人類的古老文明:被歷史遺忘的十個文明古國

Much like Isaac Newton imagined when he gave his faMous “shoulders of giants” quote, our modern civilizations owe a great deal to those which came before us. While examples like the Sumerians or Egyptians are deeply ingrained in nearly everyone’s minds, there are a number of other civilizations which have been largely forgotten. Here are 10 of them.
正如艾薩克·牛頓在提出其“巨人的肩膀”名言時所設想的一樣，我們的現代文明也從先前的諸文明中獲益良多。雖然諸如蘇美爾或者埃及文明的例子已經深入人心，但仍有爲數不少的文明基本上是被忘卻了的。這裏列舉10個如下。

Photo credit: Bhushan Kotakar
圖片引自： Bhushan Kotakar
10、Hattian Civilization
赫蒂文明

The Hattians were a civilization which inhabited the area of present-day Anatolia, Turkey from the 26th century to around the 18th century B.C. Believed to be the earliest urban settlers of the area, their existence can be traced to 24th-century Akkadian cuneiform tablets. Most archaeologists believe that they were indigenous to the area preceding the more famous Hittite civilization, which arrived in the 23rd century B.C. The two cultures slowly merged together, with the Hittites adopting a variety of Hatti religious beliefs and practices. Many of the largest Hittite settlements, such as Alaca Hoyuk and Hattusa, are believed to have originally been Hattian.
赫蒂文明位於今土耳其安納托利亞地區，存在於公元前26世紀至約18世紀。他們是該地區最早的城市居民，其存在的證據可追溯至公元前24世紀的阿卡德楔形文字石碑中。大多數考古學家認爲，赫蒂人比更爲聞名的赫梯人更早存在於這一地區，後者於公元前23世紀來到這裏。隨着赫蒂人採納了許多來自赫梯的宗教信仰和實踐習慣，兩大文明慢慢地融合在了一起。赫梯人的許多大型定居點，諸如阿拉卡·郝予克（Alaca Hoyuk）以及哈茲薩（Hattusa），確信最初曾是赫蒂人的。

While they had their own spoken language, no evidence of a written form of the Hatti language has ever been found. It’s likely that they were multilingual, perhaps to facilitate trade with their Assyrian partners. In fact, most of what we know about the Hattians comes from the widespread adoption of their culture by the Hittites. Their population probably existed as a majority for decades—if not centuries—while they were under the aristocratic rule of the Hittites, before they eventually faded away into obscurity.
雖然他們有自己的口頭語言，但並未發現過有關其文字語言的證據。他們有可能是多語言的，或許是爲了促進與其亞述（Assyrian）夥伴們之間的貿易往來。事實上，我們對赫蒂人的所知大部分來自於赫梯人對其文化的廣泛採用。赫蒂的人口數量或許曾在幾十年中佔據多數——如果沒到上百年的話——然而卻是在赫梯貴族們的統治之下，直至最終在歷史的長河中晦暗下去。

Photo credit: Rod Waddington
圖片引自：Rod Waddington
9、Zapotec Civilization
薩博特克文明

While most people are familiar with the Aztecs and the Maya of Mesoamerica, the people known as the Zapotec remain relatively obscure. Among the first people in the area to use agricultural and writing systems, they also built one of the earliest recognized cities in North America—Monte Alban. Founded in the fifth century B.C., the city was home to a maximum of 25,000 citizens and lasted for over 1,200 years. In Monte Alban, a privileged class made up of priests, warriors, and artists ruled over the lower classes.
相較於許多人對中美洲 阿芝特科（Aztecs）及瑪雅（Maya）的熟悉來說，一支稱爲 薩博特克（Zapotec）的文明顯得生澀了許多。他們不僅是這一地區最早進行農業耕作、使用書寫系統的文明之一，同時也修建了北美地區最早的城市——Monte Alban。[譯者注：地理劃分上“中美洲”只是一個地區的概念而算不上一個“洲”。Zapotec文明及其中心城市Monte Alban位於今墨西哥南部，在地理上屬於“中美”範疇，但按“七大洲”概念則屬北美] 該城建於公元前5世紀，最多可容納2萬5000名市民，存續超過1千200年之久。在Monte Alban城，由牧師、戰士及藝術家組成的特權階級統治着其他相對低級的階層。

