万物简史英文版_比尔·布莱森-第89章

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oned　and　others　where　blunt　axes　were　brought　to　be　resharpened。

olorgesailie　was；　in　short；　a　kind　of　factory；　one　that　stayed　in　business　for　a　million　years。

various　replications　have　shown　that　the　axes　were　tricky　and　labor…intensive　objects　tomake鈥攅ven　with　practice；　an　axe　would　take　hours　to　fashion鈥攁nd　yet；　curiously；　they　werenot　particularly　good　for　cutting　or　chopping　or　scraping　or　any　of　the　other　tasks　to　whichthey　were　presumably　put。　so　we　are　left　with　the　position　that　for　a　million　years鈥攆ar；　farlonger　than　our　own　species　has　even　been　in　existence；　much　less　engaged　in　continuouscooperative　efforts鈥攅arly　people　came　in　considerable　numbers　to　this　particular　site　to　makeextravagantly　large　numbers　of　tools　that　appear　to　have　been　rather　curiously　pointless。

and　who　were　these　people？　we　have　no　idea　actually。　we　assume　they　were　homoerectus　because　there　are　no　other　known　candidates；　which　means　that　at　their　peak鈥攖heirpeak　鈥攖he　olorgesailie　workers　would　have　had　the　brains　of　a　modern　infant。　but　there　is　nophysical　evidence　on　which　to　base　a　conclusion。　despite　over　sixty　years　of　searching；　nohuman　bone　has　ever　been　found　in　or　around　the　vicinity　of　olorgesailie。　however　muchtime　they　spent　there　shaping　rocks；　it　appears　they　went　elsewhere　to　die。

鈥渋t鈥檚　all　a　mystery；鈥潯�jillani　ngalli　told　me；　beaming　happily。

the　olorgesailie　people　disappeared　from　the　scene　about　200；000　years　ago　when　the　lakedried　up　and　the　rift　valley　started　to　bee　the　hot　and　challenging　place　it　is　today。　butby　this　time　their　days　as　a　species　were　already　numbered。　the　world　was　about　to　get　itsfirst　real　master　race；　homo　sapiens　。　things　would　never　be　the　same　again。

ww锛枫��



Goodbye





in　the　early　1680s；　at　just　about　the　time　that　edmond　halley　and　his　friends　christopherwren　and　robert　hooke　were　settling　down　in　a　london　coffeehouse　and　embarking　on　thecasual　wager　that　would　result　eventually　in　isaac　newton鈥檚　principia　；　henry　cavendish鈥檚weighing　of　the　earth；　and　many　of　the　other　inspired　and　mendable　undertakings　thathave　occupied　us　for　much　of　the　past　four　hundred　pages；　a　rather　less　desirable　milestonewas　being　passed　on　the　island　of　mauritius；　far　out　in　the　indian　ocean　some　eight　hundredmiles　off　the　east　coast　of　madagascar。


there；　some　forgotten　sailor　or　sailor鈥檚　pet　was　harrying　to　death　the　last　of　the　dodos；　thefamously　flightless　bird　whose　dim　but　trusting　nature　and　lack　of　leggy　zip　made　it　a　ratherirresistible　target　for　bored　young　tars　on　shore　leave。　millions　of　years　of　peaceful　isolationhad　not　prepared　it　for　the　erratic　and　deeply　unnerving　behavior　of　human　beings。


we　don鈥檛　know　precisely　the　circumstances；　or　even　year；　attending　the　last　moments　of　thelast　dodo；　so　we　don鈥檛　know　which　arrived　first；　a　world　that　contained　a　principia　or　one　thathad　no　dodos；　but　we　do　know　that　they　happened　at　more　or　less　the　same　time。　you　wouldbe　hard　pressed；　i　would　submit；　to　find　a　better　pairing　of　occurrences　to　illustrate　the　divineand　felonious　nature　of　the　human　being鈥攁　species　of　organism　that　is　capable　of　unpickingthe　deepest　secrets　of　the　heavens　while　at　the　same　time　pounding　into　extinction；　for　nopurpose　at　all；　a　creature　that　never　did　us　any　harm　and　wasn鈥檛　even　remotely　capable　ofunderstanding　what　we　were　doing　to　it　as　we　did　it。　indeed；　dodos　were　so　spectacularlyshort　on　insight；　it　is　reported；　that　if　you　wished　to　find　all　the　dodos　in　a　vicinity　you　hadonly　to　catch　one　and　set　it　to　squawking；　and　all　the　others　would　waddle　along　to　see　whatwas　up。


