【外刊英语精读】最古老花椒种子 | oldest Sichuan pepper seeds

Oldest Sichuan pepper seeds unearthed最古老的花椒种子出土Discovery in Ziyang reveals love for spicy food during Paleolithic period资阳考古发现揭示旧石器时代人类对辛辣食物的偏爱Some 60,000-year-old wild Sichuan pepper seeds unearthed at the Mengxihe Site in Ziyang, Sichuan province, have helped shed light on Paleolithic human diets that included a spicy and numbing flavor.四川省资阳市濛溪河遗址出土约6万年前的野生花椒种子，表明旧石器时代人类饮食中已经包含麻辣的味道。As plants decay easily, finding plant seeds in archaeological sites is rare. Zheng Zhexuan, director of the Paleolithic Archaeology Institute at the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said researchers were excited when they confirmed in late 2024, after more than a year of meticulous analysis, that the tiny, near-round items are Sichuan pepper seeds.由于植物容易腐烂，考古遗址中鲜少发现植物种子。四川省文物考古研究院旧石器考古研究所所长郑喆轩表示，经过一年多的细致分析，研究人员于2024年底确认这些微小、近似圆形的物体为花椒种子，这一发现令人兴奋。" They are the oldest Sichuan pepper seeds unearthed at sites with human activity worldwide, an extremely rare discovery even at historical sites that are just a few hundred years old," Zheng said. "It suggests that tens of millennia ago, ancient humans in Sichuan may have already used it for flavoring. The love for spicy, numbing flavors might truly be etched in Sichuan people's DNA!"“这是目前全球范围内出土于有人类活动遗址中最古老的花椒种子，即便在仅有数百年历史的遗址中，这样的发现也极为罕见。”郑喆轩说，“这表明在数万年前，四川的古人类可能已经使用花椒调味。四川人对麻辣的偏爱，或许真的刻在了基因里！”The water-rich environment caused by floods resulting from climate change helped block oxygen and germs, significantly slowing degradation and preserving a large number of plant remains, he said. "The Sichuan pepper is possibly the earliest known evidence of humans using spices for flavoring, offering unprecedented insights into early humans' culinary sophistication."他表示，气候变化引发的洪水使当地环境富含水分，阻隔了氧气和微生物，从而大大减缓了有机物的分解，留下了大量植物遗存。“这一花椒种子可能是迄今最早的人类使用香料调味的证据，为早期人类的烹饪先进程度提供了前所未有的见解。”Beyond possible seasoning, the site provides a vivid picture of ancient diets. More than 30 animal species, including extinct stegodons, bears, birds, cattle and fish, were identified from fossils bearing cut marks and signs of fire — evidence of hunting, butchering and barbecuing. Edible plant remains such as walnuts, grapes and acorns demonstrate the diversity of the foraging economy. Researchers also found a high proportion of elderberry and carpet bugle plants, which are commonly used for treating injuries and promoting blood circulation in traditional Chinese medicine. This suggests early usage of medicinal plants.除了可能存在的调味品，该遗址还生动呈现了古代饮食结构。考古人员在带有切割痕迹和火烧痕迹的化石中，鉴定出包括已灭绝的剑齿象、熊、鸟、牛、鱼等30多种动物，显示出狩猎、屠宰及烧烤的证据。此外，还发现了核桃、葡萄、橡实等可食用植物遗存，证明了当时多样化的采集经济模式。研究人员还发现了大量接骨木果和匍筋骨草，这些植物在传统中医中常用于治疗损伤、活血化瘀，这表明早期人类可能已经使用药用植物。 The site has yielded more than 210,000 stone tools, animal fossils and related fragments, along with more than 60,000 plant seeds and spores. These discoveries provide the first material evidence verifying the existence of a foraging economy during the Middle Paleolithic period, making it the only site with abundant plant remains identified to date in the context of modern human evolutionary dispersal.该遗址出土了超过21万件石制工具、动物化石及相关碎片，以及超过6万粒植物种子和孢子。这些发现首次提供了实物证据，证实了中旧石器时代的采集经济模式，该遗址成为目前在现代人类演化扩散背景下唯一一个发现丰富植物遗存的遗址。" This site proves ancient humans here practiced broad-spectrum resource utilization much earlier than believed," Zheng said. "They weren't just surviving; they maintained local stone implement technologies while developing complex behaviors similar to modern people." It marks a major breakthrough in studying the origins and early cultural development of East Asia.“这一遗址证明，早期人类在这里远比我们想象中更早地开始了广谱资源利用。”郑喆轩表示，“他们不仅仅是在生存，而是在保持本地石器技术的同时，还发展出与现代人相似的复杂行为。”这一发现是研究东亚人类起源与早期文化发展的重大突破。前往小宇宙评论区与主播互动