Like many of the civilizations of Mesoamerica, the Zapotecs subjugated the surrounding areas through a mix of warfare, diplomacy, and tribute. The sudden downfall of their culture seemed to have no reason, and their largest city was mostly left intact, though it was eventually ruined by years of abandonment. Some scholars believe that a failure of their economic system may have pushed the Zapotecs to find work elsewhere. The rest of the population grouped together into various city-states, which proceeded to fight each other (as well as outside forces) until they were no more.
同中美洲地區許許多多的其他文明一樣，薩博特克也通過包括戰爭、外交和進貢在內的方式征服了周邊地區。這支文明的衰落看起來毫無緣由，而且他們最大的城市也基本上是完好地遺留了下來，雖然由於多年的棄置，最終還是損毀了。一些學者認爲，他們失敗的經濟體系，或許使得薩博特克人不得不到其他地區尋找工作。餘下的人口組成了大量的城邦，並且相互交戰（同時也與外部勢力交戰）直至滅亡。

Photo credit: Michel wal
圖片引自： Michel wal
8、Vinca Civilization
溫卡文明（長春花文明）

Europe’s biggest prehistoric civilization, the Vinca, existed for nearly 1,500 years. Beginning in the 55th century B.C., they occupied land throughoutSerbia and Romania. Named after a present-day village near the Danube River, where the first discoveries were made in the 20th century, the Vinca were a metal-working people, perhaps even the world’s first civilization to use copper (they also excavated the first mine in Europe).
歐洲最大的史前文明，溫卡，存續近1500年之久。從公元前55世紀開始，他們佔據了遍及敘利亞和羅馬尼亞的土地。首次發現於20世紀，並以發現地，多瑙河附近一當代小鎮的名字命名。溫卡人是一個從事金屬加工的民族，他們或許是世界上最早使用銅的文明（他們同樣採掘出了歐洲的第一桶礦產）。

Though the Vinca people had no officially recognized form of writing, examples of proto-writing, symbols which don’t actually express language, have been found on various stone tablets which date as far back as 4000 B.C. In addition, they were artistic and fond of children; archaeologists have found various toys, such as animals and rattles, buried among the other artifacts. They were also extremely organized—the houses of the Vinca civilization had specific locations for trash, and the dead were all buried in a central location.
雖然溫卡人的存在無法從文字、類文字圖樣、甚至那些算不上語言的符號中得到正式承認，但的確發現有許多的石碑可以作證其存在，這些石碑可追溯至公元前4000年。另外，他們充滿藝術氣息並且喜歡孩子，考古學家發現了許許多多的玩偶，如動物和搖鈴，這些玩偶與其他手工製品埋在一起。他們還非常的有組織性——溫卡文明的房屋都有特定的垃圾丟棄點，並且死去的人全都被埋在一箇中心地點。

Photo credit: Rama
圖片引自：Rama
7、Hurrian Civilization
胡裏安文明

Another civilization which influenced the Hittites was the Hurrian people, who lived throughout the Middle East during the second millennium B.C. It’s probable that they were around even earlier than that: Personal and place names written in the Hurrian language were found in Mesopotamian records dating back to the third millennium B.C. Unfortunately, very few artifacts of their civilization exist; most of what we know about them comes from the writings of other cultures, including the Hittites, Sumerians, and Egyptians.
另一個對赫梯人產生過所影響的，是胡裏安文明。胡裏安人分佈於中東地區，生活在公元前的第二個千年裏（譯註：即指公元前2000~公元前1000年）。他們或許在更早的時代就出現了：以胡裏安語書寫的人名和地名被發現存在於美索不達米亞的歷史資料中，後者可追溯至公元前的第三個千年。不幸的是，只有非常少量的胡裏安文明手工製品存在於世；我們對他們的所知主要源於 包括包括赫梯、蘇美爾以及埃及在內的其他文明的記載。

