ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Zeresenay Alemseged - Paleoanthropologist
Zeresenay "Zeray" Alemseged digs in the Ethiopian desert, looking for the earliest signs of humanity. His most exciting find: the 3.3-million-year-old bones of Selam, a 3-year-old hominid child, from the species Australopithecus afarensis.

Why you should listen

Paleoanthropologist Zeresenay Alemseged studies the origins of humanity. Through his Dikika Research Project (DRP) in the Afar desert of Ethiopia, he has discovered the earliest known skeleton of a hominid child, the 3.3-million-year-old bones of Selam, a 3-year-old girl of the species Australopithecus afarensis. She is a member of the same species as Lucy, discovered nearby in 1974.

In studying Selam's tiny bones, Alemseged is searching for the points at which we humans diverged from apes. For instance, Selam may have had ape-like shoulders, made for climbing trees -- but her legs were angled for walking upright. Her young brain, at age 3, was still growing, which implies that she was set to have a long human-style childhood. And in the hyoid bone of her throat, Alemseged sees the beginning of human speech.

Born in Axum, Ethiopia, Alemseged is based in San Francisco at the California Academy of Sciences where is is the Director and Curator of the Anthropology department. Prior to this, he was a senior researcher at the  Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. To see more video from Alemseged, visit the video archives of Nature.

More profile about the speaker
Zeresenay Alemseged | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2007

