Mutant Gene "Sparked Art and Culture"

　　A tiny mutation in a gene common to mammals may have changed the destiny of humanity. The gene, foxp2 ? identified by British researchers two years ago ? could have been the switch that lit up art, culture and social behaviour in Homo sapiens* 50,000 years ago. Richard Klein, an anthropologist at Stanford University in California, said that early modern humans 100,000 years ago were confined to Africa and seemed no different from their now-extinct cousins Homo neanderthalensis and Homo erectus in Europe and Asia. Then, 50,000 years ago, behaviour altered dramatically: "There was a biological change, a genetic mutation of some kind that promoted the fully modern ability to create and innovate." "When you look at the archaeological record before 50,000 years ago, it is remarkably homogeneous. There are no geographically delineated \groups\ of artefacts. Suddenly, modern-looking people began to behave in a modern way, producing art and jewellery... manufacturing styles and different cultures." Anthropologists have argued for years about this. Some researchers say population increase triggered creativity. 


　　* Homo sapiens：智人(现代人的拉丁学名)。后文的Homo neanderthalensis及Homo erectus都是古人类的拉丁学名。


　　哺乳动物共有的一种基因的微小突变可能改变了人类的命运。英国科学家在两年前识别出了这种名为foxp2的基因，它可能是在5万年前点亮现代人艺术、文化以及社会行为之光的电闸。加利福尼亚州斯坦福大学的人类学家理查德-克兰说，10万年前的早期现代人活动范围局限在非洲，看起来无异于他们生活在欧亚地区、现已绝灭的亲戚尼安德特人和直立人。之后，大约在5万年前，他们的行为发生了戏剧性的改变："一次生物学上的变化亦即某种类型的基因突变促使他们获得了完全现代的创造和革新能力。""5万年以前(各个地方)的考古记录非常类似，没有按地理分野的不同人工物品组。突然，长相现代的人们开始有了现代的行为方式，开始创造艺术、加工珠宝……大量生产时尚和不同的文化。"人类学家们就此问题已经争论多年，有些学者认为触发人类创造力的动因是人口增长。


　　Remarks：要是他是对的，那么达芬奇的画、米开朗基罗的雕塑、李白的诗、苏轼的词等等就都是foxp2突变的结果了，我觉得这样的结论很无趣。

来源：《英语学习》