人类大历史 Big History.S01E01.The.Superpower.of.Salt
2015-07-09 23:08阅读：
像盐这种简单至极东西
How could something as simple as salt...
能和所有的生命联系起来吗
connect to all of life?
人类
To humans.
地球
To Earth.
还有文明本身
And to civilization itself.
答案尽在人类大历史
The answer lies in big history.
历史的发展可以看成时间线
We think of history as a timeline...
由一系列的事件组成延伸到几千年前
a series of events stretching a few thousand years into the
past.
是时候大胆想象一下了
It's time to think bigger.
抛开时间线 想象一张永无穷尽相连的网络
Instead of a line, imagine a Web of infini
te connections...
在数亿年间都相互影响
interacting over billions of years...
共同创造出我们熟知的万物
linked together to create everything we 've ever
known-
宇宙 星球 人类
our universe, our planet and us.
当通过科学
When We consider
来考量这个史诗般的时代时
our most epic moments through the lens of
science...
我们得到了一个革命性的想法
We unleash a revolutionary new idea.
原子的运动支配着人类的活动
The movement of atoms steer the movements of
men...
文明的发展 星系的演变
civilizations, galaxies.
我们所知的历史将变得更加深邃
History as We know it is about to get big.
无数工人拿着每天25美分工钱
Thousands of laborers are making 25 cents a
day...
却要挖一条350英里长的沟渠
digging a ditch 350 miles long.
伊利运河
The Erie Canal.
历史告诉我们
Traditional history tells us
这是个很宏大的工程
it's the most ambitious engineering project...
从未在美洲尝试过的项目
ever attempted in America.
人类大历史告诉我们
Big history tells us
运河是解开世界地图的关键
it's the key to a secret map of the World-
被用来运送一种非常宝贵的物品
designed mainly to transport one precious item:
盐
salt.
美洲是块缺盐的大陆
America has a shortage.
但在洲北部的纽约却有天然盐田
But upstate New York has a natural supply.
通过这条全国的水上运输系统
By connecting that salt-rich region...
和富盐地区相连
to the country's Water highway system...
这种短缺将会得到解决
the shortage Will be solved.
伊利运河可以让你带着盐
The Erie Canal lets you bring salt
从水路达到哈德逊河
by water to the Hudson River.
再从哈德逊河 你就能抵达纽约
From the Hudson River, you can get down to New
York...
然后在纽约 通过水路
and from New York, by water,
你就能去任何地方
you can move anywhere.
伊利运河将被称为'用盐建造的沟渠'
The Erie Canal Will be called 'the ditch that salt built.
'
但这也为美洲留下了另一个标记
But it leaves another mark on America.
贸易在五大湖和哈德逊河两边迅猛发展起来
Trade explodes between the Great Lakes and the Hudson
River.
所有的贸易活动
And since all that trade...
都必须通过哈德逊河的河岸
has to pass through the port at the mouth of the
Hudson...
港口也爆炸式发展
that port explodes as Well.
所以 根据历史 纽约市
So, in a big history sense, New York City...
不会成为一个城市 如果没有盐的话
would not be the city that it is without salt.
人类大历史通过讲诉小事情
Big history is about taking simple things...
做出大胆的联系
and making epic connections.
它联系着全球范围内
It links events on a global scale...
动物王国需求
to a craving in the animal kingdom.
所有的动物都需要盐
All animals need salt...
它们能找出那些天然的盐区
and carve out trails to Where it exists
naturally...
叫做'盐渍地'
called 'salt licks. '
在史前时期的纽约
In prehistoric New York...
那里的野牛比人多得多
Where there are far more buffalo than people...
畜群找到了通向盐渍地的路
vast herds carve a trail to one salt lick-
那里就是伊利运河
in the spot Where the Erie Canal
流向伊利湖的地方
Will one day empty into Lake Erie.
这个地方就是纽约的 布法罗
The site Will be called Buffalo, New York.
早期猎人遵循这些足迹
Early hunters follow these paths...
走成了小路
Which become trails...
之后形成了早期的道路
and then our earliest roads.
如果你看过20世纪60年代之前的
If you looked at a road map of North America
北美洲地图
before the 1960s...
在他们创造出国家道路之前
before they created the national highway grid...
你会看见非常奇怪的道路编排
you would see a very odd formation of roads.
那是因为这里面的大多数道路
And that's because most of these roads...
是动物通向盐渍地时踩出来的
were just paved-over animal paths to salt licks.
环顾世界
Around the World,
盐在地图上留下了标记
salt leaves its mark on the map.
在古罗马 第一条铺设的道路
In ancient Rome, the very first paved road...
就是用来运盐
is built to carry salt.
它叫做萨拉里亚大道
It is called the Via Salaria-
'盐之路'
'the Salt Road. '
几个世纪以后 通过盐路和水运航线
Centuries later, salt roads and shipping
routes...
使得威尼斯成了贸易发达区
built Venice into a powerhouse of trade.
盐是如此的重要
Salt is so important...
我们也会以盐的发现地命名
We mark the places Where it's found by name.
比如奥地利的萨尔茨堡
Like Salzburg in Austria...
意思是'盐镇'
Which means 'Salt Town. '
英国小镇里以'Wich'结尾的地方
And any town in England that ends in 'Wich. '
格林威治 桑威奇 诺威奇
Greenwich and Sandwich and Norwich...
任何带有'Wich'的地方
and any place with a 'wich'...
都是英国的盐生产小镇
is a salt-making town in England.
我们很多地图 从伊利运河
So much of our map, from the Erie Canal...
到英国的盐生产小镇
to the salt-making towns of England...
都可以追溯到对盐的需求
can be traced back to the quest for salt.