Zeresenay Alemseged: The search for humanity's roots

Zeresenay Alemseged 找寻人类的起源

Filmed:
1,114,952 views

古人类学家Zeresenay Alemseged 在埃塞俄比亚的不毛之地寻找人类的起源。他将讲述关于寻找最古老的人形小孩的骨骸——以及非洲如何保存我们人类线索的故事。
- Paleoanthropologist
Zeresenay "Zeray" Alemseged digs in the Ethiopian desert, looking for the earliest signs of humanity. His most exciting find: the 3.3-million-year-old bones of Selam, a 3-year-old hominid child, from the species Australopithecus afarensis. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:25
I have 18 minutes分钟 to tell you what happened发生
0
0
2000
在接下来的18分钟里,我要向你们讲述
00:27
over the past过去 six million百万 years年份.
1
2000
3000
过去六百万年内发生的事情。
00:30
All right.
2
5000
2000
开始吧。
00:32
We all have come from a long way,
3
7000
3000
我们都经历了漫长的历程,
00:35
here in Africa非洲, and converged融合 in this region地区 of Africa非洲,
4
10000
3000
在非洲这里,在非洲这一地区相聚,
00:38
which哪一个 is a place地点 where 90 percent百分 of our evolutionary发展的 process处理 took place地点.
5
13000
6000
这里是我们90%的进化过程的发生之地。
00:44
And I say that not because I am African非洲人,
6
19000
3000
我这么说的原因不是因为我是个非洲人,
00:47
but it's in Africa非洲 that you find the earliest最早 evidence证据
7
22000
3000
而是因为在非洲,你可以找到
00:50
for human人的 ancestors祖先, upright直立 walking步行 traces痕迹,
8
25000
5000
关于人类祖先的最早证据、直立行走的痕迹、
00:55
even the first technologies技术 in the form形成 of stone tools工具.
9
30000
3000
甚至是最早的科技──石器。
00:58
So we all are Africans非洲人, and welcome欢迎 home.
10
33000
3000
所以我们都是非洲人。欢迎你们回家。
01:01
All right.
11
36000
2000
好的。
01:03
I'm a paleoanthropologist古人类学家, and my job工作 is to define确定
12
38000
3000
我是一名古人类学家,我的职责是去定义
01:06
man's男人的 place地点 in nature性质 and explore探索 what makes品牌 us human人的.
13
41000
4000
人类在大自然中的地位,并且探究人类的本质,
01:10
And today今天, I will use Selam塞拉姆, the earliest最早 child儿童 ever discovered发现,
14
45000
4000
今天我就要通过塞拉姆(Selam)──至今发现的最远古的小孩──
01:14
to tell you a story故事 of all of us.
15
49000
2000
来讲述一个关于我们所有人的故事。
01:16
Selam塞拉姆 is our most complete完成 skeleton骨架 of a three-year-old三十岁 girl女孩
16
51000
4000
塞拉姆是我们所拥有的最完整的三岁小女孩的骨骼,
01:20
who lived生活 and died死亡 3.3 million百万 years年份 ago.
17
55000
4000
她生活在330万年前。
01:24
She belongs属于 to the species种类 known已知 as Australopithecus南方古猿 afarensis南方古猿.
18
59000
4000
她属于南方古猿阿法种,
01:28
You don't need to remember记得 that.
19
63000
2000
你不需要记住这个。
01:30
That's the Lucy露西 species种类, and was found发现 by my research研究 team球队
20
65000
4000
那也是露西的种族,是由我的研究小组
01:34
in December十二月 of 2000 in an area called DikikaDikika.
21
69000
3000
在2000年的12月份在一个叫做Dikika的地方发现的。
01:37
It's in the northeastern东北方 part部分 of Ethiopia埃塞俄比亚.
22
72000
2000
是在埃塞俄比亚的东北部。
01:39
And Selam塞拉姆 means手段 peace和平 in many许多 Ethiopian埃塞俄比亚 languages语言.
23
74000
3000
塞拉姆在很多埃塞俄比亚语言中都代表着“和平”。
01:42
We use that name名称 to celebrate庆祝 peace和平 in the region地区 and in the planet行星.
24
77000
6000
我们选用了这个名字来庆祝这一区域和这个星球上的和平。
01:48
And the fact事实 that it was the cover story故事 of all these famous著名 magazines杂志
25
83000
4000
这些著名杂志都用其作为头版头条,
01:52
gives you already已经 an idea理念 of her significance意义, I think.
26
87000
3000
这一点就可以告诉你其重要性了。
01:55
After I was invited邀请 by TEDTED, I did some digging挖掘,
27
90000
3000
在受到TED的邀请之后,我决定做一点“钻研”(一词双意:digging既指“研究”,又指“挖掘”。)
01:58
because that's what we do, to know about my host主办.
28
93000
3000
来进一步了解TED,毕竟我是干这一行的。
02:01
You don't just jump into an invitation请帖.
29
96000
2000
不能茫然地接受邀请。
02:03
And I learned学到了 that the first technology技术 appeared出现
30
98000
2000
通过我的研究,我发现最早的“科技”(T=Technology)
02:05
in the form形成 of stone tools工具, 2.6 million百万 years年份 ago.
31
100000
3000
是260万年前的石器,
02:08
First entertainment娱乐 comes evidence证据 from flutes笛子 that are 35,000 years年份 old.
32
103000
5000
最早的“娱乐”(E=Entertainment)来自35000年前的笛子,
02:13
And evidence证据 for first design设计 comes 75,000 years年份 old -- beads.
33
108000
6000
而最早的“设计”(D=Design)则有75000年的历史──是珠子。
02:19
And you can do the same相同 with your genes基因 and track跟踪 them back in time.
34
114000
5000
你也可以用同样的办法追溯你的基因的历史。
02:24
And DNA脱氧核糖核酸 analysis分析 of living活的 humans人类 and chimpanzees黑猩猩
35
119000
4000
而对现存的人类和猩猩的研究
02:28
teaches us today今天 that we diverged分歧 sometime某时 around seven million百万 years年份 ago
36
123000
4000
告诉我们大概在7百万年前,人类和猩猩分道扬镳,
02:32
and that these two species种类 share分享 over 98 percent百分 of the same相同 genetic遗传 material材料.
37
127000
6000
至今这两个物种仍然有98%的共同基因。
02:38
I think knowing会心 this is a very useful有用 context上下文
38
133000
2000
我认为,了解这些为我们对祖先的研究
02:40
within which哪一个 we can think of our ancestry祖先.
39
135000
4000
提供了非常有用的背景资料。
02:44
However然而, DNA脱氧核糖核酸 analysis分析 informs运筹学 us only about
40
139000
4000
不过,这些研究只告诉了我们开始和结局,