One of their largest cities is known as Urkesh and is located in northeastern Syria. Urkesh is also where the earliest known text in Hurrian, a stone tablet and statue known as the Louvre lion, was found. Long believed to be mainly nomadic, scholars now believe that the Hurrians may have had a much bigger impact than previously thought, mostly due to the way their language differed from other Semitic and Indo-European tongues. However, by the end of the second millennium B.C., nearly all ethnic traces of the Hurrians had disappeared, with only their influence on the Hittites left behind.
胡裏安人最大的城市之一是沃克什（Urkesh），坐落在今敘利亞北部。沃克什亦是胡裏安最早的文本——一個石碑和被稱爲羅浮獅的雕像——的發現地。長期以來人們認爲胡裏安人以遊牧爲主。如今，學者們認爲胡裏安人所產生過的影響或許比我們原想的更大，主要基於其語言與其他閃米特和印歐語系語言差異的形式。無論如何，在公元前第二個世紀的末尾，胡裏安民族的蹤跡幾乎全部消失，只剩他們對赫梯人的影響流傳下去。

Photo credit: Ji-Elle
圖片引自： Ji-Elle
6、Nok Civilization
諾克文明

Named after the area in Nigeria in which artifacts of their culture were first discovered, the Nok civilization flourished during the first millennium re fading into obscurity in the second century A.D. Some theories posit that the overexploitation of natural resources played a large role in the population’s decline. Whatever the case, scholars believe that they played an important role in the development of other cultures in the area, such as the Yoruba and Benin peoples.
以該文化的手工製品首先發現之地，尼日利亞某地的名字命名。諾克文明在公元前的第一個千年裏持續繁榮，在公元2世紀逐漸沒落、消失。一些理論假定，對自然資源的過度利用是導致其人口衰減的一個重要原因。無論如何，學者們認爲該文明對這一地區的其他文化，如約魯巴（Yoruba）和貝寧（Benin）的發展，起到了重要的作用，

Perhaps the best-known examples of their artistic nature are the terra-cotta figures which have been found throughout the area. They were also the earliest known Africans to have smelted iron, though it’s believed that it was introduced to them through another culture, perhaps the Carthaginians. The reason for this assumption is that no evidence for copper smelting has ever been found, which was a precursor to an iron age in nearly every other civilization. Although they’re believed to be one of the earliest African civilizations, evidence of their existence has been slow to come to light because modern-day Nigeria is a notoriously difficult place to study.
在該地區普遍發現的赤土陶俑（terra-cotta figures），或許是其藝術本質最爲著名的示例。他們也是非洲人中已知最早可以鍊鐵的民族，雖然據信這是經由另一文化，或許是迦太基人（Carthaginians）所傳授的。這一假定的原因是並沒有發現過有關鍊銅的證據，而後者在幾乎其他所有的文明裏都是鐵器時代的先導。雖然諾克被認爲是非洲最早的文明，但是關於其存在證據的發現則是十分緩慢的，因爲當今的尼日利亞是一個聲名狼藉的，難以開展研究的地方。

5、Punt Civilization
龐特文明

A popular trading partner with ancient Egypt, the land of Punt (pronounced “poont”) was famous for producing incense, ebony, and gold. Scholars differ on where they believe the civilization was, with a range from South Africa all the way up the coast to the Middle East. Even though the Egyptians wrote extensively on the land and its people, they never bothered to actually say where it was.
A lot of our knowledge of Punt comes from the reign of Hatshepsut, the famed female pharaoh who ruled Egypt during the 15th century B.C. Reliefs in her mortuary temple contain information on a rather large trade expedition to Punt, as well as more specific details, like pictures of beehive-shaped houses on stilts. A scene showing Hatshepsut receiving wondrous gifts from the exotic land is also carved into the temple walls. Unfortunately, no actual archaeological evidence showing the location of Punt has ever been found, although there have been numerous Egyptian artifacts inscribed with the civilization’s name, giving scholars hope that Punt might one day be unearthed.
作爲古埃及的貿易伙伴，龐特以生產焚香、烏木和金子爲主。學者對於文明的起源地有很大的爭議，爭議範圍包括非洲南部到中東地區。即使埃及人詳細地記敘了龐特文明和它的人民，也沒有確定地描述龐特到底在哪裏。很多關於龐特的記敘來自於公元前15世紀埃及著名的女法老哈特謝普蘇特統治時期。在她神廟的浮雕上展示了與龐特大量繁華的貿易往來，還有一些特別的信息，比如蜂窩狀的房子。神廟裏，有一個浮雕展示了哈特謝普蘇特從異邦獲贈了大量的禮物。不幸的是，沒有任何確切的考古證據表明龐特的位置，即便有大量的埃及藝術作品記錄下了文明的名字，也給與學者一個希望，那就是龐特文明終有一天會被發現。

