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that is long before we’d thought previously.
这比我们之前以为的时间要早得多。
It was unclear whether the forest had been cleared by farmers to plant fields, or by hunter-gatherers, so they could hunt more easily.
但是森林是农民为了种地而清除的，还是采集狩猎的人为了更容易狩猎而清除的尚不清楚。
And many plant remains like seeds and fruits don’t preserve well in swampy soils, in humid environments like you often find in New Guinea.
而且很多植物的剩余物比如种子和果实在湿软的土壤中不好保存，在新几内亚经常能发现那种潮湿的环境。
So really, the proof was limited. But recent research has turned up some pretty convincing support.
所以真的，那时的证据很有限。但是在最近的调查中出现了一些特别有说服力的支持。
A group of archaeologists returned to a site that had been previously examined, Kuk Swamp,
一群考古学家回到了之前检测过的一个地点Kuk Swamp，
which is in a mountain valley in the highlands of what is now Papua, New Guinea.
这是现新几内亚Papua高地的一个山谷。
Based on their findings, they identified a succession of phases of agricultural development in the wetland there,
根据他们的发现，他们辨认出了那里湿地的一个农业发展阶段更替，
with several of these phases predating the earliest known agricultural influence from Southeast Asia.
其中好几个阶段在日期上都早于最早已知的从东南亚传来的农业影响。
At the site in Kuk, they used an array of modern archaeological methods to analyze sediment samples from the soil.
在Kuk的地点，他们用了一系列现代考古学手段来分析从土壤中取到 的泥沙试样。
From the oldest soil layer dating back 10,000 years, they found evidence of pits, stake holes and ditches.
从日期能追溯到1万年前的最古老的土层中，他们发现了地坑、桩洞和渠沟的痕迹。
Now, these all indicate that crops were being planted.
这些都显示那时已经种植了庄稼。
Plants are tied to stakes, the ditches are for...for drainage, a proof of a very early, first phase of agricultural development.
植物被绑在木桩上，渠沟用来排水，这是证明很早期的农业发展最初阶段的证据。
The second phase, which they identify from a higher layer of soil, featured regularly distributed mounds.
他们从更浅层一些的土壤中辨认出的第二阶段中有按规律分布的护堤。