02:48
the beginning开始 and the end结束, telling告诉 us nothing
41
143000
4000
却没有告诉
02:52
about what happened发生 in the middle中间.
42
147000
2000
其中都经历了什么。
02:54
So, for us, paleoanthropologists古人类学家, our job工作 is to find the hard evidence证据,
43
149000
5000
而对于我们古人类学家而言,我们的工作就是找到确凿的证据,
02:59
the fossil化石 evidence证据, to fill in this gap间隙
44
154000
3000
化石证据,来填补其中的空白,
03:02
and see the different不同 stages阶段 of development发展.
45
157000
3000
呈现发展过程中的各个阶段。
03:05
Because it's only when you do that, that you can talk about --
46
160000
3000
只有做到这一点之后,你才可以讨论...
03:08
(Laughter笑声) --
47
163000
4000
(笑声)
03:12
it's only when you do that, [that] you can talk about
48
167000
3000
只有做到这一点之后,你才可以讨论
03:15
how we looked看着 like and how we behaved at different不同 times,
49
170000
4000
在不同时期我们的相貌和我们的行为,
03:19
and how those likes喜欢 and looks容貌 and behaviors行为 changed through通过 time.
50
174000
5000
以及这些喜好、相貌和行为如何随着时间的流逝而变化,
03:24
That then gives you an access访问
51
179000
2000
那时这就可以给我们一个
03:26
to explore探索 the biological生物 mechanisms机制
52
181000
3000
探索这样的生命机制,
03:29
and forces军队 that are responsible主管 for this gradual change更改
53
184000
3000
正是这些机制和力量逐渐
03:32
that made制作 us what we are today今天.
54
187000
3000
把我们变成今天这个样子。
03:35
But finding发现 the hard evidence证据 is a very complicated复杂 endeavor努力.
55
190000
4000
但是找到确凿的证据是一件非常复杂的任务。
03:39
It's a systematic系统的 and scientific科学 approach途径,
56
194000
3000
这是一个系统和科学方法,
03:42
which哪一个 takes you to places地方 that are remote远程, hot, hostile敌对 and often经常 with no access访问.
57
197000
6000
来带你去很遥远、炎热、危险并常常无法进入的地方。♫♫
03:48
Just to give you an example, when I went to DikikaDikika,
58
203000
2000
比如,当我们去Dikika,
03:50
where Selam塞拉姆 was found发现, in '99 -- and it's about 500 kilometers公里
59
205000
4000
也就是塞勒姆99年被发现的地方,那里离Addis Ababa
03:54
from Addis亚的斯亚贝巴 Ababa贝巴, the capital首都 of Ethiopia埃塞俄比亚.
60
209000
4000
埃塞俄比亚的首都约有500公里。
03:58
It took us only seven hours小时 to do the first 470 kilometers公里 of the 500,
61
213000
7000
500公里的前470公里只花了我们7小时的时间,
04:05
but took four, solid固体 hours小时 to do the last only 30 kilometers公里.
62
220000
5000
但其后的30个小时足足花了我们整整4个小时。
04:10
With the help of the locals当地人 and using运用 just shovels and picks精选, I made制作 my way.
63
225000
4000
在当地人的帮助之下,使用锹和镐,我开辟了了一条路。
04:14
I was the first person to actually其实 drive驾驶 a car汽车 to the spot.
64
229000
4000
我算是开车到这个地方的第一个人。
04:18
When you get there, this is what you see,
65
233000
3000
当你到那儿的时候,这就是你所看到的,
04:21
and it's the vastness广大 of the place地点 which哪一个 makes品牌 you feel helpless无助 and vulnerable弱势.
66
236000
5000
这片区域的广袤让你感到自身的无助和脆弱。
04:26
And once一旦 you make it there, the big question is where to start开始.
67
241000
4000
一旦你到了那里,最大的问题就是从哪里开始。
04:30
(Laughter笑声)
68
245000
2000
(笑声)
04:32
And you find nothing for years年份 and years年份.
69
247000
3000
然后你年复一年,什么也找不到。
04:35
When I go to places地方 like this, which哪一个 are paleontological古生物 sites网站,
70
250000
4000
当我去这样的古人类学研究现场时,
04:39
it's like going to a game游戏 park公园, an extinct绝种 game游戏 park公园.
71
254000
4000
就像是去一家游乐园,一家灭绝的游乐园。
04:43
But what you find are not the human人的 remains遗迹,
72
258000
3000
但是你找到的并不是在通常意义上存在的人类,
04:46
such这样 as Selam塞拉姆 and Lucy露西, on a day-to-day日复一日 basis基础.
73
261000
3000
就像是塞勒姆和露西。
04:49
You find elephants大象, rhinos犀牛, monkeys猴子, pigs, etc等等.
74
264000
4000
你找到的是大象,犀牛,猴子,野猪等等。
04:53
But you could ask, how could these large mammals哺乳动物
75
268000
2000
但你可能会问,这样大型的动物
04:55
live生活 in this desert沙漠 environment环境?
76
270000
2000
如何能够生存在这样的沙漠环境中?
04:57
Of course课程, they cannot不能, but I'm telling告诉 you already已经
77
272000
2000
他们当然不能,但我已经告诉你的是
04:59
that the environment环境 and the carrying携带 capacity容量
78
274000
3000
这个环境及这个地区的承载能力已经与我们今天
05:02
of this region地区 was drastically大幅 different不同 from what we have today今天.
79
277000
5000
的情况产生了急剧的变化。
05:07
A very important重要 environmental环境的 lesson could be learned学到了 from this.
80
282000
4000
我们可以从这里学到一堂非常重要的生态课程。
05:11
Anyway无论如何, once一旦 we made制作 it there, then it's a game游戏 park公园, as I said, an extinct绝种 game游戏 park公园.
81
286000
6000
不管怎样,当我们到了那里,它就是个游乐场,就像我说的那样,一个灭绝的游乐场。
05:17
And our ancestors祖先 lived生活 in that game游戏 park公园,
82
292000
3000
而且我们的祖先也生活在那个游乐场,
05:20
but were just the minorities少数民族. They were not as successful成功
83
295000
2000
但我们只是少数派。他们(人类祖先)并不像智人那样
05:22
and as widespread广泛 as the Homo智人 sapiens智人 that we are.
84
297000
5000
成功生存而且广泛分布。
05:27
To tell you just an example, an anecdote轶事 about their rarity稀有,
85
302000
3000
再给你们举一个例子,一些关于他们稀缺性的奇闻轶事,
05:30
I was going to this place地点 every一切 year and would do fieldwork实习 here,
