科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)了尼安德特人最后的藏身之所

A cave chamber sealed off by sand for some 40,000 years has been discovered in Vanguard Cave in Gibraltar – a finding that could reveal more about the Neanderthals who lived in the area around that time.

在直布羅陀先鋒洞穴發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個被沙子封閉了約4萬年的洞穴室，這一發(fā)現(xiàn)可能會揭示更多關(guān)于當時居住在該地區(qū)的尼安德特人的信息。

"Given that the sand sealing the chamber was [40,000] years old, and that the chamber was therefore older, it must have been Neanderthals," who lived in Eurasia from about 200,000 to 40,000 years ago and were likely using the cave, Clive Finlayson, director of the Gibraltar National Museum, told Live Science in an email.

“鑒于密封房間的沙子已有 [40,000] 年的歷史，因此房間會更古老，那么一定是尼安德特人，大約 200,000 到 40,000 年前生活在歐亞大陸并且很可能使用洞穴。“克萊夫芬利森直布羅陀國家博物館館長在一封電子郵件中表示。

While Finlayson's team was studying the cave last month, they discovered the hollow area. After climbing through it, they found it is 43 feet (13 meters) in length, with stalactites hanging like eerie icicles from the chamber ceiling.

當Finlayson的團隊上個月研究這個洞穴時，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了這個空心區(qū)域。爬進去后，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)它有43英尺(13米)長，鐘乳石像怪異的冰柱一樣掛在房間的天花板上。

Along the surface of the cave chamber, the researchers found the remains of lynx, hyenas, and griffon vultures, as well as a large whelk, a type of sea snail that was likely carried into the chamber by a Neanderthal, the archaeologists said in a statement.

考古學(xué)家在一份聲明中說，沿著洞穴房間的表面，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)了猞猁、鬣狗和獅鷲的遺骸，以及一只大型海螺，一種可能被尼安德特人帶入洞穴的海螺 。

The researchers are eager to see what they will find once they start excavating. One possibility is that the team will discover Neanderthal burials, Finlayson said.

研究人員急切地想知道，一旦開始挖掘，他們會發(fā)現(xiàn)什么。Finlayson說，有可能將發(fā)現(xiàn)尼安德特人的墓葬。

"We found the milk tooth of a 4-year-old Neanderthal close to the chamber four years ago," he said. The tooth "was associated with hyenas, and we suspect the hyenas brought the child [who was likely dead] into the cave."

“四年前，我們在這個洞穴附近發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個四歲的尼安德特人的乳牙，”他說。這顆牙齒“與鬣狗有關(guān)，我們懷疑是鬣狗把這個孩子(可能已經(jīng)死了)帶進了洞穴。”

Researchers have discovered plenty of evidence of Neanderthals' presence in the cave system, called the Gorham's Cave Complex, including a carving that may have been early Neanderthal artwork.

研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)了大量尼安德特人存在于這個被稱為戈勒姆洞穴綜合體的洞穴系統(tǒng)中的證據(jù)，其中包括一件可能是早期尼安德特人藝術(shù)品的雕刻品。

Scientists have speculated that this cave system may have been one of the last places Neanderthals lived before they went extinct around 40,000 years ago.

科學(xué)家推測，這個洞穴可能是尼安德特人在大約4萬年前滅絕之前的最后居住地之一。