Genetic material from a 10,000-year-old skeleton suggests the oldest-known Briton had dark skin and blue eyes. Scientists from Britain's Natural History Museum and University College London reported the finding Wednesday after studying the remains of an individual known as Cheddar Man.
从一具1万年前的尸骨中所提取的遗传物质显示，最古老的英国人拥有黑色的皮肤和蓝色的眼睛。周三，英国自然历史博物馆和伦敦大学学院的科学家们报道了这一结果，他们研究了一个名为'切达尔人'的遗骸。
The skeleton was discovered over a century ago. It was found inside a large hole in the Cheddar Gorge area of southwest England. The researchers cut a hole into the skull of the human remains and removed DNA from bone powder.
这具骨架是在一个多世纪前被发现的。当时，这具遗骸位于英格兰西南部切达峡谷地区的一个大洞里。研究人员在这具遗骸的头骨上切开一个洞，并从骨粉中提取出了DNA。
The letters DNA are short for the term deoxyribonucleic acid. Scientists call it the chemical of life.
DNA是脱氧核糖核酸（deoxyribonucleic acid）的简称。科学家称其为生命的化学物质。
DNA is made up of genes. Genes, like letters in words, carry a huge amount of information. They tell cells how to make all the materials for life.
DNA是由基因组成的。与单词中的字母一样，基因承载着大量的信息。他们告诉细胞如何制造生命所需的所有材料。
The British scientists say their tests showed Cheddar Man had dark, wavy hair, blue eyes and dark to black skin color. The researchers say the evidence suggests that Europeans' light skin coloring developed much later than experts had thought.
英国科学家称，测试表明，切达尔人拥有深色、波浪式头发、蓝色眼睛和'深色甚至黑色'皮肤。研究人员称，有证据表明，欧洲人浅色皮肤的进化比专家们想象的要晚得多。
Cheddar Man overturns people's expectations of what kinds of genetic qualities go together, said Tom Booth, who worked on the project. It seems that pale eyes entered Europe long before pale skin or blond hair, which didn't come along until after the arrival of farming, he added.
参与该项目的汤姆·布斯表示，切达尔人推翻了人们对基因特性组成类型的猜想。他补充说:'浅色眼睛似乎早在白皮肤或金色头发之前就进入了欧洲，而白色皮肤和棕色头发直到农业之后才出现。'
Some experts believe that ancient humans who lived in extreme northern areas may have developed light colored skin. They note light skin is able to take in more sunlight than darker skin.
一些专家认为，生活在极端北部的远古人类可能已经进化为浅色皮肤。他们注意到浅色皮肤比深色皮肤吸收了更多的阳光。
Sunlight is required for the body to produce vitamin D. Cheddar Man shares genetic similarities with other human remains found in Spain, Hungary and Luxembourg.
人体需要阳光来产生维生素D。切达尔人与西班牙、匈牙利和卢森堡发现的其他人类遗骸有着基因相似性。
All those individuals lived in the Mesolithic Period, also known as the Middle Stone Age Period. The group, known as Western Hunter-Gatherers, moved to Europe from the Middle East after the last Ice Age, about 12,000 years ago.
这些人都生活在中石器时代。大约12000年前，这个被称为'西方狩猎采集者'的族群在最后一个冰河时代后从中东迁往欧洲。
The Associated Press says Cheddar Man is the oldest complete skeleton found in Britain. Human beings had lived on the island off and on for thousands of years before his time, but they disappeared during periodic ice ages.
美联社报道称，切达尔人是英国发现的最古老的完整遗骸。人类在岛上断断续续地生活了几千年，但是却在周期性的冰河时代消失了。
Cheddar Man would have been one of a very small population of hunter-gatherers in Britain at the time. Scientists, who have been studying his skeleton say he appears to have had a healthy diet but died in his 20s, possibly through violence.
在当时的英国，切达尔人是一个非常弱小的狩猎采集者族群之一。一直在研究他的骨骼的科学家们表示，他的饮食习惯似乎很健康，不过却在20多岁时身亡，很可能是遭到了暴力。
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