86
305000
5000
我每年都要去这个地方,去做实地调查,
05:35
and the assistants助理, of course课程, helped帮助 me do the surveys调查.
87
310000
3000
当然,我的助手帮助我去做这些调查。
05:38
They would find a bone and tell me, "Here is what you're looking for."
88
313000
2000
他们会找到一块骨头然后告诉我,“这就是你要找的。”
05:40
I would say, "No, that's an elephant."
89
315000
1000
我会说,“不,这是一块大象的骨头。”
05:41
Again, another另一个 one, "That's a monkey." "That's a pig," etc等等.
90
316000
3000
再一次,另外一块——“这是一只猴子的骨头,”“那是一只野猪的骨头,”等等。
05:44
So one of my assistants助理, who never went to school学校, said to me, "Listen, ZerayZeray.
91
319000
3000
因此,我的一位从未上过学的助手,对我说,“听着,Zeray。
05:47
You either don't know what you're looking for,
92
322000
2000
你或者不知道你要找什么,
05:49
or you're looking in the wrong错误 place地点," he said.
93
324000
3000
也不知道你是不是找对地方了,”他说。
05:52
(Laughter笑声)
94
327000
1000
(笑声)
05:53
And I said, "Why?" "Because there were elephants大象 and lions狮子,
95
328000
3000
然后我说,“为什么?”因为这里有大象和狮子,
05:56
and the people were scared害怕 and went somewhere某处 else其他.
96
331000
2000
所以人类会恐惧,就搬到其他地方去了。
05:58
Let's go somewhere某处 else其他."
97
333000
2000
我们去别的地方吧。”
06:00
Well, he was very tired, and it's really tiring累人.
98
335000
2000
好吧,他非常疲惫,而且这件事真的很让人倦怠。
06:02
It was then, after such这样 hard work and many许多 frustrating泄气 years年份 that we found发现 Selam塞拉姆,
99
337000
5000
找到了塞勒姆,经过如此艰苦的工作和令人沮丧的岁月后
06:07
and you see the face面对 here covered覆盖 by sandstone砂岩.
100
342000
3000
你可以看到这里被砂岩覆盖的面孔。
06:10
And here is actually其实 the spinal column
101
345000
2000
这里实际上是嵌在一块砂岩中的
06:12
and the whole整个 torso躯干 encased封闭式 in a sandstone砂岩 block,
102
347000
4000
脊柱和整个躯体,
06:16
because she was buried隐藏 by a river.
103
351000
3000
因为她被一条河流所埋葬。
06:19
What you have here seems似乎 to be nothing,
104
354000
2000
你现在所拥有的貌似什么都不是,
06:21
but contains包含 an incredible难以置信 amount of scientific科学 information信息
105
356000
4000
但包含了大量不可思议的科学讯息,
06:25
that helps帮助 us explore探索 what makes品牌 us human人的.
106
360000
3000
能够帮助我们了解是什么让我们成为人类。
06:28
This is the earliest最早 and most complete完成 juvenile少年 human人的 ancestor祖先
107
363000
4000
这是古人类学历史上找到的最早和
06:32
ever found发现 in the history历史 of paleoanthropology古人类学,
108
367000
2000
最年少的人类祖先——
06:34
an amazing惊人 piece of our long, long history历史.
109
369000
4000
这段历史是我们长久历史中最叹为观止的片段。
06:38
There were these three people and me, and I am taking服用 the pictures图片,
110
373000
3000
这是我和其他三个人,我正在拍照,
06:41
that's why I am not in.
111
376000
2000
所以我不在镜头中。
06:43
How would you feel if you were me? You have something extraordinary非凡 in your hand,
112
378000
3000
如果你是我,你的手中捧着意义非凡的东西,但你却不是中心或焦点,
06:46
but you are in the middle中间 of nowhere无处?
113
381000
2000
你会怎么想?
06:48
The feeling感觉 I had was a deep and quiet安静 happiness幸福 and excitement激动,
114
383000
5000
我的感觉就是,非常深切的快乐和激动,
06:53
of course课程 accompanied伴随着 by a huge巨大 sense of responsibility责任,
115
388000
3000
当然随之而来的是巨大的责任感,
06:56
of making制造 sure everything is safe安全.
116
391000
3000
那种要确保所有事都安全(的责任感)。
06:59
Here is a close-up特写 of the fossil化石, after five years年份 of cleaning清洁的,
117
394000
5000
这是一块化石的特写,
07:04
preparation制备 and description描述, which哪一个 was very long,
118
399000
4000
它经过了5年的清理、准备和修饰——那时间非常长,
07:08
as I had to expose暴露 the bones骨头 from the sandstone砂岩 block
119
403000
3000
而且我需要把骨头从砂岩块中取出来
07:11
I just showed显示 you in the previous以前 slide滑动.
120
406000
2000
那块砂岩我在前一张片子里给大家演示了。
07:13
It took five years年份.
121
408000
1000
这花费了5年。
07:14
In a way, this was like the second第二 birth分娩 for the child儿童, after 3.3 million百万 years年份,
122
409000
5000
在某种程度下,这就像是这个孩子在330万年之后的第二次重生,
07:19
but the labor劳动 was very long.
123
414000
3000
但是劳动的时间很长。
07:22
And here is full充分 scale规模 -- it's a tiny bone.
124
417000
4000
这里是一个完整的——这是一块小骨头。
07:26
And in the middle中间 is the minister部长 of Ethiopian埃塞俄比亚 tourism旅游,
125
421000
3000
中间这个是埃塞俄比亚的旅游部长,
07:29
who came来了 to visit访问 the National国民 Museum博物馆 of Ethiopia埃塞俄比亚 while I was working加工 there.
126
424000
4000
当我在埃塞俄比亚的国家博物馆工作的时候,他造访了那里。
07:33
And you see me worried担心 and trying to protect保护 my child儿童,
127
428000
3000
你可以看到我很担心,试图保护我的孩子,
07:36
because you don't leave离开 anyone任何人 with this kind of child儿童,
128
431000
3000
因为你不会把那样的孩子留给任何人,
07:39
even a minister部长.
129
434000
3000
即使是一个部长。
07:42
So then, once一旦 you've doneDONE that, the next下一个 stage阶段 is to know what it is.
130
437000
4000
所以,一旦你那样做了,下一步就是弄明白那样的行为是什么意思。
07:46
(Laughter笑声)
131
441000
3000
(笑声)
07:49
Once一旦 that was doneDONE, then it was possible可能 to compare比较.
132
444000
4000
一旦工作完成了,就有进行比较的可能性了。
07:53
We were able能够 to tell that she belonged属于
133
448000