the　indignities　to　the　poor　dodo　didn鈥檛　end　quite　there。　in　1755；　some　seventy　years　afterthe　last　dodo鈥檚　death；　the　director　of　the　ashmolean　museum　in　oxford　decided　that　theinstitution鈥檚　stuffed　dodo　was　being　unpleasantly　musty　and　ordered　it　tossed　on　abonfire。　this　was　a　surprising　decision　as　it　was　by　this　time　the　only　dodo　in　existence；stuffed　or　otherwise。　a　passing　employee；　aghast；　tried　to　rescue　the　bird　but　could　save　onlyits　head　and　part　of　one　limb。


as　a　result　of　this　and　other　departures　from　mon　sense；　we　are　not　now　entirely　surewhat　a　living　dodo　was　like。　we　possess　much　less　information　than　most　people　suppose鈥攁handful　of　crude　descriptions　by　鈥渦nscientific　voyagers；　three　or　four　oil　paintings；　and　a　fewscattered　osseous　fragments；鈥潯�in　the　somewhat　aggrieved　words　of　the　nineteenth…centurynaturalist　h。　e。　strickland。　as　strickland　wistfully　observed；　we　have　more　physical　evidenceof　some　ancient　sea　monsters　and　lumbering　saurapods　than　we　do　of　a　bird　that　lived　intomodern　times　and　required　nothing　of　us　to　survive　except　our　absence。


so　what　is　known　of　the　dodo　is　this：　it　lived　on　mauritius；　was　plump　but　not　tasty；　andwas　the　biggest…ever　member　of　the　pigeon　family；　though　by　quite　what　margin　is　unknownas　its　weight　was　never　accurately　recorded。　extrapolations　from　strickland鈥檚　鈥渙sseousfragments鈥潯�and　the　ashmolean鈥檚　modest　remains　show　that　it　was　a　little　over　two　and　a　halffeet　tall　and　about　the　same　distance　from　beak　tip　to　backside。　being　flightless；　it　nested　onthe　ground；　leaving　its　eggs　and　chicks　tragically　easy　prey　for　pigs；　dogs；　and　monkeysbrought　to　the　island　by　outsiders。　it　was　probably　extinct　by　1683　and　was　most　certainlygone　by　1693。　beyond　that　we　know　almost　nothing　except　of　course　that　we　will　not　see　itslike　again。　we　know　nothing　of　its　reproductive　habits　and　diet；　where　it　ranged；　what　soundsit　made　in　tranquility　or　alarm。　we　don鈥檛　possess　a　single　dodo　egg。


from　beginning　to　end　our　acquaintance　with　animate　dodos　lasted　just　seventy　years。　thatis　a　breathtakingly　scanty　period鈥攖hough　it　must　be　said　that　by　this　point　in　our　history　wedid　have　thousands　of　years　of　practice　behind　us　in　the　matter　of　irreversible　eliminations。


nobody　knows　quite　how　destructive　human　beings　are；　but　it　is　a　fact　that　over　the　last　fiftythousand　years　or　so　wherever　we　have　gone　animals　have　tended　to　vanish；　in　oftenastonishingly　large　numbers。


in　　america；　　thirty　　genera　　of　　large　　animals鈥攕ome　very　large　indeed鈥攄isappearedpractically　at　a　stroke　after　the　arrival　of　modern　humans　on　the　continent　between　ten　andtwenty　thousand　years　ago。　altogether　north　and　south　america　between　them　lost　aboutthree　quarters　of　their　big　animals　once　man　the　hunter　arrived　with　his　flint…headed　spearsand　keen　organizational　capabilities。　europe　and　asia；　where　the　animals　had　had　longer　toevolve　a　useful　wariness　of　humans；　lost　between　a　third　and　a　half　of　their　big　creatures。


australia；　for　exactly　the　opposite　reasons；　lost　no　less　than　95　percent。


because　the　early　hunter　populations　were　paratively　small　and　the　animal　populationstruly　monumental鈥攁s　many　as　ten　million　mammoth　carcasses　are　thought　to　lie　frozen　in　thetundra　of　northern　siberia　alone鈥攕ome　authorities　think　there　must　be　other　explanations；possibly　involving　climate　change　or　some　kind　of　pandemic。　as　ross　macphee　of　theamerican　museum　of　natural　history　put　it：　鈥渢here鈥檚　no　material　benefit　to　huntingdangerous　animals　more　often　than　you　need　to鈥攖here　are　only　so　many　mammoth　steaksyou　can　eat。鈥潯�others　believe　it　may　have　been　almost　criminally　easy　to　catch　and　clobberprey。　鈥渋n　australia　and　the　americas；鈥潯�says　tim　flannery；　鈥渢he　animals　probably　didn鈥檛　knowenough　to　run　away。鈥�


some　of　the　creatures　that　were　lost　were　singularly　spectacular　and　would　take　a　littlemanaging　if　they　were　still　around。　imagine　ground　sloths　that　could　look　into　an　upstairswindow；　tortoises　nearly　the　size　of　a　small　fiat；　monitor　lizards　twenty　feet　long　baskingbeside　desert　highways　in　western　australia。　alas；　they　are　gone　and　we　live　on　a　muchdiminished　planet。　today；　across　the　whole　world；　only　four　types　of　really　hefty　（a　metric　tonor　more）　land　animals　survive：　elephants；　rhinos；　hippos；　and　giraffes。　not　for　tens　of　millionsof　years　has　life　on　earth　been　so　diminutive　and　tame。


the　question　that　arises　is　whether　the　disappearances　of　the　stone　age　and　disappearancesof　more　recent　times　are　in　effect　part　of　a　single　extinction　event鈥攚hether；　in　short；　humansare　inherently　bad　news　for　other　living　things。　the　sad　likelihood　is　that　we　may　well　be。


according　to　the　university　of　chicago　paleontologist　david　raup；　the　background　rate　ofextinction　on　earth　throughout　biological　history　has　been　one　species　lost　every　four　yearson　average。　according　to　one　recent　calculation；　human…caused　extinction　now　may　berunning　as　much　as　120；000　times　that　level。


in　the　mid…1990s；　the　australian　naturalist　tim　flannery；　now　head　of　the　south　australianmuseum　in　adelaide；　became　struck　by　how　little　we　seemed　to　know　about　manyextinctions；　including　relatively　recent　ones。　鈥渨herever　you　looked；　there　seemed　to　be　gapsin　the　records鈥攑ieces　missing；　as　with　the　dodo；　or　not　recorded　at　all；鈥潯�he　told　me　when　imet　him　in　melbourne　a　year　or　so　ago。


flannery　recruited　his　friend　peter　schouten；　an　artist　and　fellow　australian；　and　togetherthey　embarked　on　a　slightly　obsessive　quest　to　scour　the　world鈥檚　major　collections　to　find　outwhat　was　lost；　what　was　left；　and　what　had　never　been　known　at　all。　they　spent　four　yearspicking　through　old　skins；　musty　specimens；　old　drawings；　and　written　descriptions鈥攚hatever　was　available。　schouten　made　life…sized　paintings　of　every　animal　they　couldreasonably　re…create；　and　flannery　wrote　the　words。　the　result　was　an　extraordinary　bookcalled　a　gap　in　nature；　constituting　the　most　plete鈥攁nd；　it　must　be　said；　moving鈥攃atalog　of　animal　extinctions　from　the　last　three　hundred　years。


for　some　animals；　records　were　good；　but　nobody　had　done　anything　much　with　them；sometimes　for　years；　sometimes　forever。　steller鈥檚　sea　cow；　a　walrus…like　creature　related　tothe　dugong；　was　one　of　the　last　really　big　animals　to　go　extinct。　it　was　truly　enormous鈥攁nadult　could　reach　lengths　of　nearly　thirty　feet　and　weigh　ten　tons鈥攂ut　we　are　acquainted　withit　only　because　in　1741　a　russian　expedition　happened　to　be　shipwrecked　on　the　only　placewhere　the　creatures　still　survived　in　any　numbers；　the　remote　and　foggy　mander　islandsin　the　bering　sea。


happily；　the　expedition　had　a　naturalist；　georg　steller；　who　was　fascinated　by　the　animal。


鈥渉e　took　the　most　copious　notes；鈥潯�says　flannery。　鈥渉e　even　measured　the　diameter　of　itswhiskers。　the　only　thing　he　wouldn鈥檛　describe　was　the　male　genitals鈥攖hough；　for　somereason；　he　was　happy　enough　to　do　the　female鈥檚。　he　even　saved　a　piece　of　skin；　so　we　had　agood　idea　of　its　texture。　we　weren鈥檛　always　so　lucky。鈥�


the　one　thing　steller　couldn鈥檛　do　was　save　the　sea　cow　itself。　already　hunted　to　the　brinkof　extinction；　it　would　be　gone　altogether　within　twenty…seven　years　of　steller鈥檚　discovery　ofit。　many　other　animals；　however；　couldn鈥檛　be　included　because　too　little　is　known　about　them。


the　darling　downs　hopping　mouse；　chatham　islands　swan；　ascension　island　flightless　crake；at　least　five　types　of　large　turtle；　and　many　others　are　forever　lost　to　us　except　as　names。


a　great　deal　of　extinction；　flannery　and　schouten　discovered；　hasn鈥檛　been　cruel　o