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Researchers have found the earliest direct evidence for horseback riding.
研究人员发现了人类骑马的最早的直接证据。
The evidence comes from 5,000-year-old human skeletons in central Europe.
证据来自中欧5000年前的人类骨骼。
The research study was published last week in the publication Science Advances.
这项研究上周发表在《科学进展》杂志上。
Horseback riding was a development that changed history.
骑马改变了历史。
It was "the fastest a human could go before the railroads," said David Anthony.
戴维·安东尼说，这是“在铁路出现之前人类能走的最快速度”。
He is a co-writer of the study and an archaeologist at New York's Hartwick College.
他是这项研究的合著者，也是纽约哈特威克学院的考古学家。
The researchers examined the bones of more than 200 ancient people in museum collections in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
研究人员调查了保加利亚、波兰、罗马尼亚、匈牙利和捷克博物馆收藏的200多具古人的骨骼。
The bones came from the period known as the Bronze Age between 3,000 and 5,000 years ago.
这些骨骼来自3000至5000年前的青铜时代。
The researchers looked for signs of "horse rider syndrome."
研究人员寻找“骑手综合症”的迹象。
Martin Trautmann, another writer of the study, explained the condition.
该研究的另一位作者马丁·特劳特曼解释了这种情况。
He said there are six markers that show whether a person rode an animal.
他说，有六个特征可以表明一个人是否骑过马。
They include wear marks on the hips, thigh bone and pelvis, said Trautmann, an anthropologist at the University of Helsinki in Finland.
芬兰赫尔辛基大学的人类学家特劳特曼说，这些特征包括臀部、股骨和骨盆上的磨损痕迹。
The researchers identified five humans who likely rode horses.
研究人员确定了五个可能会骑马的人。
They are estimated to have lived between 4,500 and 5,000 years ago.
据估计，他们生活在4500到5000年前。
They belonged to a Bronze Age people called the Yamnaya.
它们属于青铜时代的亚姆纳亚人。
Alan Outram is an archaeologist at Britain's University of Exeter.
艾伦·乌特勒姆是英国埃克塞特大学的考古学家。
He was not involved in the research, but he praised the methods the scientists used.
他没有参与这项研究，但他赞扬了科学家使用的方法。
He said, "There is earlier evidence for harnessing and milking of horses, but this is the earliest direct evidence so far for horseback riding."
他说：“有更早的证据表明存在套马具和挤马奶，但这是迄今为止骑马的最早的直接证据。”
Domesticating wild horses on the plains of Eurasia was a process, not a single event, the researchers said.
研究人员表示，在欧亚大陆平原上驯化野马是一个过程，而不是一个单一的事件。
Archaeologists have previously found evidence of people drinking horse milk.
考古学家此前发现了人们饮用马奶的证据。
There have also been signs of horses controlled by harnesses dating back more than 5,000 years.
也有迹象表明，早在5000多年前，马就已经被马具控制了。
But that does not mean humans rode the horses.
但这并不意味着人类会骑马。
The Yamnaya culture developed in what is now part of Ukraine and western Russia.
亚姆纳亚文化发展于现在的乌克兰和俄罗斯西部地区。
The Yamnaya are important because of their expansion across Eurasia in only a few generations.
亚姆纳亚人之所以重要，是因为他们在短短几代人的时间里就扩张到了欧亚大陆。
They moved west to Hungary and east to Mongolia, said University of Helsinki archaeologist and study co-writer Volker Heyd.
赫尔辛基大学考古学家、研究合著者沃尔克·海德说，他们向西迁移到匈牙利，向东迁移到蒙古。
"The spread of Indo-European languages is linked to their movement, and they reshaped the genetic make-up of Europe," Heyd said.
海德说：“印欧语的传播与他们的迁徙有关，他们重塑了欧洲的基因构成。”
Their relationship with horses may have partly made this movement possible, the researchers suggested.
研究人员认为，他们与马的关系可能在一定程度上使这种迁徙活动成为可能。
David Anthony, the Hartwick College archaeologist, said, "Horses expand the concept of distance – you begin to think about places previously out of reach as being reachable."
哈特威克学院的考古学家戴维·安东尼说：“马扩大了距离的概念——你开始认为以前遥不可及的地方是可以到达的。”
That does not mean the Yamnaya people were warriors on horseback.
这并不意味着亚姆纳亚人是骑马的战士。
The horses they rode were likely not used in battlefield situations, Anthony said.
安东尼说，他们骑的马可能没有在战场上使用过。
But horses may have helped the Yamnaya more effectively send communications, build alliances and control the herds of cattle that were important to their economy.
但马可能帮助亚姆纳亚人更有效地通信，建立联盟和控制对他们的经济至关重要的牛群。
I'm Ashley Thompson.
阿什利·汤普森为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