2000
我们能够告诉大家的是她属于
07:55
to the human人的 family家庭 tree because the legs, the foot脚丫子,
134
450000
4000
人类的大家庭,因为她的腿、脚、
07:59
and some features特征 clearly明确地 showed显示 that she walked upright直立,
135
454000
4000
和其他一些特征很明显的显示了她直立行走,
08:03
and upright直立 walking步行 is a hallmark特点 in humanity人性.
136
458000
3000
而直立行走是人类的专属标志。
08:06
But in addition加成, if you compare比较 the skull头骨
137
461000
3000
不过另外,如果你你把这个头骨与
08:09
with a comparably同等 aged chimpanzee黑猩猩 and little George乔治 Bush衬套 here,
138
464000
3000
一个对等年龄的黑猩猩以及这里的小布什(美国第54届总统)相比,
08:12
you see that you have vertical垂直 forehead前额.
139
467000
4000
你们可以看到有垂直的额头,
08:16
And you see that in humans人类, because of the development发展
140
471000
3000
这是在人类中,由于所谓的
08:19
of the pre-frontal前额叶 cortex皮质, it's called.
141
474000
2000
大脑前叶的发展所造成的——
08:21
You don't see that in chimpanzees黑猩猩,
142
476000
3000
而你在黑猩猩的身上看不到这一点,
08:24
and you don't see this very projecting突出 canine.
143
479000
4000
而且你也看不到这样突出的犬齿。
08:28
So she belongs属于 to our family家庭 tree, but within that, of course课程,
144
483000
3000
所以她属于我们这一族谱,当然,随着我们
08:31
you do detailed详细 analysis分析, and we know now
145
486000
2000
进行了详细的分析,我们现在知道
08:33
that she belongs属于 to the Lucy露西 species种类,
146
488000
2000
她属于“露西”一族,这一族
08:35
known已知 as Australopithecus南方古猿 afarensis南方古猿.
147
490000
3000
被称做阿法南方古猿。
08:38
The next下一个 exciting扣人心弦 question is, girl女孩 or boy男孩?
148
493000
3000
下一个令人激动的问题是女孩还是男孩,
08:41
And how old was she when she died死亡?
149
496000
2000
当她死亡的时候有多大?
08:43
You can determine确定 the sex性别 of the individual个人
150
498000
3000
你可以根据牙齿的大小判断
08:46
based基于 on the size尺寸 of the teeth.
151
501000
3000
一个人的性别。
08:49
How?
152
504000
1000
怎么做到?
08:50
You know, in primates灵长类动物, there is this phenomenon现象
153
505000
2000
大家知道,在灵长类动物中,有一种现象
08:52
called sexual有性 dimorphism异形, which哪一个 simply只是 means手段
154
507000
2000
叫做两性异型,简单来讲就是
08:54
males男性 are larger than females女性 and males男性 have larger teeth
155
509000
2000
男性要比女性要大一些,
08:56
than the females女性.
156
511000
2000
男性的牙齿要比女性更大。
08:58
But to do that, you need the permanent常驻 dentition牙列,
157
513000
2000
不过要做到那一点,你需要找到恒齿,
09:00
which哪一个 you don't see here, because what you have here
158
515000
2000
我们在这里看不到,因为我们所有的是
09:02
are the baby宝宝 teeth.
159
517000
2000
婴儿的牙齿。
09:04
But using运用 the CTCT scanning扫描 technology技术,
160
519000
2000
但使用CT扫描技术,
09:06
which哪一个 is normally一般 used for medical purposes目的,
161
521000
2000
即常用于医学目的的那种——
09:08
you can go deep into the mouth and come up with this beautiful美丽 image图片
162
523000
3000
你可以深入口腔,获取那些既可以显示婴儿牙齿
09:11
showing展示 you both the baby宝宝 teeth here
163
526000
2000
又可以显示正在生长的成人牙齿
09:13
and the still-growing仍在增长 adult成人 teeth here.
164
528000
4000
的美丽图像。
09:17
So when you measure测量 those teeth,
165
532000
2000
所以当我们测量这些牙齿时,
09:19
it was clear明确 that she turned转身 out to be a girl女孩
166
534000
3000
就这么小的犬齿来看,很明显
09:22
with very small canine teeth.
167
537000
3000
她是个女孩。
09:25
And to know how old she was when she died死亡, what you do is
168
540000
2000
要想知道她死时有多少岁,你能够做的
09:27
you do an informed通知 estimate估计, and you say, how much time would be required需要
169
542000
6000
就是去做一个可靠的估计,你要知道形成这个牙齿要花多长时间,
09:33
to form形成 this amount of teeth, and the answer回答 was three.
170
548000
5000
我们的答案就是三岁。
09:38
So, this girl女孩 died死亡 when she was about three,
171
553000
3000
因此这个女孩在约三岁时夭折了,
09:41
3.3 million百万 years年份 ago.
172
556000
2000
距今330万年。
09:43
So, with all that information信息, the big question is --
173
558000
3000
因此有了这么多信息,最大的问题就是——
09:46
what do we actually其实 -- what does she tell us?
174
561000
4000
我们实际上——她告诉了我们什么事情?
09:50
To answer回答 this question, we can phrase短语 another另一个 question.
175
565000
2000
要回答这个问题,我们可以引用另一个问题——
09:52
What do we actually其实 know about our ancestors祖先?
176
567000
3000
关于我们的祖先我们究竟了解多少?
09:55
We want to know how they looked看着 like, how they behaved,
177
570000
2000
我们想了解他们长相如何,行为如何,
09:57
how they walked around,
178
572000
2000
如何行走,
09:59
and how they lived生活 and grew成长 up.
179
574000
3000
以及它们如何生活和成长。
10:02
And among其中 the answers答案 that you can get from this skeleton骨架
180
577000
5000
你可以从这具骨骼中找到的答案已经
10:07
are included包括: first, this skeleton骨架 documents文件,
181
582000
5000
囊括了以上的疑问——首先,这句骨骼首次记录了
10:12
for the first time, how infants婴儿 looked看着 over three million百万 years年份 ago.
182
587000
5000
距今300万年前的孤儿长什么样儿。
10:17
And second第二, she tells告诉 us that she walked upright直立,
183
592000
3000
其次,她告诉了我们她是直立行走的,
10:20
but had some adaptation适应 for tree climbing攀登.
184
595000
3000
不过仍具有一些爬树的适应性
10:23
And more interesting有趣, however然而,
