10个终于被解开但仍耐人寻味的历史之谜(下)_英美文化

10个终于被解开但仍耐人寻味的历史之谜(下)

多年来，历史学家们一直对公元500年左右，神秘民族纳斯卡人的消失感到困惑。纳斯卡人创造了纳斯卡线，他们在这个地方深深地刻上了地质痕迹。对于纳斯卡线的说法众说纷纭，其中大多数历史学家们认同的观点是它们其实是在古代仪式中让人跟着走的神圣路线。

In recent years, scientists have determined that the Nazca civilization caused its own destruction. By clearing so many huarango trees in their valleys for farming, they did irreparable damage to their environment. These nitrogen-fixing trees increased moisture and soil fertility. Without enough of them, the climate became too arid to grow food.

近几年，科学家发现纳斯卡人是自己导致这个民族毁灭的。他们为了农业生产，不惜破坏Huarango树，对环境造成了不能弥补的破坏。Huarango树是有固氮作用的树种，同时可以增加土壤湿度和使土地变得肥沃。砍伐Huarango树会导致气候过于干燥，不能种植粮食。

The huarango . . . was an important source of food, forage, timber, and fuel for the local people, said archaeologist David Beresford-Jones. The species was responsible for enhancing soil fertility and moisture, ameliorating desert extremes in the microclimate beneath its canopy and underpinning the floodplain with one of the deepest root systems of any tree known. In time, gradual woodland clearance crossed an ecological threshold—sharply defined in such desert environments—exposing the landscape to the regions extraordinary desert winds and the effects of El Nino floods.