DNA分析加深喜马拉雅“骨架湖”之谜

DNA分析加深喜马拉雅“骨架湖”之谜

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.

科学家们说，在过去一千年里，有数百人死于喜马拉雅山的一个湖泊。几十年来，人们对这个充满着人类遗骸的怪诞湖泊的神秘感不断加深。

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

之前人们认为“骨架湖”遗址是9世纪一场突然而奇怪的古代灾难的结果。

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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世纪到19世纪的多个事件中，鲁普昆德湖的骨骼是由多起事件中的死亡组成的。

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

DNA证据表明，在印度地区死亡的一些人来自地中海，这进一步加深了谜团。

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.

许多骸骨的头骨都是被头部后部的打击所造成的，很可能是由从上方落下的圆形物体造成的。

“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古科学研究所的研究作者Niraj Rai说：“长期以来，人们一直在猜测这些人是谁，是什么把他们带到鲁普昆德湖的，以及他们是如何死亡的。”

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

鲁普肯德湖在1942年第二次世界大战期间首次被“发现”。

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

当时的英国官员认为,这些骨架是属于日本侵略军的。

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

但后来的研究得出结论，在9世纪，一场突然而猛烈的冰雹使数百人丧生。

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.

现在，一项对该遗址72具骨骼的大规模研究表明，这些人在“至少两次事件”中死亡，相隔1000年。研究结果发表在《自然通讯》杂志上。

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

第一次事件发生在7世纪到10世纪之间，有印度血统的人死在鲁普肯德湖。

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

专家说，这些人有可能死于几起不同的事件。

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

然后，在17世纪到20世纪的某个时候，另外两个族群在那里被杀。

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

奇怪的是，这些人被认为是来自东地中海和东南亚的旅行者。

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

哈佛大学的阿当恩·哈尼说：“我们对鲁普肯德骨架的遗传学非常惊讶。”

“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.”

“具有典型地中海东部血统的个体的存在表明，鲁普昆德湖不仅是当地人感兴趣的地方，而且吸引了来自世界各地的游客。”

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

考古学家还不知道是什么把人们带到了湖边。

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

更重要的是，他们不完全确定到底是什么杀死了他们。

“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.

哈佛医学院的大卫·雷奇(DavidReich)是这项研究的合著者，他说：“我们发现，鲁普肯德湖的历史比我们预想的要复杂得多。”

“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)提出了一个令人震惊的问题，即来自东地中海的移民，他们的祖先是非常不典型的地区，他们是如何在几百年前死在这个地方的。”