中文导读

近一百年来，考古学家一直认为，德国东部布赖滕巴赫（Breitenbach）这处石器时代营地的人们虽然用猛犸象牙制作珠子和小雕像，但所用象牙来自早已死去的动物。2026年7月至10月的发掘带来了新线索：考古队自1927年以来首次再次发现成堆的猛犸象骨骼，还有长段象牙和加工过的象牙，部分骨头上留有切割痕迹。研究者据此认为，当时的猎人也许曾就地猎杀猛犸象，以其肉为食，并用象牙和兽皮制作工具、饰品和衣物。文章按“旧看法—遗址背景—新发现—谨慎解释—遗址意义”展开，阅读时可留意 seemed、suggest、may、perhaps、probably 等词如何区分过去的推测、新的证据和尚未定论的部分。

正文

For almost 100 years, archaeologists believed they understood one Stone Age camp in eastern Germany. People there made beads and small figures from mammoth ivory, but the ivory seemed to come from animals that had died long before. This summer, new finds at the site of Breitenbach suggest a different story: the people who lived there may have hunted mammoths themselves.

本段译文

近一百年来，考古学家一直认为自己了解德国东部的一处石器时代营地。那里的人们用猛犸象牙制作珠子和小雕像，但这些象牙似乎来自很久以前就已死去的动物。今年夏天，在布赖滕巴赫遗址的新发现讲述了一个不同的故事：生活在那里的人们可能亲自猎杀过猛犸象。

The camp is very old and very large. People used it about 32,000 to 34,000 years ago, when early modern humans were settling in Europe. It covers about 10,000 square meters, which makes it the largest open-air site from this period in western Eurasia. A schoolboy found it in 1924, when he noticed a mammoth tooth during building work. In 1927, a Swedish archaeologist led a large dig there.

本段译文

这处营地既古老又巨大。大约3.2万至3.4万年前，早期现代人正在欧洲定居，人们就在这里活动。它占地约1万平方米，是欧亚大陆西部这一时期最大的露天遗址。1924年，一名学生在施工中发现了一颗猛犸象牙齿，由此发现了这里。1927年，一位瑞典考古学家在此主持了一次大规模发掘。

Since 2009, two German research groups have worked at the site with modern methods. Earlier finds included an area that looked like a workshop, with drilled beads, weapon points, parts of carved figures and waste from making them. Tests in earlier years suggested that the ivory used there was much older than the camp itself. The hunters seemed to catch mainly reindeer, sometimes horses and deer, and also foxes and hares, probably for their fur.

本段译文

自2009年起，两家德国研究机构用现代方法在遗址开展工作。早先的发现包括一片看起来像作坊的区域，那里有钻了孔的珠子、武器尖头、雕像的残片以及制作时留下的废料。前些年的检测显示，那里使用的象牙比营地本身古老得多。猎人们似乎主要捕猎驯鹿，有时也猎马和鹿，还捕猎狐狸和野兔，可能是为了获取毛皮。

The digging season from July to October 2026 changed that picture. For the first time since 1927, the team found large piles of mammoth bones, together with long pieces of tusk and worked ivory. Some bones have cut marks, which suggest that people cut meat from the animals and ate it. According to the researchers, the ivory and probably the skins were also used to make tools, jewelry, art, clothes and tent covers.

本段译文

2026年7月至10月的发掘季改变了这一认识。考古队自1927年以来首次发现了成堆的猛犸象骨骼，同时还有长段象牙和加工过的象牙。一些骨头上有切割痕迹，表明人们曾从这些动物身上割肉食用。据研究人员介绍，象牙以及很可能还有兽皮，也被用来制作工具、首饰、艺术品、衣服和帐篷的覆盖物。

“The new finds now suggest that the Breitenbach hunters perhaps did not use only fossil ivory, but killed mammoths on the spot,” said Olaf Jöris, a project leader from the research center MONREPOS. The word “perhaps” is important. The finds point toward hunting, but the team has not claimed final proof.

本段译文

MONREPOS研究中心的项目负责人奥拉夫·约里斯（Olaf Jöris）说：“新的发现现在表明，布赖滕巴赫的猎人或许并不只是使用化石象牙，而是就地猎杀了猛犸象。”“或许”这个词很重要。这些发现指向了狩猎，但研究团队并没有声称已经得到最终证据。

The site matters for another reason. Most places from this early period are caves, which show only small parts of daily life. Because Breitenbach is so large and so well preserved, researchers can study how a whole camp was organized. Marcel Weiß of the state heritage office says there were separate areas for working ivory and for preparing the skins of hares and foxes. Some of the earlier finds can now be seen in a museum in the city of Halle.

本段译文

这处遗址重要还有另一个原因。这一早期阶段的大多数遗址都是洞穴，只能呈现日常生活的一小部分。由于布赖滕巴赫面积大、保存得好，研究人员可以研究一整个营地是如何组织的。州文物保护机构的马塞尔·魏斯（Marcel Weiß）说，这里有分别用于加工象牙和处理野兔、狐狸毛皮的不同区域。一些早先出土的文物如今可以在哈勒市的一家博物馆里看到。

新闻来源

• Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt · Presseinformation: Breitenbach (20 Oct 2026, German)
• Mitteldeutsche Zeitung / dpa · Neue Mammutfunde in mehr als 30.000 Jahre alter Fundstätte (20 Oct 2026, German)
• Archaeology News Online Magazine · Mammoth bones at a 32,000-year-old camp in Germany suggest Stone Age hunters took down live giants (22 Oct 2026)

✳更多文章 →