German scientists have discovered a new human species that lived in Siberia around 30,000 to 50,000 years ago. The evidence changes the picture of pre-human habitation on Earth.
德國科學家在西伯利亞發現約3萬至5萬年前的新人種。相關證據改寫史前人類在地球上的樣貌。
Scientists found the fossilized remnants of a tiny finger bone that probably belonged to a small child. In the latest use of DNA to investigate the story of humankind, scientists have decoded genetic material from an unidentified human ancestor that lived in Siberia and concluded it might be a new member of the human family tree.
科學家發現一小截可能屬於一個小孩的手指骨頭的化石遺跡。這是科學家最近一次使用DNA研究探討人類演化史，他們從西伯利亞一個身分不明的人類祖先身上破解遺傳物質密碼，並下結論說，它可能是人類族譜的新成員。
The DNA doesn't match modern humans or Neanderthals, two species that lived in that area around the same time - 30,000 to 50,000 years ago. Instead, it suggests the Siberian species lineage split off from the branch leading to moderns and Neanderthals a million years ago, the researchers calculated. And they said that doesn't seem to match the history of human ancestors previously known from fossils.
比對DNA後發現，它與現代人或尼安德塔人不同，這兩種人大約同一時間，也就是約3萬至5萬年前生活在該地區。相反的，研究人員推估，這顯示西伯利亞人種是從100萬年前分離出現代人和尼安德塔人的分支中再分離出來。但他們指出，這似乎和之前從化石得知的人類祖先演化史不符。
Internally, the researchers refer to the new hominin form as “X-Woman”. The “X” stands for the unknown factor, and “woman” merely represents the fact that mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the mother. Professor Svante Pbo restrains himself: “Whether or not we academics speak of a new species and give it a new name is just a matter of pride, nothing else.”
這些研究人員私下以「Ｘ女人」稱呼這個新人種。Ｘ代表未知因素，「女人」只不過是粒腺體DNA遺傳自母親的事實。柏保教授語多保留的說：「我們學者提及新人種時是否給它取個新名字，只是表示引以為榮，沒有別的意思。」
Dr Johannes Krause from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany is the author of a paper on the finding which has been published in Nature. He says the fossil was like nothing he had seen before. “I did several analyses to make sure that this DNA is authentic, that this DNA is really old and that this DNA is what had seemed to be a new hominine lineage,” he said. His colleague and co-author Professor Pbo, was not initially convinced. “It was of course absolutely amazing and I first really didn't believe him. I thought he was pulling my leg,” he said.
德國馬克斯普朗克進化人類學研究所的克勞斯博士，在《自然》期刊上撰寫報告，發表這項新發現。他說這個化石和他之前所見過的完全不同：「我進行幾項分析，以確定這個DNA是真的，這個DNA的確很老，而且這個DNA似乎屬於一個新人種的譜系。」他的同事和報告共同作者柏保教授，起初並不相信，他說：「這當然十分石破天驚，一開始我真的不相信，我以為他在開玩笑。」
The deputy director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide, Dr Jeremy Austin, says it is a very significant find. “They've found this hominine lineage. It's not a modern human. It's not a Neanderthal. It's not a chimpanzee. It's something sort of halfway in between, at a time period when no one thought that these sorts of ancestral human forms were still alive,” he said.
澳洲阿德雷德大學古DNA中心副主任奧斯汀博士說這項發現非常重要：「他們已經發現這個新人種譜系，既不是現代人，也不是尼安德塔人，更不是黑猩猩，而是介於中間，沒有人想到，這段時間還有這些人類的祖先活著。」
Professor Pbo says the new species shared a common ancestor with Neanderthals and modern humans. The common ancestor left Africa about 1 million years ago. “Maybe it is oversimplification to think about particular migrations out of Africa," he said. There might have been more or less continuous flow, and the picture that's going to emerge in the next years might be a much more complex one.
柏保教授表示，新人種和尼安德塔人及現代人有共同的祖先，而這共同的祖先約100萬年前從非洲外移。他說：「或許認為從非洲經特定路線遷移過於簡化」，可能人類祖先或多或少不斷遷徙，在未來幾年可能出現複雜得多的樣貌。
It was only a few years ago that the“Hobbit of Flores” was discovered and proclaimed a new species. Dr Austin says with the discovery of this new human in Siberia, scientists are adjusting to the possibility that four species were living at the same time when previously it was thought there were only two. “If all this paper does is say there's a whole pile of diversity out there, essentially there's more human species we don't know about, then that's a really important finding.” he said.
幾年前，才在印尼佛羅勒斯島發現哈比人，並宣布為新人種。奧斯汀博士表示，再加上在西伯利亞發現的新人種，科學家正在修正看法，不排除有4個人種同時生活的可能性，過去認為只有兩個人種。「如果這份報告的功能是指出，外頭還有一大堆不同的人種未出土，基本上有更多我們不知道的人種，那就是非常重要的發現。」他說。
So the Siberian species may be brand new, although the scientists cautioned that they're not ready to make that claim yet. Other experts agreed that while the Siberian species may be new, the case is far from proven. The researchers, who say the Siberian species is not a direct ancestor of modern-day people, hope further genetic analysis will show if it's a new species. Some experts are skeptical about whether such analysis will resolve that.
因此，西伯利亞人種有可能是全新的，但科學家警告說，他們還不準備發表正式聲明。其他專家一致認為，雖然西伯利亞人種可能是新的，但距離證實還差得遠。認為西伯利亞人種不是現代人直接祖先的研究人員希望，進一步的基因分析能夠顯示，這是否是新人種。有些專家則懷疑，這類分析能不能解決問題。
In any case, the finding emphasizes that quite unlike the present day, anatomically modern humans have often lived alongside their evolutionary relatives, one expert said. “We weren't alone,” said Todd Disotell of New York University, who was familiar with the new work. “When we became modern, we didn't instantly replace everybody. There were other guys running around who
一位專家說，無論如何，這項發現強調不像今天所了解的，解剖學上的現代人，往往和同時進化的親戚一起生活。紐約大學的迪斯托爾說：「我們並不孤獨」，他相當熟悉這項新考古發現。「當我們成為現代人後，我們並未立刻取代所有人。還有其他一些傢伙活蹦亂跳的，直到最近還活得很不錯。」
Just last month, other researchers used DNA analysis to show the genetic diversity still present in residents of Africa, the cradle of the human race. And another project produced the first genome of an ancient human - a man who lived in Greenland some 4,000 years ago.
就在上個月，其他研究人員還用DNA分析顯示，在人類搖籃非洲的居民，仍存在遺傳多樣性。另一項研究還產生第一組古人類基因組圖譜，這個人約4000年前在格陵蘭生活。
This photo shows scientists at the site of the discovery of the new species in Denisova cave, Altai Mountains of southern Siberia.
西伯利亞南部阿爾泰山脈考古出土場址丹尼索瓦洞穴發現西伯利亞新人種，圖為科學家在出土現場。（美聯社）