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Ancient Footwear Fashion 古代鞋履时尚

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An Armenian cave’s near-perfect conditions preserve artifacts some 5,600 years old  亚美尼亚的一座洞穴具备近乎完美的环境条件，使得五千六百年前的文物得以保存至今

Archaeologists from the University of California, Los Angeles, and University College Cork in Ireland have discovered the world’s oldest leather shoe – an exquisitely preserved, 5,600-year-old woman’s size 7 lace-up – in a cave in Armenia.

洛杉矶加州大学与爱尔兰科克大学的考古学家发现了世界上最古老的皮质鞋子──一只保存得极为完好的女性七号系带鞋，已有五千六百年历史──地点在亚美尼亚的一座洞穴里。

The shoe, 1,000 years older than the great pyramid of Khufu in Egypt and 400 years older than Stonehenge in the United Kingdom, was in such pristine condition that at first researchers thought it was just a few centuries old. It was stuffed with grass that may have been used to keep the wearer’s foot warm or that might have been to preserve the shoe’s shape for storage.

这只鞋的历史比埃及的古夫金字塔早了一千年，也比英国的巨石阵早了四百年，但却维持很新的状态，以致研究者原本以为其历史只有几百年而已。鞋里塞满草，可能是用于保持穿着者的足部温暖，也可能是为了让鞋子在收存的时候不至于变形。

Both grass and shoe were well preserved, like some of the other organic materials discovered in the cave, including winemaking apparatus complete with grapes.

鞋子本身和鞋内的草都保存得非常良好，洞穴里发现的其他有机物质也不例外，包括酿酒设备连同其中的葡萄。

Why the cave was such a good custodian  这座洞穴为何具备如此良好的保存能力

The team attributed the unusually preservation to the cave’s perennially cool temperature, low humidity and a concrete-like layer of sheep dung that sealed everything in and prevented fungi from destroying the remains.

研究团队把这种不寻常的保存状况归功于洞穴常年的低温低湿，以及一层像水泥一样的羊粪，不但封存了一切，还避免真菌破坏这些遗物。

“The conditions in the cave …. are rather rare,” allowing preservation of artifacts from a time period for which such materials are scarce, said UCLA archaeologist Charles Stanish, who was not involved in the research.

未参与这项研究的洛杉矶加州大学考古学家查尔斯．史丹尼希指出：「这座洞穴里的环境条件……相当罕见，」因此当时的这些文物得以罕见地保存下来。

“The shoe itself is really interesting and cool,” added archaeologist Mitchell S. Rothman, who also was not involved. “But it is just a marker of how incredibly good the preservation is at the site, which is incredibly important.”

「这只鞋子本身实在非常值得注意，也相当了不起，」考古学家米契尔．罗斯曼补充道。他也同样没有参与这项研究。「但真正重要的是，这鞋显示这个地点的保存条件优秀得令人难以置信。」

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lace-up 用带子束紧的

apparatus [͵æpəˋretəs] n. 设备，装置

dung [dʌŋ] n.（牛、马等的）粪；粪肥

fungi  [ˈfʌnˌgaɪ] / [ˈfʌnˌdʒaɪ] (pl n.) 真菌 any of various types of organism which get their food from decaying material or other living things 

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Putting it in perspective   综观这座洞穴的重要性

The cave’s artifacts date from the Chalcolithic or Copper Age, when the first metal tools began appearing. “The fourth millennium is when the modern world appears – the first cities, the first kings, the first axes, the first bureaucrats, and the first international trading system,” Rothman said.

这座洞穴的文物源自于铜石器时代或黄铜时代，也就是金属工具刚开始出现的时代。「第四个千年是现代世界出现的时侯──最早的城市、最早的国王、最早的斧头、最早的官僚体系，还有最早的国际贸易体系，都出现于这个时期，」罗斯曼说。

Prior to the discovery, the oldest known footwear from Eurasia was found on Otzi, the Iceman discovered on an Alpine glacier on the border between Austria and Italy. Those shoes are about 5,300 years old, but were in relatively poor shape. They were moccasin-type footwear in which the sole is attached to an upper “sock” with leather thongs.

