即使在40万年前，动物物种的消失也给人类带来了损失

即使在40万年前，动物物种的消失也给人类带来了损失

When animals go extinct, humans pay a price in more ways than one.

当动物灭绝时，人类付出的代价是多方面的。

In fact, research published recently in the journal Time and Mind, suggests even our ancient ancestors missed a species they hunted when it disappeared or migrated elsewhere.

事实上，最近发表在《时代与思维》杂志上的一项研究表明，即使是我们的远古祖先，也会在某一物种消失或迁移到其他地方时，想念它。

A mammoth is depicted on the walls of the Rouffignac caves in France. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons [public domain])

That's because their relationship with animals was much more nuanced than a simple sustenance-based dynamic. Animals were not only hunted, but revered.

这是因为它们与动物的关系比简单的以维持生命为基础的动态要微妙得多。动物不仅被猎杀，而且受到尊敬。

"The disappearance of a species that supported human existence for millennia triggered not only technological and social changes but also had profound emotional and psychological effects," the authors note in the study.

作者在研究中指出:“一种支持人类存在数千年的物种的消失不仅引发了技术和社会的变化，还产生了深刻的情感和心理影响。”

To reach that conclusion, Tel Aviv University researchers looked at hunter-gatherer societies at various points in human history — from as far back as 400,000 years ago to the present — and noted the complex "multidimensional connection" between humans and animals. In all, 10 case studies suggested that bond was existential, physical, spiritual, and emotional.

为了得出这个结论，特拉维夫大学的研究人员观察了人类历史上不同时期的狩猎采集社会——从40万年前到现在——并注意到人类和动物之间复杂的“多维联系”。总共有10个案例研究表明，联系是存在的，是身体上、精神上和情感上的。

An animal's sudden absence, researchers noted, resonates deeply — both emotionally and psychologically — among people who relied on those animals for food. The researchers suspect understanding that impact could help brace us for the dramatic environmental changes happening today.

研究人员指出，动物的突然消失在人们的情感和心理上都产生了深刻的共鸣，这些人都以动物为食。研究人员怀疑，理解这种影响可能有助于我们为今天发生的巨大环境变化做好准备。

A Siberian community, for example, adapted to the disappearance of wooly mammoths by migrating east — and becoming the first known settlers in Alaska and northern Canada. In central Israel, researchers noted, the change from elephants to deer as a hunting source brought physical changes to the humans who lived there. They had to develop agility and social connections, rather than the brute strength required to take down elephants.

例如，一个西伯利亚社区向东迁移，适应了长毛猛犸象的消失，成为阿拉斯加和加拿大北部已知的第一批定居者。在以色列中部，研究人员注意到，从大象到鹿的狩猎来源的变化给居住在那里的人类带来了身体上的变化。它们必须发展敏捷性和社会关系，而不是需要蛮力才能击倒大象。

But an animal's disappearance from an environment also created powerful emotional ripples.

但动物从环境中消失也会产生强烈的情感波动。

Indeed, researchers cite engravings of mammoths and seals from the Late Paleolithic period in Europe as compelling examples of that emotional connection. Both species were likely long gone from that region by the time the engravings were made.

事实上，研究人员将欧洲旧石器时代晚期的猛犸象和海豹的雕刻作为这种情感联系的有力例证。这两个物种很可能在雕刻完成之前就已经离开了那个地区。

"These depictions reflect a simple human emotion we all know very well: longing," Halfon notes. "Early humans remembered the animals that disappeared and perpetuated them, just like a poet who writes a song about his beloved who left him."

“这些描绘反映了一种我们都非常了解的简单的人类情感:渴望，”哈尔丰写道。“早期人类记住了那些消失并使它们永垂不朽的动物，就像一位诗人写了一首关于离开他的爱人的歌。”

Those feelings may even involve a sense of guilt — and maybe even a lesson for a society that lost an animal species.

这些感觉甚至可能包括一种负罪感——甚至可能是一个失去了动物物种的社会的一个教训。

"Indigenous hunter-gatherer societies have been very careful to maintain clear rules about hunting. As a result, when an animal disappears, they ask: 'Did we behave properly? Is it angry and punishing us? What can we do to convince it to come back?'" explains study co-author Ran Barkai. "Such a reaction has been exhibited by modern-day hunter-gatherer societies as well."

“土著狩猎采集社会一直非常小心地维持着关于狩猎的明确规则。因此，当一只动物消失时，他们会问:‘我们的行为举止合适吗?它是在愤怒和惩罚我们吗?我们怎样才能说服它回来呢?’”研究合著者Ran Barkai解释道。“这种反应在现代狩猎采集社会中也得到了体现。”