Archaeologists in China have recently found the world’s oldest known coin manufacturing(制造)site. The site
Using radiocarbon(放射性碳)dating, the researchers came to the
The coins
The new study adds fuel
The legendary Sanxingdui Ruins in Southwest China’s Sichuan province, together with the Jinsha Ruins in the provincial capital of Chengdu, will apply
The site was accidentally discovered by a farmer
In October 2019, archaeologists discovered six new sacrificial
3 . Scientists found what could be the oldest evidence of cooking at the edge of the ancient Lake Hula in Israel at the Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, according to a newly-published paper. The remains, especially fish teeth, were discovered near places where scientists also found signs of fire. Tests showed the teeth had been exposed to temperatures that were hot, but not super-hot. This suggested the fish were cooked slowly over a low heat, rather than being put right onto a fire.
With all the evidence together, scientists concluded that these ancient humans had used fire for cooking some 780,000 years ago. That is much earlier than the next oldest evidence for cooking, about 170,000 years ago, which showed Stone Age humans ate burnt roots in South Africa.
Scientists believe cooking started long before this, though physical evidence has been hard to come by —considering the importance of using fire to cook. Cooked food makes it easier for the body to digest and get more nutrients. When early humans figured out how to cook, they were able to get more energy, which they could use to fuel bigger brains. Based on how human ancestors’ bodies developed, scientists guess that cooking skills would have had to appear nearly 2 million years ago.
Those first cooked meals were a far cry from today’s dinners. And at that time, humans started eating not just for fuel, but for their community. In a 2010 paper, scientists described the earliest evidence of a feast(盛宴), which was a specially prepared meal that brought people together for an event in a cave. This “first feast” came at an important turning point in human history, right as hunter-gatherers were starting to settle into more permanent living situations. Gathering for special meals may have been a way to build community and reduce tensions now that people lived closer to each other. Scientists believe ancient feasts served a lot of the same social uses that modern gatherings serve: People exchange information, make connections, or try to improve their position.
1. Which is probably the earliest evidence of cooking?A.The tools of cooking. | B.The signs of fire. |
C.The leftover fish. | D.The burnt roots. |
A.Food is key to keeping brains’ functioning. | B.Using fire to cook is a universal practice. |
C.Our understanding of ancestors is limited. | D.Cooking is the driving force for human evolution. |
A.They mark important events. | B.They have multiple functions. |
C.They differ from modern gatherings. | D.They display excellent cooking skills. |
A.To inform readers of a new discovery. |
B.To explain why early humans started to cook. |
C.To present how cooking makes us together. |
D.To stress the importance of fire to human life. |
4 . More than 3,400 years after two ancient Egyptians were laid to rest, the jars of food left still smell sweet. A team of analytical chemists and archaeologists (考古学家) has analysed these smells to help identify the jars’ contents. The study shows how the exploration of smell can enrich our understanding of the past.
The 1906 discovery of the undisturbed tomb (墓穴) of Kha and Merit symbolized an important stage in Egyptology. The tomb remains the most complete non-royal ancient one ever found in Egypt, showing important information about how high-ranking individuals were treated after death.
Unusually for the time, the archaeologist who discovered the tomb resisted the temptation to open the sealed containers even after they were sent to the Egyptian Museum. The contents of many of these containers are still unknown, although there are some clues, says analytical chemist Ilaria Degano. “From taking with the museum keeper we knew there were some fruity smells in the display cases,” she says.
Degano and her colleagues placed various artefacts (人工制品) inside plastic bags for several days to collect some of the chemical substances they released. Then the team used a special machine to identify the components of the smells from each artefact. They found some chemicals associated with dried fish, and some chemicals common in fruits. The findings will feed into a larger project to reanalyse the tomb’s contents and produce a more comprehensive picture of burial customs for non-royals that existed when Kha and Merit died, about 70 years before Tutankhamun became the Egyptian ruler.
Aside from showing more about past civilizations, ancient smells could make museum visits more inviting. Usually, people admire exhibits with their eyes in museums. “Smell is a relatively unexplored gateway to the collective past for museum visitors,” says Cecilia Bembibre at University College London. “It has the potent alto allow us to experience the in a more emotional, personal way, through our nose.”
