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人骨湖之谜即被将揭开
http://www.sina.com.cn 2004/11/09 18:08  国际在线

Mystery behind Roopkund Lake unearthed

  Finally the mystery has been demystified. The Roopkund riddle, dating back to the 9th century AD, that haunted scientists, historians and mountaineers from around the world for many years, has finally been cracked. The National Geographic Channel with the help of scientists and anthropologists from India and abroad has cleared many theories and myths surrounding the age-old tragedy.

  It all started in 1942, when a forest ranger accidentally unearthed a mass grave in Roopkund Lake, an area 16,000 feet above sea level in Uttaranchal. With hundreds of skeletons strewn on the slopes of the Himalayas this colossal tragedy shook people worldwide.

  Several theories were put forth to explain this riddle, which were further perpetuated by local folklore. Was it a royal pilgrimage or a vanquished army?

  Did they die in ritualistic suicide or in an epidemic? Or could they have been a group of Tibetan traders who lost their way?

  Now, the first forensic investigation of one of the area's most enduring mysteries has concluded that hundreds of nomads - whose frozen corpses are being disgorged from ice high in the mountain - were killed by one of the most lethal hailstorms in history.

  Scientists commissioned by the National Geographic television channel to examine the corpses have discovered that they date from the 9th century - and believe that they died from sharp blows to their skulls, almost certainly by giant hailstones. "We were amazed by what we found," said Dr Pramod Joglekar, a bio-archaeologist at Deccan College, Pune, who was among the team who visited the site 16,500ft above sea level.

  "In addition to skeletons, we discovered bodies with the flesh intact, perfectly preserved in the icy ground. We could see their hair and nails as well as pieces of clothing."

  The most startling discovery was that many of those who died suffered fractured skulls. "We retrieved a number of skulls which showed short, deep cracks," said Dr Subhash Walimbe, a physical anthropologist at the college.

  "These were caused not by a landslide or an avalanche but by blunt, round objects about the size of cricket balls."

  The team, whose findings will be broadcast in Britain next month, concluded that hailstones were the most likely cause of the injuries after consulting Himalayan historians and meteorological records. Prof Wolfgang Sax, an anthropologist at Heidelberg University in Germany, cited a traditional song among Himalayan women that describes a goddess so enraged at outsiders who defiled her mountain sanctuary that she rained death upon them by flinging hailstones "hard as iron".

  According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the heaviest hailstones on record weighed up to 2.2lb and killed 92 people in Bangladesh in 1986. The National Geographic team believes that those who died at Roopkund were caught in a similar hailstorm from which they were unable to find cover. The balls of ice would have been falling at more than 100mph, killing some victims instantly. Others would have fallen, stunned and injured, and died soon afterwards of hypothermia.

  "The only plausible explanation for so many people sustaining such similar injuries at the same time is something that fell from the sky," said Dr Walimbe. "The injuries were all to the top of the skull and not to other bones in the body, so they must have come from above. Our view is that death was caused by extremely large hailstones."

  The scientists found glass bangles, indicating the presence of women, in addition to a ring, spear, leather shoes and bamboo staves. They estimate that as many as 600 bodies may still be buried in snow and ice by the lake.

  Bone samples collected at the site were sent to the Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit of Oxford University, where the date of death was established about AD 850 - 400 years earlier than supposed.

  The team has yet to resolve the identity of the nomads. DNA from tissue samples suggested that the group was closely related. One match pointed to a community of high-caste Brahmins in central India. The investigators agreed that the victims were Hindu pilgrims from the plains, rather than the mountains, because of their large size and good health.

困扰科学界多年的人骨湖之谜将揭开

  1942年,在印度喜马拉雅山区的路普康湖(Roopkund Lake又称“人骨湖”)发现了200多具人骨。这一发现随即引发了一场大争论,这些人骨像谜一样困扰着世界上众多的历史学家、科学家和考古学家。这些人究竟是谁?怎么会死在这个渺无人迹的地方?

  “人骨湖”之谜震惊世界

  事情始于1942年,当时一队森林巡逻兵在海拔1.6万英尺高的路普康湖偶然地发现了一个大型墓穴,有200多具尸骨散布其中。这一发现随即吸引了全世界的目光,人们都为这一古老的惨剧震惊不已。

  在过去的60多年里,“人骨湖”之谜一直让世界各国的科学家们头痛不已。人们提出各种各样的说法,试图理清这个谜团,但是没有一个说法足够合理,使人信服。人们曾猜测,这些人可能是战争中阵亡的士兵;也可能是被冻死的迷失方向的朝圣者;还有可能是某个仪式上自杀的信徒,抑或这些人死于当时某种流行的传染病?

  古老歌谣暗示“人骨湖”之谜

  由德国海德尔堡大学的文化人类学者威廉·萨克斯带领的各国科学家们经过长途跋涉,来到这个高山湖泊,试着解开这个可以追溯到公元9世纪的“人骨湖”之谜。经过不懈地努力,这个由美国国家地理频道委托的科学小组日前终于找到了一个最具有说服力的解释,能够解开萦绕人们心中长达60多年的谜团。

  通过对尸体进行深入研究,科学家们发现,导致这些人死亡的原因竟是历史上最致命的一次大规模的冰雹的袭击。这些遇难者的头骨上都遭受过致命打击,而种种迹象表明,这种致命打击极有可能来自一场大规模的冰雹袭击。研究小组成员之一普拉莫德·乔格里卡博士称:“我们对自己的发现感到很吃惊。这些尸体在冰层下面保存得完整无缺,我们可以看到这些人的头发和指甲,甚至还能看到他们衣服的残片。”

  研究人员发现,在这场灾难中,很多人因头骨破裂而死亡。自然人类学者苏巴斯·沃里姆贝博士说:“我们发现很多人的头骨上面都有很深的裂缝,但这并不是由于山崩或雪崩造成的,而是由一种如板球大小的圆形钝器打击所导致的。”沃里姆贝说:“因为这些遇难者都是头骨受伤,而不是身体其他部位的骨骼受伤,所以我们可以肯定,一定是从上面落下来什么东西,导致他们死亡,我们认为这是一场大规模冰雹的袭击。”

  无独有偶,科学家们还发现在喜马拉雅地区妇女之间传唱的一首古老的歌曲也描绘了类似的场景。这首歌曲说的是一位被激怒的女神向惹恼自己的人类降下了“如铁一般坚硬”的冰雹的故事。因此,科学家们断定一场大规模的冰雹极有可能就是这次惨案的元凶。

  遇难者可能是印度朝圣者

  科学家们相信,当年在“人骨湖”降下的这场冰雹的时速应该达到了每小时100英里。很多人没有找到可供躲避的地方,被冰雹击中后当场死亡,还有一些人被冰雹打晕或受伤后,也很快就被冻死。科学家还在发现尸骨的地方找到了玻璃手镯、指环、长矛、皮靴子和竹手杖等遗物,这说明死者中包括多名女性。

  通过对遇难者DNA样本的研究,科学家发现这些遇难者之间具有很紧密的血缘关系。同时,由于这些遇难者骨骼较大,身体条件较好,因此科学家们认为他们是一群从平原来此的印度朝圣者,而不是山地居民。通过对遇难者骨骼样本进行分析,科学家发现这些人的死亡时间大约在公元850年,这比原来推测的时间要早400年左右。

  另外,据专家推测,在这一地区大约还有600多具尸体仍旧被冰雪覆盖着,未被挖掘出来。(王高山)


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