DNA分析加深喜馬拉雅“骨架湖”之謎

DNA分析加深喜馬拉雅“骨架湖”之謎

A decades-old mystery over an eerie Himalayan lake littered with human remains deepens, as scientists say hundreds of people died there spread over 1,000 years.

科學家們說，在過去一千年里，有數(shù)百人死于喜馬拉雅山的一個湖泊。幾十年來，人們對這個充滿著人類遺骸的怪誕湖泊的神秘感不斷加深。

It was previously thought that the “Skeleton Lake” site was the result of a sudden and strange ancient catastrophe in the 9th century.

之前人們認為“骨架湖”遺址是9世紀一場突然而奇怪的古代災難的結(jié)果。

Shutterstock

But new research suggests that skeletons at Roopkund lake were killed in multiple events between the 9th and 19th centuries.

但新的研究表明，在9世紀到19世紀的多個事件中，魯普昆德湖的骨骼是由多起事件中的死亡組成的。

Adding to the mystery is DNA evidence that suggests some of the people who died in the Indian region were from the Mediterranean.

DNA證據(jù)表明，在印度地區(qū)死亡的一些人來自地中海，這進一步加深了謎團。

And many of the skeletons have crushed skulls created by blows to the back of the head, likely created by round objects falling from above.

許多骸骨的頭骨都是被頭部后部的打擊所造成的，很可能是由從上方落下的圓形物體造成的。

“Roopkund Lake has long been subject to speculation about who these individuals were, what brought them to Roopkund Lake and how they died,” said study author Niraj Rai, of India’s Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences.

印度Birbal-Sahni古科學研究所的研究作者Niraj Rai說：“長期以來，人們一直在猜測這些人是誰，是什么把他們帶到魯普昆德湖的，以及他們是如何死亡的。”

Roopkund lake was first “discovered” in 1942, during World War II.

魯普肯德湖在1942年第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間首次被“發(fā)現(xiàn)”。

British officials at the time thought the skeletons were casualties of a Japanese invasion force.

當時的英國官員認為,這些骨架是屬于日本侵略軍的。

But later studies concluded that the hundreds of people killed there were wiped out by a sudden and violent hailstorm in the 9th century.

但后來的研究得出結(jié)論，在9世紀，一場突然而猛烈的冰雹使數(shù)百人喪生。

Now a large-scale study of 72 skeletons at the site suggest that the people were killed “in at least two episodes,” separated by 1,000 years. The findings were published in Nature Communications.

現(xiàn)在，一項對該遺址72具骨骼的大規(guī)模研究表明，這些人在“至少兩次事件”中死亡，相隔1000年。研究結(jié)果發(fā)表在《自然通訊》雜志上。

The first event was between the 7th and 10th centuries, where individuals with Indian-related ancestry died at Roopkund.

第一次事件發(fā)生在7世紀到10世紀之間，有印度血統(tǒng)的人死在魯普肯德湖。

Experts say it’s possible that these people died during several distinct events.

專家說，這些人有可能死于幾起不同的事件。

Then, at some point in the 17th to 20th centuries, two other groups were killed there.

然后，在17世紀到20世紀的某個時候，另外兩個族群在那里被殺。

Shutterstock

Strangely, these people are believed to have been travelers from the eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia.

奇怪的是，這些人被認為是來自東地中海和東南亞的旅行者。

“We were extremely surprised by the genetics of the Roopkund skeletons,” said Éadaoin Harney of Harvard University.

哈佛大學的阿當恩·哈尼說：“我們對魯普肯德骨架的遺傳學非常驚訝。”

“The presence of individuals with ancestries typically associated with the eastern Mediterranean suggests that Roopkund Lake was not just a site of local interest, but instead drew visitors from across the globe.”

“具有典型地中海東部血統(tǒng)的個體的存在表明，魯普昆德湖不僅是當?shù)厝烁信d趣的地方，而且吸引了來自世界各地的游客。”

What archaeologists still don’t know is what brought the people to the lake.

考古學家還不知道是什么把人們帶到了湖邊。

More importantly, they’re not entirely sure what actually killed them.

更重要的是，他們不完全確定到底是什么殺死了他們。

“We discovered that the history of Roopkund Lake is more complex than we ever anticipated,” said David Reich of Harvard Medical School, who co-authored the study.

哈佛醫(yī)學院的大衛(wèi)·雷奇(DavidReich)是這項研究的合著者，他說：“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，魯普肯德湖的歷史比我們預想的要復雜得多。”

“And [it] raises the striking question of how migrants from the eastern Mediterranean, who have an ancestry profile that is extremely atypical of the region today, died in this place only a few hundred years ago.”

“而且(它)提出了一個令人震驚的問題，即來自東地中海的移民，他們的祖先是非常不典型的地區(qū)，他們是如何在幾百年前死在這個地方的。”