Anthropologists said they have pieced together Leonardo da Vinci's left index fingerprint -- a discovery that could help provide information on such matters as the food the artist ate and whether his mother was of Arabic origin.

人類學家說，他們已經拼湊出達文西左手食指指紋，這項發現可以協助提供有關這位藝術家所吃的食物及他媽媽是否是阿拉伯人等問題。

The reconstruction of the fingerprint was the result of three years of research and could help attribute disputed paintings or manuscripts, said Luigi Capasso, an anthropologist and director of the Anthropology Research Institute at Chieti University in central Italy.

義大利基耶蒂大學人類學研究所所長、人類學家卡帕索說，指紋的重建是三年研究的成果，有助於辨認有爭議的畫作和手稿出自誰的手筆。

''It adds the first touch of humanity. We knew how Leonardo saw the world and the future ... but who was he This biological information is about his being human, not being a genius,'' Capasso said in a recent interview.

卡帕索最近接受訪問時說：「這首次增加人性的觸感，我們都知道達文西怎麼看世界和未來，…但他是誰？這項生物資訊涉及他這個人，而不是他這位天才。」

The research was based on a first core of photographs of about 200 fingerprints -- most of them partial-- taken from about 52 papers handled by Leonardo in his life. Capasso's work, presented in 2005 in a specialized magazine called Anthropologie, published in the Czech Republic, is on display in an exhibition in the town of Chieti through March 30.

這項研究是根據第一批約兩百張指紋的照片，其中大部分並不完整，主要取自達文西生前曾處理的五十二張畫紙。卡帕索這項研究，二○○五年發表於捷克共和國專業雜誌《人類學》上，目前在基耶蒂鎮展出到三月三十日止。

The artist often ate while working, and Capasso and other experts said his fingerprints could include traces of saliva, blood or the food he ate the night before. It is information that could help clear up questions about his origins.

達文西常常一邊工作一邊吃東西，卡帕索和其他專家指出，他的指紋可能包括唾液、血液或他前一晚所吃的東西的痕跡，這些資訊有助於澄清有關他出身的問題。

Certain distinctive features are more common in the fingerprints of some ethnic populations, experts say.

專家說，某些人種的指紋有些共同的特徵。

''The one we found in this finger tip applies to 60 percent of the Arabic population, which suggests the possibility that his mother was of Middle Eastern origin,'' Capasso said.

卡帕索說：「我們在這個指尖所發現的特徵，適用於60%的阿拉伯人，這顯示他媽媽可能是中東人。」

What the science says, ''generally speaking, is that if your parent has a lot of arches, you'll probably have a lot of arches,'' said Simon Cole, associate professor of criminology, law and society at the University of California at Irvine.

根據科學研究，「一般而言，如果父母指紋很多弓形（畚箕），子女就可能有很多畚箕，」爾灣加大犯罪學、法律和社會研究副教授柯爾說。

''The science essentially comes up with breakdowns: x percent of Asians have arches, x have whorls, x have loops. Some races have very low incidences of some patterns and very high incidences of others.''

「科學研究基本上有些明細表：百分之ｘ的亞洲人有畚箕，百分之ｘ有螺旋，百分之ｘ有環紋。有些種族某些指紋圖案的發生率很低，其他圖案的發生率則很高。」

But ''you can't predict one person's race from these kinds of incidences,'' he said, especially if looking at only one finger.

但「你不能從這些不同的發生率揣測一個人的種族，」尤其如果只看一根指頭。

The idea that Leonardo's mother could have been a slave who came to Tuscany from Constantinople -- now Istanbul -- is not new and has been the object of other research.

達文西的母親可能是從康士坦丁堡（今天的伊斯坦堡）到托斯卡尼的奴隸，這個看法了無新意，同時也是其他研究的項目。

Alessandro Vezzosi, a Leonardo expert and the director of a museum dedicated to the artist in his hometown of Vinci, said there are documents that appear to back this up. ''This coincides with documented indications that she was Oriental, at least from the Mediterranean area, not a peasant of Vinci,'' he said.

文卓西是達文西專家，也是位於畫家家鄉文西的李安納度博物館館長，他表示，有些文件似乎支持這點。他說：「這點和文件記載她是東方人，至少來自地中海地區，而不是文西的農人，不謀而合。」

The experts say some of the fingerprints left on the manuscripts might belong to the people who handled them over time. However, those caused by attempts to remove ink blots were surely left by the author, Capasso said.

專家說，有些留在文件上的指紋可能是長期處理這些文件的人所留下的；但卡帕索說，那些試圖塗抹掉畫漬的指紋絕對是畫家留下來的。

Biological information on Leonardo is largely incomplete. The artist, who was generally but not exclusively left-handed, used his fingers to paint, and his thumb print recurs on the manuscripts, Vezzosi said.

文卓西說，達文西的生物資料多半並不完整，這位藝術大師通常是左撇子，但並非只用左手，他用他的手指作畫，他的大拇指指紋重覆出現在文件上。

Leonardo sometimes worked while eating or traveling, and his fingers were often dirty, sometimes with residue of food, Vezzosi said.

文卓西說，達文西有時邊工作邊吃東西或旅遊，他的手指常常很髒，有時還有食物殘渣。

Carlo Vecce, a professor of Italian literature at Naples' University and a leading Leonardo expert, said the research, in which he was not involved, appears to be ''founded.''

拿坡里大學義大利文學教授維契也是達文西研究專家，他說，這項研究他未參與，但似乎「有所本」。

''The research on Leonardo's fingerprints is very interesting. It's always good to locate and distinguish these details both on the paintings and on the drawings,'' he said. ''The fingerprints can tell us if Leonardo was there or if he intervened (on a painting), it's a hint.''

他說：「有關達文西指紋的研究十分有趣，能在畫作和素描上找出並凸顯這些細節總是好的，指紋能告訴我們，達文西是否在那裡或他是否投入（某項畫作），便有蛛絲馬跡可尋。」

''It give us the illusion of a contact with the genius,'' he said. ''But the most important things about Leonardo are those that concern his intellectual activity, those that we get by reading his words or interpreting what he wrote.''

他說：「它給我們一種好像和天才接觸的錯覺，但達文西最重要的是那些和他的知性活動有關的事，那些我們藉著閱讀他的文字或詮釋他的作品可以獲得的事。」

《詞解》
Fingerprint　指紋
Anthropologists　人類學家
reconstruction 重建
arches　弓形
whorls　螺旋
loops　環紋