在获致这项发现之前，欧亚大陆原本已知最古老的鞋子乃是奥兹所穿的鞋子──奥兹是在奥地利与意大利边界的一座高山冰河里发现的冰人。那双鞋的历史约有五千三百年，但保存状况不佳。那双鞋属于莫卡辛软皮鞋，鞋底以皮质系带和上端的「袜子」系缚在一起。

The oldest known footwear in the world – more sandals than shoes – were discovered in Missouri, U.S., and are about 6,900 years old. Made from woven fibers and leather, they are also in poor condition.

世界上所知最古老的鞋子──其实应该说是拖鞋──发现于美国密苏里州，历史约有六千九百年。这些鞋子以纤维和皮革编织而成，保存的状况也很糟。

An unusual find  一项不寻常的发现

Radiocarbon dating indicated that the newly found shoe was from about 3,600 B.C. Its relatively sophisticated design, however, suggests that the style had already been in use for a long period, said UCLA archaeologist Gregory Areshian, the co-leader of the research team. The shoe is shaped to fit the wearer’s right foot. It is 9.65 inches long, which corresponds to a U.S. woman’s size 7.

放射性碳年代测定结果显示，新发现的这只鞋子约源自于公元前三千六百年。不过，由于这只鞋子的设计颇为繁复，可见这种鞋子样式已经存在了很长一段时间，洛杉矶加州大学考古学家葛雷格利．阿瑞席安说。他是研究团队的共同主持人。这只鞋子的形状切合穿着者的右脚，长九点六五吋，相当于美国女性尺寸的七号鞋。

Researchers have so far excavated only about 2 percent of the cave, which is at least 150 feet deep. They already know that the main part of the cave was not used for living, but primarily for storage and, perhaps, ritualistic purposes. The inhabitants apparently lived under rock shelters outside the caves.

研究人员至今对这座洞穴只开挖了约百分之二，整座洞穴至少有一百五十呎深。他们已经知道洞穴的主要空间并非用于居住，而是用于储存物品，也可能用于举办仪式。居民显然住在洞穴外的岩荫下。

The team believes the cave was abandoned following an earthquake, which caused the ceiling to collapse.

研究团队认为，这座洞穴因为一场地震导致穴顶崩塌，而因此遭到遗弃。

−by Thomas H. Maugh II

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in perspective 按照透视法 within a reasonable view or appraisal; if you put something into perspective you show that you realize or make others realize the importance/significance of the thing you are referring to.

Chalcolithic [͵kælkəˋlɪθɪk] n. 铜器，石器并用的时代

Eurasia [jʊˋreʒə] n. 欧亚大陆 the land mass made up of material Europe and Asia

moccasin [ˋmɑkəsn] n.（北美印第安人穿的）鹿皮软鞋 a shoe which the wearer’s foot slides into and which is made from soft leather with stitches around the top at the front

thong [θɔŋ] n. 皮带; 皮质系带

radiocarbon dating 放射性碳年代测定 a method of calculating the age of extremely old objects by measuring the amount of a particular type of carbon in them 

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exquisitely [ɛkˋskwɪzɪtlɪ] adv. 精致地 done in a very beautiful or delicate way

pristine [ˋprɪstin] adj. 原始的 untouched or in very good condition

perennially [pəˋrɛnɪəlɪ] adv. 不绝地；永驻地 something that has lasted for a very long time, or happening repeatedly or all the time

millennium [mɪˋlɛnɪəm]n. 1000年; 千年期 a period of 1,000 years

bureaucrat [ˋbjʊrə͵kræt] n. 官僚; 官僚体系 someone working for a government, company or organization that is operated by a large number of officials who are employed to follow rules carefully

excavate [ˋɛkskə͵vet] v. 挖掘（穴、洞等）；开凿 to remove earth that is covering very old objects buried in the ground in order to discover things about the past

ritualistic [͵rɪtʃʊəlˋɪstɪk] adj. 仪式的 relating to a set of fixed actions and sometimes words performed regularly, especially as part of a ceremony

The oldest shoe in the world found in Armenia and made 5500 years ago

World's Oldest Leather Shoe