1 . A city in the jungle

In the summer of 1848, in Guatemala, a man called Ambrosio Tut went out into the jungle (丛林), as he did almost every day. Tut was a gum (树胶) collector, looking for gum in the jungle.     1     One day, he got to the top of one tree and something caught his eyes. He looked out across the trees and saw the tops of some old buildings.

    2     He ran to tell the local governor excitedly, and together they walked into the jungle. There they found Tikal, the city that the Mayans had built, many hundreds of years before. The two men saw pyramids (金字塔), squares and houses.

For a long time before that day, local people had known that somewhere in the jungle there was an old Mayan city.     3     Between 200 and 900 AD, the city of Tikal had been the centre of Mayan civilisation (文明) in the area, but then the Mayans left it—nobody knows why! After 1000 AD, the jungle began to cover it.     4    

Seven years before Tut found Tikal, two British explorers had gone to Guatemala and had written a report about Mayan treasures in the jungle—but they hadn’t mentioned Tikal. Even earlier than this, local Indians had told people about a great city hidden in the trees, but no one had listened to them.     5     Now the lost city had been found again, and people went there immediately to see it.

Marine (海洋的) creatures have long attracted scientists. Recently, researchers described remains discovered in northeastern Spain,     1    belonged to a turtle named Leviathanochelys aenigmatica. Living during the Cretaceous Period, the ancient turtle nearly matched the largest turtle     2    record.

Leviathanochelys swam in     3     (risk) waters. Its enemies included mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, large water creatures up to 15 meters in     4     (long). Other nearby enemies were sharks and rays. “    5     (attack) an animal of the size of Leviathanochelys possibly only could have been done by large creatures in the marine context. At that time, the large ones in the European zone were     6    (main) sharks and mosasaurs,” said Oscar Castillo, the lead writer of the study that     7    (publish) in the Southern in Scientific Reports.

Scientists found the Leviathanochelys remains near the village of Coll deNargo in Catalonia’s Alt Urgell area.    8    hiker in the Southern Pyrenees saw the bones covered by the ground. To date, researchers     9    (find) parts of the back of the shell (壳), and most of the pelvic (骨盆的) area, but no skull or tail. The bones suggest the creature had a smooth shell similar to leatherback turtles, with the shell     10    (measure) about 2.35 meters long and 2.2 meters wide.

3 . Scientists have confirmed that fossilized footprints found in New Mexico are between 21,000 and 23,000 years old — meaning humans existed in North America much earlier than previously believed.

It was believed humans existed in North America somewhere between 13,500 and 16,000 years ago. So, were the prints — some of which look distinctly human with five toes — really between 21,000 and 23,000 years old?

Researchers from the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other scientists decided to do a follow-up study, using two new approaches to determine the age of the prints.

“The immediate reaction in some circles of the archeological (考古的) community was that the accuracy of our dating was insufficient to make the extraordinary claim that humans were present in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum,” said co-author of the new study, Jeff Pigati, a USGS research geologist. “But our targeted methodology in this current research really paid off.”

The scientists initially used seeds from the Ruppia cirrhosa plant found in the fossils. They used radiocarbon dating to determine the age of the seeds, but because the plants are aquatic (水生的) and can hold carbon from the water instead of the air, the age estimate could have been off.

So, in the new study, they used radiocarbon dating on conifer pollen, which comes from plants on earth, that were found in the same layers as the seeds. “Even as the original work was being published, we were pushing forward to test our results with multiple lines of evidence,” said co-author Kathleen Springer, a USGS research geologist. “We were confident in our original ages, but we knew that independent time-related control was critical.” The researchers had to isolate 75,000 pollen grains from the same layer and found that their age was statistically identical to the Ruppia cirrhosa seeds.

To further check their dating, they also tested quartz grains found in the footprints using a different dating process, optically stimulated luminescence. They found the quartz had a minimum age of about 21,500 years.

USGS says with three supporting pieces of evidence, it is unlikely the age range of 21,000 to 23,000 years is incorrect.

6 . Sound echoing within caves may have also influenced what early humans put on rock walls. Thousands of years ago, early humans adventured deep within a cave, where sound bounced off the walls. Perhaps by either speaking or walking, they generated the sound re-mindful of a hoof. To represent this sound, they drew a hoofed animal.

They would have been using the same skills that facilitated the earlier development of language, theorizes anew study. “Our research suggests that the cognitive mechanisms (认知机制) necessary for the development of cave and rock art are likely to be similar to those employed in the expression of the symbolic thinking required for language.” says Cora Leisure, a linguist at MIT and one of the study’s authors.