185
598000
2000
更令人觉得有趣的是,然而,
10:25
is the brain in this child儿童 was still growing生长.
186
600000
2000
这个孩子的大脑仍然在成长。
10:27
At age年龄 three, if you have a still-growing仍在增长 brain,
187
602000
3000
三岁时,如果你的大脑还在成长,
10:30
it's a human人的 behavior行为.
188
605000
2000
这就属于人类的特征了。
10:32
In chimps黑猩猩, by age年龄 three, the brain is formed形成 over 90 percent百分.
189
607000
5000
三岁的黑猩猩,其大脑已经90%成型。
10:37
That's why they can cope应付 with their environment环境
190
612000
3000
这正是它们在出生以后很快就能适应环境
10:40
very easily容易 after birth分娩 -- faster更快 than us, anyway无论如何.
191
615000
3000
的原因——无论怎样,适应的比我们快。
10:43
But in humans人类, we continue继续 to grow增长 our brains大脑.
192
618000
2000
反观人类,我们则继续进行脑部发育。
10:45
That's why we need care关心 from our parents父母.
193
620000
3000
这也是我们为何需要父母照顾的原因。
10:48
But that care关心 means手段 also you learn学习.
194
623000
2000
不过这种照看意味着你还在不断学习成长。
10:50
You spend more time with your parents父母.
195
625000
2000
你跟父母在一起的时间更长。
10:52
And that's very characteristic特性 of humans人类 and it's called childhood童年,
196
627000
3000
这是人类的典型特点,它叫做童年,
10:55
which哪一个 is this extended扩展 dependence依赖 of human人的 children孩子
197
630000
3000
即人类儿童对其家庭或父母的
10:58
on their family家庭 or parents父母.
198
633000
3000
更长久的依赖。
11:01
So, the still-growing仍在增长 brain in this individual个人
199
636000
4000
所以这个孩子正在成长的大脑
11:05
tells告诉 us that childhood童年, which哪一个 requires要求
200
640000
3000
告诉我们她的童年开始于
11:08
an incredible难以置信 social社会 organization组织,
201
643000
3000
300多万年前,而这需要
11:11
a very complex复杂 social社会 organization组织,
202
646000
2000
一个不可思议的社会组织,
11:13
emerged出现 over three million百万 years年份 ago.
203
648000
2000
一个非常复杂的社会组织。
11:15
So, by being存在 at the cusp风口浪尖 of our evolutionary发展的 history历史,
204
650000
4000
因此在我们进化历史的顶端,
11:19
Selam塞拉姆 unites联信 us all and gives us a unique独特 account帐户
205
654000
5000
塞勒姆将我们联合起来,给予我们之所以为人的
11:24
on what makes品牌 us human人的.
206
659000
3000
特殊依据。
11:27
But not everything was human人的, and I will give you
207
662000
3000
不过并不是所有的特征都是人类,我会给你展示
11:30
a very exciting扣人心弦 example.
208
665000
2000
一个非常令人激动的例证。
11:32
This is called the hyoid舌骨 bone. It's a bone which哪一个 is right here.
209
667000
2000
这个叫做舌骨。它就是长在这里的骨头。
11:34
It supports支持 your tongue from behind背后.
210
669000
2000
它从后部支撑着你的舌头。
11:36
It's, in a way, your voice语音 box.
211
671000
3000
在某种意义上,它是你的音箱。
11:39
It determines确定 the type类型 of voice语音 you produce生产.
212
674000
4000
它决定了你发出的声音类型。
11:43
It was not known已知 in the fossil化石 record记录,
213
678000
2000
在化石记录里,它并不出名,
11:45
and we have it in this skeleton骨架.
214
680000
3000
我们在这具骨骼上发现了它。
11:48
When we did the analysis分析 of this bone, it was clear明确
215
683000
4000
当我们对这块骨头进行分析时,很明显发现,
11:52
that it looked看着 very chimp-like黑猩猩般的, chimpanzee-like黑猩猩般的.
216
687000
4000
它非常像黑猩猩(的舌骨)。
11:56
So if you were there 3.3 million百万 years年份 ago,
217
691000
4000
因此,如果你处于330万年前,
12:00
to hear when this girl女孩 was crying哭了 out for her mother母亲,
218
695000
3000
听这个女孩哭喊着找妈妈时,
12:03
she would have sounded满面 more like a chimpanzee黑猩猩 than a human人的.
219
698000
3000
她听起来会更像黑猩猩而非人类。
12:06
Maybe you're wondering想知道, "So, you see this ape feature特征, human人的 feature特征, ape feature特征.
220
701000
4000
可能你在想,“那么你看到了猿类的特征,人类的特征,猿类的特征。
12:10
What does that tell us?"
221
705000
2000
它到底对我们意味着什么?”
12:12
You know, that is very exciting扣人心弦 for us,
222
707000
2000
你要知道,那对我们来说实在激动人心,
12:14
because it demonstrates演示 that things were changing改变 slowly慢慢地 and progressively逐步,
223
709000
3000
因为它说明了事物是缓慢且不断前进的变化着的,
12:17
and that evolution演化 is in the making制造.
224
712000
3000
进化正在发生。
12:20
To summarize总结 the significance意义 of this fossil化石,
225
715000
3000
来总结一下这个化石的重要性,
12:23
we can say the following以下.
226
718000
2000
我们可以谈到以下几点。
12:25
Up to now, the knowledge知识 that we had about our ancestors祖先
227
720000
4000
迄今为止,我们拥有的关于我们祖先的知识
12:29
came来了 essentially实质上 from adult成人 individuals个人
228
724000
4000
基本上来自于成年人的化石,因为
12:33
because the fossils化石, the baby宝宝 fossils化石, were missing失踪.
229
728000
3000
婴儿的化石是缺失的。
12:36
They don't preserve保留 well, as you know.
230
731000
2000
正如你们所知道的,他们不易保存完好。
12:38
So the knowledge知识 that we had about our ancestors祖先,
231
733000
4000
所以我们拥有的关于我们祖先
12:42
on how they looked看着 like, how they behaved,
232
737000
2000
长相如何,行为如何的知识,
12:44
was kind of biased toward adults成年人.
233
739000
5000
只是基于成人的片面观点。
12:49
Imagine想像 somebody coming未来 from Mars火星
234
744000
3000
想象一下有人从火星而来,
12:52
and his job工作 is to report报告 on the type类型 of people
235
747000
2000
他的工作就是记录并报告统治着地球的
12:54
occupying占用 our planet行星 Earth地球, and you hide隐藏 all the babies婴儿,
236
749000
