Lethal1 wounds identified on a human skull2 in the Sima de los Huesos, Spain, may indicate one of the first cases of murder in human history, some 430,000 years ago, according to a study published May 27 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Nohemi Sala from Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Spain, and colleagues. The archeological site, Sima de los Huesos in northern Spain, is located deep within an underground cave system and contains the skeletal remains3 of at least 28 individuals that date to around 430,000 years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene. The only access to the site is through a 13-meter deep vertical4 shaft5, and how the human bodies arrived there remains a mystery.

A nearly complete skull, Cranium 17 from the Sima de los Huesos, is comprised of 52 cranial fragments recovered during excavations6 at the site over the last 20 years. This skull shows two penetrating7 lesions on the frontal bone, above the left eye. Relying on modern forensic8 techniques, such as contour and trajectory9 analysis of the traumas10, the authors of the study showed that both fractures were likely produced by two separate impacts by the same object, with slightly different trajectories11 around the time of the individual's death. According to the authors, the injuries are unlikely to be the result of an accidental fall down the vertical shaft. Rather, the type of fracture, their location, and that they appear to have been produced by two blows with the same object lead the authors to interpret them as the result of an act of lethal interpersonal aggression--or what may constitute the earliest case of murder in human history.

Furthermore, if this individual was already dead, the authors found that they were likely carried to the top of the vertical shaft by other humans. The authors suggest that humans were likely responsible for the accumulation of bodies in the Sima de los Huesos, which supports the idea that this site represents early evidence of funerary behavior.

词汇解析：

1 lethal

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。

She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

2 skull

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。

He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

3 remains

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。

The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 vertical

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。

Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

5 shaft

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。

This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

6 excavations

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。

This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

7 penetrating

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。

He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

8 forensic

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。

The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

9 trajectory

n.弹道，轨道

参考例句：

It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。

The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

10 traumas

n.心灵创伤( trauma的名词复数 )；损伤；痛苦经历；挫折

参考例句：

She felt exhausted after the traumas of recent weeks. 她经受了最近几个星期的痛苦之后感到精疲力竭。

Conclusion: Safety lens of spectacles can protect the occurrence of ocular traumas. 结论：安全镜片可以预防眼镜碎片所致的眼外伤。 来自互联网

11 trajectories

n.弹道( trajectory的名词复数 )；轨道；轨线；常角轨道

参考例句：

To answer this question, we need to plot trajectories of principal stresses. 为了回答这个问题，我们尚须画出主应力迹线图。 来自辞典例句

In the space program the theory is used to determine spaceship trajectories. 在空间计划中，这个理论用于确定飞船的轨道。 来自辞典例句

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