“阿兹特克”水晶头骨背后.docVIP

“阿兹特克”水晶头骨的背后 　　Who’s the Brain Behind “Aztec” Crystal skulls? 　　看过《夺宝奇兵》系列电影的人都知道在每一个故事里必定有一件稀世珍宝，让人为之疯狂，还令不少人赔上性命――能被斯蒂芬?斯皮尔伯格和乔治?卢卡斯选上，肯定大有来头。前三集的宝物分别是法柜、安卡拉圣石和圣杯。那么，这一次的水晶头骨又隐藏着什么惊世秘密呢？ 　　在一般人眼里，水晶头骨或许只是外型精美的雕刻品，最特别的地方也不过是其原材料。然而，对那些相信超自然力量的人来说，水晶头骨可能代表厄运、灾难，也可能代表希望，甚至有治疗疾病的作用。有些人认为水晶头骨的作用类似于水晶球，能让人看见过去、现在和未来。他们声称这些头骨会发出精神力量、香味甚至声音，并把它们和玛雅传说挂钩。备受争议的不仅仅是水晶头骨的意义，还有它们谜一样的历史――有人认为它们有数千年历史，可能是外星人或某种失落文明的遗物；也有人说它们是只有几百年历史的“赝品”，人们不过编了几个故事来抬高价钱。究竟孰是孰非，一起来听听专家的看法。 　　 　　Way back in the inner 1)recesses of the Smithsonian’sMuseum of Natural History注1 in Washington D.C., downa hallway lined with ceiling-high 2)cabinets filledwith human bones, there’s a large office and, in onecorner, there’s an old metal 3)filing cabinet. And insidethat cabinet is a crystal skull. 　　Jane McLaren Walsh (4)anthropologist):This isactually called 5)milky quartz. 　　Using both hands, anthropologist JaneWalsh 6)gingerly lifts a carved skull the sizeof a bowling ball. 　　Walsh: It weighs 31 pounds?I know because Icarried it to London. 　　The skull came to the Smithsonian Institutionin the mail in 1992. The 7)anonymous 8)donor said it was a 9)genuine artifact of theAztec注2 empire, which collapsed in the 1500s. 　　Now, the crystal skull in the new IndianaJones movie is also supposed to be ancientand of great value. Walsh wondered if herskull was the 10)real McCoy. She did somereading and discovered that there are dozensof crystal skulls around the world, mostare quite small, the size of golf balls. Theystarted to appear in the 11)antiquities tradein the 1860s. Several were sold from Mexicoby a French collector named Eugène Boban.Could the Aztecs have carved them? Walshstudied the kinds of tools the Aztecs used tocarve stone. She’s got one in her office. 　　Walsh: This 12)mechanism, this 13)pump drill, isbasically for drilling the holes. 　　It’s a wooden rope 14)contraption thatspins a wooden 15)rod with a stone tip. Suchtools left distinctive marks different fromthe marks left by modern tools