1. What can we describe the 1906 discovery of Kha and Merit’ tomb as?A.A landmark in Egyptology. | B.A turning point in human history. |
C.A breakthrough in archaeology. | D.A mirror of ancient non-royal life. |
A.Pressure. | B.Ambition. | C.Desire. | D.Tendency. |
A.protect them from harm | B.gather their smells |
C.test the special machine | D.back up a larger project |
A.They bring them back to the past. |
B.They give them emotional support. |
C.They change their view on civilizations. |
D.They add to their experience. |
5 . While most people don’t think much about garbage, trash (垃圾) is beloved by archaeologist (考古学家). A favorite site for study is a midden (贝丘), an old trash or garbage heap (堆). A midden might contain damaged stone or metal items, which tell us about the weapons and tools people used. Softer materials such as wood, cloth, leather, and baskets are sometimes preserved. They may tell us what people wore, how they carried things, or the kind of toys used by children. Historic household trash heaps often contain broken pottery pieces and even traces of the food they once held.
Most people no longer keep a trash heap by the kitchen door. Instead, garbage is hauled off to landfills (垃圾填埋池). These landfills can still attract archaeologists. The Garbage Project collected information from landfills from 1987 to 1995. Student archaeologists measured tons of garbage from 15 landfills across the United States and Canada. This garbology, the study of garbage, research led to a better understanding of how people have changed what they consume during this period of time. The findings also led to a better awareness of how quickly various items rot. This helped with city planning for garbage disposal and recycling efforts.
Some found objects that may clearly be of archaeological interest, such as arrowheads and spear points. It is typically against the law to collect these on public lands, so they should be left in place. If you take a photo and note the location, you can notify the state archaeologist or the government branch that is in charge of the land, such as the National Park Service or the Bureau of Land Management.
Everyone is responsible for protecting archaeological resources, which is a concept known as “archaeological stewardship.” Sometimes this even means protecting old garbage.
1. Why is old trash important according to archaeologists?A.It can teach us about the past. |
B.It might help us locate metal mines. |
C.It can contribute to modern material industry. |
D.It might encourage us to protect our environment. |
A.They conducted a study on modern trash. |
B.They recycled waste from some landfills. |
C.They offered some creative city planning ideas. |
D.They compared ancient trash heaps with modern landfills. |
A.Donate it to public collections. |
B.Take it to proper authorities. |
C.Leave it in a safe place. |
D.Mark the place of it. |
A.Past or Future? | B.Trash or Treasure? |
C.Protection of Damage? | D.Problem or Resource? |
6 . A new four-legged whale species was recently discovered by a team of researchers in Egypt. The fossil which was encased in a tomb of rock dates back to over 43 million years ago!
This ancient creature had four functional legs, so it could dwell on both land and in water. Ironically, Egypt’s Fayum Depression, the desert where the fossil was discovered, was an ocean millions of years ago.
Researchers believe this fossil is an example from an era when land animals were adapting to marine life. Modern whales evolved from deer-like land mammals over the course of millions of years, and this unique whale could travel across land and swim in the ocean.
The new species is named Phiomicetus Anubis because the whale’s skull resembles the Egyptian jackal-headed god of death, Anubis. Scientists have also been able to recover the whale’s partial skeleton. They inferred that the ancient whale was about three meters in length and weighed 1,300 pounds. The mammal had a long mouthful of teeth, which indicated that it fed on smaller mammals and other sea life.
After analyzing the remains at Mansoura University in the Nile River Delta, scientists supposed that P. Anubis is the oldest semi-aquatic whale species found in Africa. Although the fossil itself was discovered thirteen years ago, researchers just completed the analysis and made the exciting announcement of a new species. Other whale fossils with legs have been found before, but the P. Anubis is the earliest, of its kind found in Africa.
1. Where did the researchers find the fossil?A.In the India Ocean. | B.On the Rock Islands. |
C.In the Fayum Depression. | D.In the Nile River Delta. |
A.Its weight. | B.Its length. | C.Its teeth. | D.Its legs. |
A.The study of Phiomicetus Anubis is time-consuming. |
B.The analysis of Phiomicetus Anubis has a long way to go. |
C.Phiomicetus Anubis is the oldest mammal found in Africa. |
D.Phiomicetus Anubis is the world’s largest semi-aquatic whale species. |
7 . On July 31, 1697, a French lawyer named Jacques Sennacques wrote a message to remind a cousin in the Netherlands to send him a relative’s death certificate. To prevent others from reading the message, the note was carefully folded, or “letter locked.” The technique was used before the invention of envelopes. However, for reasons unknown, the note never reached the recipient and was instead stored in a postmaster’s trunk, where it remained undetected for centuries. Now, a team of international researchers has deciphered (破译) the contents of the over 300-year-old sealed letter — without opening it!
