即使在40萬年前，動物物種的消失也給人類帶來了損失

即使在40萬年前，動物物種的消失也給人類帶來了損失

When animals go extinct, humans pay a price in more ways than one.

當動物滅絕時，人類付出的代價是多方面的。

In fact, research published recently in the journal Time and Mind, suggests even our ancient ancestors missed a species they hunted when it disappeared or migrated elsewhere.

事實上，最近發(fā)表在《時代與思維》雜志上的一項研究表明，即使是我們的遠古祖先，也會在某一物種消失或遷移到其他地方時，想念它。

A mammoth is depicted on the walls of the Rouffignac caves in France. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons [public domain])

That's because their relationship with animals was much more nuanced than a simple sustenance-based dynamic. Animals were not only hunted, but revered.

這是因為它們與動物的關系比簡單的以維持生命為基礎的動態(tài)要微妙得多。動物不僅被獵殺，而且受到尊敬。

"The disappearance of a species that supported human existence for millennia triggered not only technological and social changes but also had profound emotional and psychological effects," the authors note in the study.

作者在研究中指出:“一種支持人類存在數(shù)千年的物種的消失不僅引發(fā)了技術和社會的變化，還產(chǎn)生了深刻的情感和心理影響。”

To reach that conclusion, Tel Aviv University researchers looked at hunter-gatherer societies at various points in human history — from as far back as 400,000 years ago to the present — and noted the complex "multidimensional connection" between humans and animals. In all, 10 case studies suggested that bond was existential, physical, spiritual, and emotional.

為了得出這個結論，特拉維夫大學的研究人員觀察了人類歷史上不同時期的狩獵采集社會——從40萬年前到現(xiàn)在——并注意到人類和動物之間復雜的“多維聯(lián)系”?？偣灿?0個案例研究表明，聯(lián)系是存在的，是身體上、精神上和情感上的。

An animal's sudden absence, researchers noted, resonates deeply — both emotionally and psychologically — among people who relied on those animals for food. The researchers suspect understanding that impact could help brace us for the dramatic environmental changes happening today.

研究人員指出，動物的突然消失在人們的情感和心理上都產(chǎn)生了深刻的共鳴，這些人都以動物為食。研究人員懷疑，理解這種影響可能有助于我們?yōu)榻裉彀l(fā)生的巨大環(huán)境變化做好準備。

A Siberian community, for example, adapted to the disappearance of wooly mammoths by migrating east — and becoming the first known settlers in Alaska and northern Canada. In central Israel, researchers noted, the change from elephants to deer as a hunting source brought physical changes to the humans who lived there. They had to develop agility and social connections, rather than the brute strength required to take down elephants.

例如，一個西伯利亞社區(qū)向東遷移，適應了長毛猛犸象的消失，成為阿拉斯加和加拿大北部已知的第一批定居者。在以色列中部，研究人員注意到，從大象到鹿的狩獵來源的變化給居住在那里的人類帶來了身體上的變化。它們必須發(fā)展敏捷性和社會關系，而不是需要蠻力才能擊倒大象。

But an animal's disappearance from an environment also created powerful emotional ripples.

但動物從環(huán)境中消失也會產(chǎn)生強烈的情感波動。

Indeed, researchers cite engravings of mammoths and seals from the Late Paleolithic period in Europe as compelling examples of that emotional connection. Both species were likely long gone from that region by the time the engravings were made.

事實上，研究人員將歐洲舊石器時代晚期的猛犸象和海豹的雕刻作為這種情感聯(lián)系的有力例證。這兩個物種很可能在雕刻完成之前就已經(jīng)離開了那個地區(qū)。

"These depictions reflect a simple human emotion we all know very well: longing," Halfon notes. "Early humans remembered the animals that disappeared and perpetuated them, just like a poet who writes a song about his beloved who left him."

“這些描繪反映了一種我們都非常了解的簡單的人類情感:渴望，”哈爾豐寫道。“早期人類記住了那些消失并使它們永垂不朽的動物，就像一位詩人寫了一首關于離開他的愛人的歌。”

Those feelings may even involve a sense of guilt — and maybe even a lesson for a society that lost an animal species.

這些感覺甚至可能包括一種負罪感——甚至可能是一個失去了動物物種的社會的一個教訓。

"Indigenous hunter-gatherer societies have been very careful to maintain clear rules about hunting. As a result, when an animal disappears, they ask: 'Did we behave properly? Is it angry and punishing us? What can we do to convince it to come back?'" explains study co-author Ran Barkai. "Such a reaction has been exhibited by modern-day hunter-gatherer societies as well."

“土著狩獵采集社會一直非常小心地維持著關于狩獵的明確規(guī)則。因此，當一只動物消失時，他們會問:‘我們的行為舉止合適嗎?它是在憤怒和懲罰我們嗎?我們怎樣才能說服它回來呢?’”研究合著者Ran Barkai解釋道。“這種反應在現(xiàn)代狩獵采集社會中也得到了體現(xiàn)。”