科学家发现了尼安德特人最后的藏身之所

A cave chamber sealed off by sand for some 40,000 years has been discovered in Vanguard Cave in Gibraltar – a finding that could reveal more about the Neanderthals who lived in the area around that time.

在直布罗陀先锋洞穴发现了一个被沙子封闭了约4万年的洞穴室，这一发现可能会揭示更多关于当时居住在该地区的尼安德特人的信息。

"Given that the sand sealing the chamber was [40,000] years old, and that the chamber was therefore older, it must have been Neanderthals," who lived in Eurasia from about 200,000 to 40,000 years ago and were likely using the cave, Clive Finlayson, director of the Gibraltar National Museum, told Live Science in an email.

“鉴于密封房间的沙子已有 [40,000] 年的历史，因此房间会更古老，那么一定是尼安德特人，大约 200,000 到 40,000 年前生活在欧亚大陆并且很可能使用洞穴。“克莱夫芬利森直布罗陀国家博物馆馆长在一封电子邮件中表示。

While Finlayson's team was studying the cave last month, they discovered the hollow area. After climbing through it, they found it is 43 feet (13 meters) in length, with stalactites hanging like eerie icicles from the chamber ceiling.

当Finlayson的团队上个月研究这个洞穴时，他们发现了这个空心区域。爬进去后，他们发现它有43英尺(13米)长，钟乳石像怪异的冰柱一样挂在房间的天花板上。

Along the surface of the cave chamber, the researchers found the remains of lynx, hyenas, and griffon vultures, as well as a large whelk, a type of sea snail that was likely carried into the chamber by a Neanderthal, the archaeologists said in a statement.

考古学家在一份声明中说，沿着洞穴房间的表面，研究人员发现了猞猁、鬣狗和狮鹫的遗骸，以及一只大型海螺，一种可能被尼安德特人带入洞穴的海螺 。

The researchers are eager to see what they will find once they start excavating. One possibility is that the team will discover Neanderthal burials, Finlayson said.

研究人员急切地想知道，一旦开始挖掘，他们会发现什么。Finlayson说，有可能将发现尼安德特人的墓葬。

"We found the milk tooth of a 4-year-old Neanderthal close to the chamber four years ago," he said. The tooth "was associated with hyenas, and we suspect the hyenas brought the child [who was likely dead] into the cave."

“四年前，我们在这个洞穴附近发现了一个四岁的尼安德特人的乳牙，”他说。这颗牙齿“与鬣狗有关，我们怀疑是鬣狗把这个孩子(可能已经死了)带进了洞穴。”

Researchers have discovered plenty of evidence of Neanderthals' presence in the cave system, called the Gorham's Cave Complex, including a carving that may have been early Neanderthal artwork.

研究人员发现了大量尼安德特人存在于这个被称为戈勒姆洞穴综合体的洞穴系统中的证据，其中包括一件可能是早期尼安德特人艺术品的雕刻品。

Scientists have speculated that this cave system may have been one of the last places Neanderthals lived before they went extinct around 40,000 years ago.

科学家推测，这个洞穴可能是尼安德特人在大约4万年前灭绝之前的最后居住地之一。