3000
人类物种,而我们把所有婴儿、儿童都藏起来了,
12:57
the children孩子, and he goes back and reports报告.
237
752000
4000
接着他便回去复命。
13:01
Can you imagine想像 how much biased his report报告 would be?
238
756000
4000
你可以想象这个报告将有多大的偏差么?
13:05
That's what somehow不知何故 we were doing so far
239
760000
2000
这就是在缺少儿童化石的情况下,我们
13:07
in the absence缺席 of the fossil化石 children孩子,
240
762000
2000
到目前为止在做的工作,
13:09
so I think the new fossil化石 fixes修复 this problem问题.
241
764000
5000
因此我认为这些新化石解决了这个问题。
13:14
So, I think the most important重要 question at the end结束 is,
242
769000
5000
所以我觉得最终最重要的问题是,
13:19
what do we actually其实 learn学习 from specimens标本 like this
243
774000
3000
从更普遍的意义上来讲,我们实际上从这样的标本
13:22
and from our past过去 in general一般?
244
777000
3000
和我们的历史中学到了什么?
13:25
Of course课程, in addition加成 to extracting提取 this huge巨大 amount
245
780000
3000
当然,除了提取到这么大量的科学信息
13:28
of scientific科学 information信息 as to what makes品牌 us human人的,
246
783000
3000
来证明我们之所以成为人类,
13:31
you know, the many许多 human人的 ancestors祖先 that have existed存在
247
786000
3000
很多存在于过去600万年的远古人类祖先——
13:34
over the past过去 six million百万 years年份 -- and there are more than 10 --
248
789000
4000
至少有10个——他们并不具备这些
13:38
they did not have the knowledge知识, the technology技术 and sophisticationssophistications
249
793000
3000
我们智人今天所拥有的知识、
13:41
that we, Homo智人 sapiens智人, have today今天.
250
796000
2000
技术和方法。
13:43
But if this species种类, ancient species种类,
251
798000
4000
不过如果这个物种,远古的物种,
13:47
would travel旅行 in time and see us today今天,
252
802000
3000
会通过时间旅行来看望今天的我们,
13:50
they would very much be very proud骄傲 of their legacy遗产,
253
805000
5000
他们将会为他们所留的遗产而倍感骄傲,
13:55
because they became成为 the ancestors祖先 of
254
810000
2000
因为他们是当前宇宙中最成功
13:57
the most successful成功 species种类 in the universe宇宙.
255
812000
2000
物种的祖先。
13:59
And they were probably大概 not aware知道的 of this future未来 legacy遗产,
256
814000
2000
他们可能并不知道他们未来的遗产,
14:01
but they did great.
257
816000
2000
不过他们确实很伟大。
14:03
Now the question is, we Homo智人 sapiens智人 today今天
258
818000
3000
现在问题是,我们今天这些智人
14:06
are in a position位置 to decide决定 about the future未来 of our planet行星, possibly或者 more.
259
821000
6000
正担负着决定我们的星球未来的责任,或者有可能责任更大。
14:12
So the question is, are we up to the challenge挑战?
260
827000
3000
所以问题是,我们准备好去挑战了么?
14:15
And can we really do better than these primitive原始,
261
830000
3000
我们真的能比这些先驱者、脑容量小的祖先
14:18
small-brained小右脑 ancestors祖先?
262
833000
3000
做得更好么?
14:21
Among其中 the most pressing紧迫 challenges挑战 that our species种类
263
836000
4000
我们的物种今日所面临的最有挑战性的问题是
14:25
is faced面对 with today今天 are the chronic慢性 problems问题 of Africa非洲.
264
840000
5000
非洲长期存在的问题。
14:30
Needless不必要 to list名单 them here, and there are more competent胜任 people
265
845000
3000
无需去列举,已经有很多智者
14:33
to talk about this.
266
848000
3000
讨论过这些。
14:36
Still, in my opinion意见, we have two choices选择.
267
851000
3000
然而,我认为,我们有两种选择。
14:42
One is to continue继续 to see a poor较差的, ill生病, crying哭了 Africa非洲,
268
857000
6000
一是维持一个贫穷、病痛、哭泣的非洲——
14:48
carrying携带 guns枪炮, that depends依靠 on other people forever永远,
269
863000
5000
手握武器——永远依赖着他人,
14:53
or to promote促进 an Africa非洲 which哪一个 is confident信心,
270
868000
5000
或是推动一个更加自信、
14:58
peaceful平静的, independent独立, but cognizant认识 of its huge巨大 problems问题
271
873000
4000
和平、独立,但同时能够认识到它自身面临的巨大问题和
15:02
and great values at the same相同 time.
272
877000
4000
巨大价值的非洲。
15:06
I am for the second第二 option选项, and I'm sure many许多 of you are.
273
881000
5000
我支持第二种选择,而且我确信我们大多数人是这样想的。
15:11
And the key is to promote促进 a positive African非洲人 attitude态度 towards Africa非洲.
274
886000
10000
关键是推动起一个对非洲更加积极的非洲精神。
15:21
That's because we Africans非洲人 concentrate集中 --
275
896000
4000
因为我们非洲关注于——
15:25
I am from Ethiopia埃塞俄比亚, by the way --
276
900000
2000
顺便说一下,我来自埃塞俄比亚——
15:27
we concentrate集中 too much on how we are seen看到
277
902000
2000
我们太关注于别人怎么
15:29
from elsewhere别处, or from outside.
278
904000
3000
看我们和理解我们。
15:32
I think it's important重要 to promote促进 in a more positive way
279
907000
5000
我认为重要的是我们应以一个更积极的态度
15:37
on how we see ourselves我们自己.
280
912000
3000
来看待我们自己。
15:40
That's what I call positive African非洲人 attitude态度.
281
915000
3000
这就是我所说的非洲——积极的非洲精神。
15:43
So finally最后, I would like to say,
282
918000
3000
最后,我想说,
15:46
so let's help Africa非洲 walk步行 upright直立 and forward前锋,
283
921000
5000
就让我们帮助非洲站起来,向前走——
15:51
then we all can be proud骄傲 of our future未来 legacy遗产 as a species种类.
284
926000
5000
那时,作为同一个物种,我们都会为我们留给未来的遗产而骄傲。
15:56
Thank you.
285
931000
2000
谢谢。
15:58
(Applause掌声)
286
933000
1000
(掌声)
Translated by Zhijun Wang
Reviewed by Jinming Sha

