与上天对抗的金字塔

2013-08-20 08:58
阅读与作文(英语高中版) 2013年8期
关键词:动用秘鲁金字塔

In the foothills of the Andes in northern Peru, theres a remote valley. Its a place still haunted by its past. This lost world lies in the Lambayeque Valley in the shadow of the Andes in South America. But there is one place in the valley that stands out. Its a pyramid city called Túcume. Here, there are 26 pyramids, the biggest pyramids city ever built by the mysterious civilization that once lived here.

Every culture that built pyramids did it for a very specific purpose. A purpose that takes us to the heart of everything they believed in. Over a dozen civilisations built pyramids, but none of them looked quite like those of the Lambayeque.

At Túcume, the design of the pyramids was different from elsewhere in the world. There are 26 pyramids of wildly different sizes, all built around an imposing central mountain. The site is vast, almost a square mile in size. And there was no evidence that they were built to be tombs or temples.

Its clear that pyramids were of such central importance to this society that they were prepared to commit all their resources to building them. Slowly, methodically, thousands of people must have toiled all their lives on these buildings. Something clearly drove the Lambayeque to create a production line for pyramids.

Carbon dating shows that the first pyramid at Túcume was built around 1100 AD. An ancient architects model found at the site shows the pyramids were built according to a strict master plan. It would have taken 2,000 people a year just to make the bricks for this one pyramid. It would have taken another army of people to build the pyramid itself, hundreds more to grow and cook food for the workers. So it would have taken thousands several years to complete one pyramid. And there were 25 others at Túcume, and another 200 across the valley. So building pyramids must have become an allconsuming task for the people of the Lambayeque Valley. The pyramids must have satisfied some overwhelming need.

One clue seemed to be the mountain at the centre of Túcume.

Expert:(via translator)The mountains in ancient Peru and today constitute very special centres of religious and magical power.

Thunder was a voice of a god. So was lightning. But the truly powerful gods lived in the mountains. When they were angry, they could unleash terror on the population. They also controlled life and death by bringing water from the Andes. Without this water, the valley would be a desert.

And across the region, scientists have found evidence of the supernatural force the ancient people of the valley most feared. This region has been subject to some of the most extreme climate disasters on the planet. Archaeological layers from the city of Batán Grande show it had been hit by a great wall of water. And the nearby pyramid complex of *Moche had been hit by a wave of sand which covered the city.

These disasters of biblical proportions were caused by the violent climate upheavals known as “El Ni no”.

Scientists believe that when the Lambayeque built a pyramid they were building a replica mountain with the same supernatural power they hoped could control the forces of nature.

So this was the logic of the valley.

在秘鲁北部的安第斯山脚下,有个远离尘嚣的山谷。远古的气息在此地挥之不去。这个早已逝去的世界位于南美安第斯山脉附近的兰巴耶克山谷。山谷中有个地方特别引人注目,这是一个叫做土库美的金字塔城。这里有26座金字塔,那是曾经在此生活的神秘的文明社会建造的最大的金字塔城。

每个文化群落兴建金字塔都有其特定的目的,也正是这个目的带领我们深入了解这些人的信仰。世界上有十几个文明社会兴建了金字塔,但兰巴耶克山谷的金字塔与它们任何一处的金字塔都没有太多的相似之处。

在土库美,金字塔的设计与世界其他地方的不一样。26座金字塔的大小差异甚大,这些金字塔都建在一座气势宏伟的高山周围。整个遗址广阔,面积接近一平方英里(约2.6平方公里)。没有证据显示兴建这些金字塔是为了建造陵墓或神殿。

显然,这些金字塔对于这个社会非常重要,人们为此做好了为金字塔的建造投入所有资源的准备。好几千人不慌不忙,有条不紊地把毕生心力都奉献给了金字塔。肯定是有什么东西驱使这些兰巴耶克人为打造金字塔建立了一条生产线。

用放射性碳测定年代法测定的结果显示:土库美的第一座金字塔建于公元1100年左右。在遗址发现的一个古建筑模型显示,他们当时建造金字塔有一个严谨的总体规划。仅仅是为这座金字塔生产砖块,一年就得动用两千人;而实际建造金字塔则需要另外一支庞大的队伍;另外还需要几百人负责为工人种植并烹煮食物。所以完成一座金字塔必须动用数千人,费时数年。土库美另有25座金字塔,而山谷各处还有两百座之多。因此,打造金字塔对兰巴耶克人来说肯定是需要全身心投入的一项使命,金字塔一定是满足了某种强烈的需求。

土库美城中心的山似乎是一条线索。

专家:(通过翻译)秘鲁的山脉是宗教与法力独特的中心,古今皆如此。

雷鸣是神的声音,闪电也是。但真正法力无边的神住在山里,他们发怒时,就会让祸难降临人间。他们还借安地斯山脉的水操控人类的生与死。没有了水,这座山谷便会成为荒漠。

在这个地区各处,科学家找到了古人最畏惧的超自然力量所留下的痕迹。这个地区曾遭遇地球上一些最极端的气候灾害。巴坦格兰得城的考古层显示,这里曾有滔滔洪水来袭,附近的莫切金字塔区曾遭飞沙袭击并且被其覆盖。

造成这些规模浩大的灾难的剧烈气候现象就是厄尔尼诺现象。

科学家认为兰巴耶克人打造金字塔的目的是复制山,他们希望金字塔能有相同的超自然力量,控制大自然。

这就是我们在兰巴耶克山谷看到的一切背后的原因。

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