Photo credit: Sharon odb
4、Norte Chico Civilization
北方奇科文明

Beginning with its arrival during the third millennium B.C. and lasting for over 1,200 years, the Norte Chico civilization dominated South America as the oldest sophisticated culture on the continent. Named for the region of present-day Peru which they occupied, they had 20 major cities, with advanced architecture and agriculture making up a large portion of their settlements. They also developed intricate irrigation systems, sophistication which was unheard of in the Americas at that time.
Artifacts recognizable as religious symbols have been found throughout the area, especially near the stone pyramids for which the Norte Chico civilization is famous. There is some debate over whether or not they qualify as a civilization, as well as what that term even means. Usually, indicators like a form of art and a sense of urbanization are key, but the Norte Chico civilization possessed neither of these. Whatever the case, there is no denying that they were an influence on later South American cultures, such as the Chavin civilization, which began a few hundred years after the fall of the Norte Chicos.
從開始一直持續了1200年的北方奇科文明是南美洲大陸最古老的文明，今天祕魯大部分國土都是他們曾經統治的地方，他們擁有20個城鎮，先進的農業和建築業技術。他們也開發出當時的美洲聞所未聞的複雜的灌溉系統。在整個區域發現了很多被當做宗教標記的工藝品，特別是在靠近以北方奇科文明著稱的石頭金字塔發現的更多。對於是否把他們當作一種文明仍然有一些爭論，究竟文明這個詞意味着什麼。通常，藝術形式和城市化可以視作文明的標記，但是北方奇科文明沒有這些標記。不管怎麼說，不可否認的事他們對於後來的南美洲文明有着巨大的影響，比如恰文文明，恰文文明在北方奇科文明結束之後又持續了數百年。

Photo credit: dynamosquito
圖片引自：dynamosquito
3、Elamite Civilization
埃蘭文明

Although their name for themselves was Haltam, the name “Elam” comes from the Hebraic transcription of the word. The Elamite civilization consisted mostly of land inside present-day Iran, along with a small portion of Iraq. One of the earliest civilizations, it was founded sometime in the third millennium B.C. and is by far the oldest in all of Iran. Situated along the borders of Sumer and Akkad, the land of Elam was similar to its neighbors, although its language was altogether unique.
“埃蘭”這個名字來源於希伯來語單詞的音標，儘管埃蘭人稱自己國家的名字爲Haltam（意爲“神的國家”）。埃蘭文明主要在如今伊朗的境內，同時也包括了伊拉克的一小部分。它始建於大約公元前3000年，是最早的文明之一，也是目前整個伊朗最古老的文明。雖然埃蘭的語言是完全獨一無二的，但位於蘇美爾和阿卡德的邊界地帶，埃蘭的土地與它的鄰國是相似的。

Although they lasted as an independent kingdom for at least a millennium, if not longer, very little is known about them because Elamite scribes were not concerned with documenting their mythology, literature, or any scientific advancements. Writing was mostly seen as a way to honor the king or perform administrative duties. Due to this fact, they made a rather small impact on the development of future civilizations, especially when compared to the Egyptians and Sumerians.
儘管作爲一個獨立的王國持續了至少千年，也可能更長的時間，但很少有人瞭解他們，因爲埃蘭的史官並不關心記錄他們國家的神話，或者任何科學上的進步。書寫在當時幾乎被看做是一種尊敬國王或者是履行行政職責的方式。出於這個因素，他們對未來文明的發展造成的影響相當小，尤其是與埃及人和蘇美爾人相比較。