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Zeresenay Alemseged - Paleoanthropologist
Zeresenay "Zeray" Alemseged digs in the Ethiopian desert, looking for the earliest signs of humanity. His most exciting find: the 3.3-million-year-old bones of Selam, a 3-year-old hominid child, from the species Australopithecus afarensis.

Why you should listen

Paleoanthropologist Zeresenay Alemseged studies the origins of humanity. Through his Dikika Research Project (DRP) in the Afar desert of Ethiopia, he has discovered the earliest known skeleton of a hominid child, the 3.3-million-year-old bones of Selam, a 3-year-old girl of the species Australopithecus afarensis. She is a member of the same species as Lucy, discovered nearby in 1974.

In studying Selam's tiny bones, Alemseged is searching for the points at which we humans diverged from apes. For instance, Selam may have had ape-like shoulders, made for climbing trees -- but her legs were angled for walking upright. Her young brain, at age 3, was still growing, which implies that she was set to have a long human-style childhood. And in the hyoid bone of her throat, Alemseged sees the beginning of human speech.

Born in Axum, Ethiopia, Alemseged is based in San Francisco at the California Academy of Sciences where is is the Director and Curator of the Anthropology department. Prior to this, he was a senior researcher at the  Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. To see more video from Alemseged, visit the video archives of Nature.

More profile about the speaker
Zeresenay Alemseged | Speaker | TED.com