The chain of events leading to this technology began in 2015 when MIT expert Jana Dambrogio got a call from Daniel Starza Smith, a researcher at King’s College London. “He asked me, ‘What would you do if I told you there was a trunk with 600 unopened letters?’”
The trunk had once belonged to 17th-century postmaster Simon de Brienne. Historians believe the post office stored the undelivered letters. That’s because, in the 17th century, it was the recipient, not the sender, who bore the postage cost. When Brienne died in 1707, he donated the trunk of letters to an orphanage. Somehow, the trunk eventually made its way to the postal museum, where it lay until recently.
Since opening the letters would destroy them, Dambrogio and her team decided to develop technology to unseal them virtually. They began by using a high-resolution X-ray scanner to create a detailed three-dimensional image of a sealed letter. While the writing inside showed up very clearly, the numerous layers of folded paper pressed close together caused the words to overlap (重叠).
To solve the issue, the researchers created sophisticated algorithm (算法) capable of deciphering the writing in the cleverly folded letter, crease by crease. The virtual opening allowed the team to read the contents “while preserving letter locking evidence.” The algorithm took almost five years to perfect. Once perfected, they used it to open four locked letters and fully decode(解码) the one from Sennacques.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?A.Quite a few people could write letters. | B.Envelopes were not invented in 1697. |
C.Jacques Sennacques was a postmaster. | D.Researchers couldn’t figure out the letter. |
A.To get paid. | B.To find the senders. |
C.To save the cost. | D.To scan the letters. |
A.were badly damaged | B.were all decoded |
C.remained very fresh | D.were very fragile |
A.Physically. | B.Chemically. | C.Occasionally. | D.Digitally. |
8 . Scientists have uncovered a fast-food eatery (餐馆) in the ancient Roman town of Pompeii. The remains help with the understanding of foods of Pompeii’s citizens.
About 80 such fast-food eateries have been found at Pompeii. But the latest find means this is the first time such a hot-food-drink eatery—known as a thermopolium—has been completely unearthed. Pompeii was destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Part of the fast-food counter was dug up in 2019 during work to shore up Pompeii’s ruins.
Since then, archaeologists (考古学家) have kept digging, uncovering a multi-sided-counter, with typical wide holes on its top, not unlike these for soup containers put into modern-day salad bars. The front of the counter included works of art showing ducks and chickens. The images brightened the eatery and also likely advertised food. Another image of a dog with a rope around its neck may remind people to keep pets tied up.
Early studies confirm “how the painted works represent, at least in part, the foods and drinks effectively sold inside”, said Valeria Amoretti, an anthropologist at Pompeii. Amoretti noted small pieces of duck bones were found in a food container. Remains of goats, pigs, and fish were also found. At the bottom of a wine container were remains of ground fava beans.
Massimo Osanna added, “We know what they were eating that day.” He was talking about the day of Pompeii’s destruction. The food remains are examples of “what’s popular with the common folk”. He added that wealthy Romans did not eat at such street-food businesses. Successful restaurant owners know that a good location is important for business. Osanna noted that right outside the eatery was a small square with a fountain. Another thermopolium was nearby.
1. What can we know about the fast-food eatery?A.It was the only thermopolium at Pompeii. | B.It was dug up by accident at the beginning. |
C.It once was one of the most popular eateries. | D.It was the first hot-food-drink eatery unearthed. |
A.They helped to beautify the countertop area. | B.The volcanic eruption damaged the counter. |
C.They were used to hold containers for hot food. | D.Food could be stored for a longer time with them. |
A.Reminders. | B.Decorations. | C.Records. | D.Advertisements. |
A.The eatery reveals the locals’ dining preference. | B.Ancient Romans liked eating at eateries. |
C.Street-food business was rare in ancient Rome. | D.Food of Pompeii’s citizens was similar to today’s. |
9 . In the late 1930s, a collection of 14 gold Roman coins, known as the Chapipi treasure, was also found in the same woodlands. The researchers believe that local people may have buried their coins to keep them safe during a period of intense political instability in the region. The most recent coin in the newly-discovered Grado collection dates to A.D. 430, which was after the Suebi — a group of Germanic people originally from modern-day Germany and the Czech Republic — pushed the Romans out of Spain in A.D. 409, according to El Pais.
What does the underlined word “them” refer to in Paragraph 4?
A.The Romans. | B.The coins. | C.The woodlands. | D.The researchers. |
Working on one of the most famous sites in the world, I’m delighted though tired and covered in dust. I have been digging all day as an archaeology student from England since I