Photo credit: Rapid Travel Chai
圖片引自：Rapid Travel Chai
2、Dilmun Civilization
兩河流域文明

An important trading civilization in its heyday, Dilmun encompassed an area consisting of present-day Bahrain, Kuwait, and parts of Saudi Arabia. Although very little concrete evidence has been found as of yet, scholars believe that a few sites, namely Saar and Qal’at al-Bahrain, are ancient settlements of the Dilmun people. Saar is still being investigated, but a large number of the artifacts that have already been found there date to the third millennium B.C., lending credence to the theory that it was built by the Dilmun civilization.
兩河流域在其鼎盛時期是一個重要的貿易文明，流經包括如今的巴林、科威特以及部分沙特阿拉伯地區，雖然迄今爲止幾乎沒有發現什麼具體的證據，但是學者們認爲一些遺址，也就是薩爾和巴林島的卡拉特考古遺址，是古代兩河流域的人民定居的地方。薩爾仍然在被考古調查中，但是已經發現了大量追溯到公元前3000年的文物，印證了它始建於兩河流域文明的傳言。

Dilmun was a major commercial player in its day, with control over the Persian Gulf trading lanes and a communication network that reached as far away as Turkey. Numerous water springs flow all across the area, which researchers believe may have led to the legend of Bahrain being the Biblical Garden of Eden. In addition, Enki, the Sumerian god of wisdom, was said to have lived in the underground springs. Described as “the place where the sun rises,” Dilmun played a large role in Sumerian mythology; according to legend, Dilmun was the place where Utnapishtim was taken to live for eternity.
在兩河流域文明盛行的時代，兩河流域控制着波斯灣貿易通道和遠至土耳其的通信網絡，是一個主要的商業角色。許許多多的泉水流遍這個地區，研究者們認爲這是傳說中巴林後來成爲了聖經中的伊甸園的依據。此外，據說蘇美爾人的智慧之神恩基生活在地下的泉水中。兩河流域在蘇美爾的神話中有着舉足輕重的地位，被描述爲“太陽升起的地方”；根據傳說，兩河流域是烏特納比西丁得到永生的地方。

1、Harappan Civilization
哈拉帕文明

Also known as the Indus Valley Civilization, the Harappans were a group of people who lived in parts of present-day Pakistan and India. Gifted with the idea that planning cities in advance would be a good idea, their urban areas were second to none; unfortunately, due to what scientists believe to have been a massive, centuries-long drought, their culture slowly declined, never to rise again. This is currently nothing more than a theory, but it helps explain other cultural declines in the area as well.
也被稱爲印度河流域文明，哈拉帕人生活在今巴基斯坦和印度的部分地區。他們極有天賦的認爲，良好的城市規劃將是非常有益的，於是他們擁有不輸任何文明的城市區域；很不幸的，基於科學家們所認爲的，在經歷了嚴重的、數個世紀之久的乾旱之後，這個文化逐漸的沒落了，並且再也沒有復興起來。這雖然不過是一個理論，但也的確有助於解釋這一地區其他文明的衰落.

Beginning sometime in the 25th century B.C., the Harappans also developed their own language, a script with nearly 500 different characters which has not been completely deciphered even today. Their most noteworthy artifacts are seals, usually made of soapstone, which depict various animals and mythical creatures. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are the two largest Harappan sites, with the former labeled as a UNESCO Heritage Site. When it collapsed, the ruins of the Harappan civilization provided a template for the various other cultures which sprang up after it
哈拉帕文明始於公元前25世紀的某個時期，他們也發展出了自己的語言，一種有着近500個不同字符的文本，直到今天也未能完全破譯。他們最著名的工藝品是密封印章，一般以皁石製成，其上繪有各種動物及神祕生物。哈拉帕及摩亨朱—達羅（Mohenjo-Daro）是哈拉帕人最大的兩個據點，前者還是聯合國教科文組織所認定的世界文化遺產。崩潰以後，哈拉帕文明的遺蹟爲其後涌現的諸多文明提供了樣板。