今天所擁有的

that we, Homo sapiens, have today.

知識、科技和技術。

But if this species, ancient species,

不過如果這個物種、遠古的物種

would travel in time and see us today,

會超越未來，來到今天看望我們，

they would very much be very proud of their legacy,

他們將會為他們所留下的遺產而倍感驕傲，

because they became the ancestors of

因為他們是當前宇宙中最成功的

the most successful species in the universe.

物種的祖先。

And they were probably not aware of this future legacy,

他們可能並不注重他們留給未來的遺產，

but they did great.

但他們確實很偉大。

Now the question is, we Homo sapiens today

現在的問題是，我們今天這些智人

are in a position to decide about the future of our planet, possibly more.

正擔負著決定我們的星球未來的責任，責任可能更重大。

So the question is, are we up to the challenge?

所以問題是，我們準備好迎接挑戰了麼？

And can we really do better than these primitive,

我們真的比這些先區者、腦容量小的祖先

small-brained ancestors?

做得更好麼？

Among the most pressing challenges that our species

我們的物種今日所面臨的最大挑戰是

is faced with today are the chronic problems of Africa.

去面對非洲長久以來存在的問題。

Needless to list them here, and there are more competent people

無需一一去列舉，已經有很多智者

to talk about this.

在討論相關問題。

Still, in my opinion, we have two choices.

然而，於我而言，我們有兩種選擇，

One is to continue to see a poor, ill, crying Africa,

一是維持一個貧窮、病痛、哭泣的非洲----

carrying guns, that depends on other people forever,

手持武器----永遠依靠別人；

or to promote an Africa which is confident,

或是去推動非但更自信、

peaceful, independent, but cognizant of its huge problems

和平、獨立，但同時能夠意識到自身面臨巨大問題

and great values at the same time.

和巨大價值的非洲。

I am for the second option, and I'm sure many of you are.

我支持第二種選擇，而且我確信我們大多數人都是這樣想的。

And the key is to promote a positive African attitude towards Africa.

關鍵是推展一個非洲人面對非洲的正向態度。

That's because we Africans concentrate --

因為我們非洲人關注-------

I am from Ethiopia, by the way --

順道一提，我是來自依索比亞-------

we concentrate too much on how we are seen

我們太關注於我們所看到的別人

from elsewhere, or from outside.

那來自於四周或外來的別人。

I think it's important to promote in a more positive way

我認為重要的是扭推展一種更正向的態度

on how we see ourselves.

來看待我們自己。

That's what I call positive African attitude.

這就是我所說的非洲人----正向的非洲人精神。

So finally, I would like to say,

最后，我想說的是，

so let's help Africa walk upright and forward,

請一起幫助非洲站起來，向前邁進-----

then we all can be proud of our future legacy as a species.

那時，我們作為同一個物種，我們都會為我們留給未來的遺產而驕傲。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

(掌聲)