Neanderthals

尼安德特人

The Neanderthals were a relative of humans that lived in Eurasia until their extinction around 28,000 years ago.

尼安德特人是人类近亲，他们生活在欧亚大陆，直到大约28000年前灭绝。

The first Neanderthal fossil was found in Belgium in 1829, but scientists did not know what it was.

第一块尼安德特人化石于1829年在比利时被发现，但当时科学家们并不知道这是什么。

They only learned that the fossil came from a species similar to humans in 1856.

直到1856年，科学家才明白，这块化石来自一个与人类相似的物种。

Neanderthals were an intelligent species—possibly as intelligent as humans.

尼安德特人是一个智慧的物种——可能和人类一样聪明。

It’s hard to know if they used language, but many scientists believe it’s likely.

很难知道他们是否使用语言，但许多科学家认为很有可能。

Today, most people have some Neanderthal DNA, especially people who originate from Europe or Asia.

现在，大多数人都有一些尼安德特人的DNA，特别是来自欧洲或亚洲的人。

This is because many early humans migrated from Africa to Europe around 40,000 years ago.

这是因为大约4万年前，许多早期人类从非洲迁徙到欧洲。

When they got there, they interbred with the Neanderthals.

当他们到达欧洲时，便与尼安德特人进行了杂交。

In fact, some scientists believe that the Neanderthals only went extinct because they were absorbed into the human population.

事实上，一些科学家认为，尼安德特人灭绝只是因为他们被人类种群同化了。