Whether or not this art would have shaped how language further developed is doubtful. The study’s researchers note that language is thought to have evolved around 100,000 years ago. And the oldest forms of cave art found date back roughly 40,000 years. “We could assume that human language. emerged as an abstract symbolic system, while its expression — in the form of cave and rock art, or any other modality — may have appeared very late,” says Vitor Nobrega, a linguist at the University of Sao Paulo and author on the study.

The markings, they suggest, are external representations of internalized thought. “It’s a theory contrary to a belief among archaeologists (考古学家) that language doesn’t fossilize,” says Lesure, adding that their study doesn’t outright say the cave art they looked at equals language, only that the same cognitive functions may have been present.

Archaeologists have theorized early evidence of language can be found in objects like converted bones that may have been used for anything from counting days to taking attendance. But they are still searching for some of the first physical evidence of linguistic capabilities. The sound factor is an important one to consider, but it was not the only explanation for why people made marks in the places they did.

A complete skeleton (骨架) of an animal, which was later confirmed to be that of a giant panda, was unearthed at     1     end of 2021 in Xi’an. It was the first time in history that giant panda remains had been unearthed from a tomb     2     (date) back to the Western Han Dynasty.

The skeleton had well-developed teeth, and was placed within a neatly     3     (lay) brick structure facing towards the direction of the tomb, with its tail pointing westward. After comparing the skeleton     4     existing giant pandas’, researchers discovered that it     5     (actual) belonged to a giant panda.

The researchers thought this giant panda might have originated from the forests on the northern side of the Qinling Mountains, where the climate was possibly     6     (warm) than today.

Back in 1975, a buried giant panda     7     (discover) near the tomb of Empress Bo. Researchers said that it is not yet possible to conclude that Empress Bo had a special     8     (prefer) for giant pandas. It appeared to be a royal garden feature.

Besides the giant panda, the remains of other rare animals were also found in the tomb,     9     reflects the belief in the Han Dynasty that people would live a life in the underworld, similar to that when they     10     (be) alive.

Archaeologists have found two shipwrecks (沉船) deep in the South China Sea, which serve as a witness to     1     (commerce) and cultural exchanges along the ancient Maritime Silk Road. Along with the shipwrecks, pottery and porcelain (瓷器) have been found, most of     2     were produced in Jingdezhen, known as China’s “porcelain capital”. The locations of the shipwrecks were confirmed as a result of oceanographic     3     (detect) and underwater investigation using manned submarines that dived 41 times this year.

The No. 1 shipwreck     4     (date) from the era of Emperor Zhengde (1506-1521) of the Ming Dynasty. Based on studies of the ship, archaeologists believe that it was bound     5     Malacca or another trade center in Southeast Asia. On the No. 2 shipwreck     6     (measure) about 21 meters long and 8 meters wide,     7     total of 36 artifacts (手工艺品), including processed logs and porcelain, have been discovered.

This is one of the most important archaeological     8     (program) in South China Sea archaeology. The findings shed new light on the study of China’s porcelain-making history. The quality of Longquan porcelain was previously thought     9     (decline) in the late 15th century. However, the discovery of a large number of fine Longquan artifacts in shipwreck No. 1     10     (lead) people to reconsider this idea so far.

This is the famous Sanxingdui Ruins site, which is in Southwest China’s Sichuan province.

The Sanxingdui Ruins     1     (believe) to be the remnants(遗迹) of the Shu Kingdom, dating back some 5,000 to 3,000 years. Ancient city walls, palaces and many gold, ivory and bronze     2     (artifact) unearthed here     3     (true) proved the existence of the ancient Shu Kingdom and the diversity of Chinese civilization.

The     4     (culture) relics unearthed here look quite exotic. The most representative one is a bronze mask with protruding eyes. The mask is 66 centimeters in     5     (high)and 138 centimeters wide. Its weight is about 71.9 kilograms, similar to     6     of an adult man. It has upturned brows, almond eyes ,huge ears and a mysterious smile. It’s eyes stick out 16 centimeters, just like a telescope looking up at the sky.Its mysterious appearance has aroused heated discussion among researchers. The exaggerated eyes and ears reflect a desire of the ancient Shu people,     7     were unable to see or hear anything in the distance due to lack of necessary tools. Therefore, when making the bronze mask, they incorporated their wishes into the artifact,     8     (hope) to enhance their visual and auditory abilities.

Nowadays, the Sanxingdui Museum attracts millions of visitors from home and abroad every year. Their special guided tour developed     9     the mixed reality technology can help people better understand the Sanxingdui culture. Just put on the special MR glasses, and you can visit     10     was filled with the wonderful stories of the relics.

When you’re in Sichuan province, do come and visit the mysterious and unique Sanxingdui Ruins site.