同时 盐为什么终结在了它存在过的地方
So much seems to rest on Why salt ended up Where it
did.
但为何不是其它的地方呢
But how did salt end up in these places and not
others?
30亿年前
Three billion years ago...
盐被雨水溶解
salt is dissolved by rain...
流入早期海洋里
and flows into early seas.
然后海水蒸发 留下了巨大的盐矿床
These oceans evaporate, leaving huge deposits
behind.
地球板块漂移
Earth's shifting crust...
把大量的盐滩深埋到了地下
folds these massive salt flats deep underground.
盐的沉淀主要是史前海洋的干涸而形成的
Deposits of salt are basically just prehistoric oceans dried
up.
接着 这些古老海水的残留物
Later, the remnants of these ancient seas...
漏到了地表 但只是一些地方
break to the surface, but only in some places-
很少的地方
rare sites
还不足以对文明产生影响
that Will have a massive impact on civilization.
地球上仅仅只有5%的地方
Just five percent of the Earth...
却有10英里长的天然盐供给
is Within 10 miles of a natural salt supply.
人类所有的早期城市
All of man's earliest cities...
都不仅仅是靠近水源而建
Will be built not only next to sources of
Water...
也是靠近盐的来源地
but also next to these sources of salt.
甚至那些没有天然盐的地方
And even in the places Without a natural
supply...
盐也能联系整个世界
salt connects the World...
像廷巴克图这样的地方
by linking salt outposts like Timbuktu...
通过贸易到达其它城市
to other cities through trade.
盐是那么稀有
Salt was so rare,
它过去与黄金的价值相等
it would actually trade ounce for ounce with
gold.
而值得一提的是
And then the beautiful thing is,
从人类大历史的立场来看
from a big history standpoint...
一旦你建立了这个贸易网
once you had this trade network built...
你便能运送任何东西
you could transport anything.
盐在悄悄引导着世界地图的形成
Salt has silently engineered our global map.
但在那之前 它是人类大历史
But before that, it Was the key ingredient-
重大革命性活动的
- in one of the most revolutionary moments...
关键因素
in big history.
人类大历史是看待世界的新方式
Big history is a new Way to see the World.
它揭示出了我们的城市
It reveals how our cities...
道路
our roads...
地图
our map...
都以盐为基础
are all built on salt.
但为何一个简单的化学分子如此重要
But Why is a simple molecule so important...
人们要竭尽全力去得到它
that man will move mountains to get it?
30亿年前
Three billion years ago.
世界被一片巨大的海洋覆盖
The world is covered by one giant ocean.
海水里充满了基本元素和矿物
The Water is teeming With elements and
minerals...
其中包括35‰的盐
including 35parts per thousand of salt.
在这个化学池中
In this chemical bath...
生命奇迹般的出现了
life mysteriously appears.
通过地球几亿年的演变
For billions of years in the history of the
Earth...
都还只存在单细胞生物
there were only single-celled organisms...
它们是那时海洋的主要生物
and they lived predominantly in the oceans.
生命又进化了几亿年
Life evolves over billions of years.
尽管大陆逐渐浮现出来
But even as continents emerge...
生命也还是停留在海洋里
life stays in the ocean,
依靠水和盐生存
clinging to Water and salt.
一些动物想实践
Some animals experiment.
它们踏了迈向陆地的第一步
They take their first steps on land...
但还是需要咸水繁衍生殖
but return to the salt Water to reproduce.
陆地生存的关键是什么呢
The key to surviving on land?
那就是随身携带海水
Bring the salty ocean Water With them.
要怎么带呢
The solution?
用蛋
The egg.
当我们开始在陆地上爬行时
When we started crawling onto the land...
肯定有鸟类 爬行类
certain creatures figured out-birds, reptiles-
因为它们能下蛋
that they could lay eggs...
它有着漂亮 坚硬的外壳
that have a nice, hard shell...
那也算是
that kind of keeps the salt water
把咸水保存在很小空间的办法
contained in a small space for them.
乃至今天的哺乳类
And even mammals today-
你也可以想象有着羊膜囊的子宫
you can think about the womb with the amniotic
sac...
也算是胎儿生存的小海洋
as sort of a little ocean that the fetus can live
in.
所有生命都源自咸水
So all life emerged from salt Water.
所有的生物都需要 渴求着
All creatures need it, crave it-
没有它会很快死去
and quickly die Without it.
如果你思考人类大历史的来龙去脉
If you think about that in big history
context...
没有盐的话
we would not even maybe have life at all
生命甚至都不会存在
were it not for salt.
所以盐在历史上有着重大影响
That's one reason for salt's oversized impact on
history.
是生命本身的关键
It's a key to life itself.
细胞需要盐才活动
Cells need salt to function.
细菌需要 我们需要
Bacteria need it, we need it.
所有生物体都需要盐
All organisms need salt.
盐链接着我们身体里的物质
It's a link We carry in our own bodies.
我们眼泪和汗水能同样的反映出
Our tears and sweat reflect the same salt
content...
古海洋里的含盐度
as in the ancient ocean.
盐离子支配着我们的思想
And salt rules our minds.
钠离子帮助传输脑细胞间的信号
Sodium helps transmit signals between our brain
cells.
我们真实的想法由盐产生
Our actual thoughts are made of salt.
在你大脑内真实的脑神经活动
The actual cerebral activity inside of your
brain...
其实是很多的钠和钾离子
is just a bunch of sodium and potassium ions...
在细胞内外游动产生的
going in and out, in and out of cells.
我们的意识本身也由盐产生
Our consciousness itself is made out of salt.
但盐如此重要
But if salt is so vital...
小到造一个蛋来保存
that We build structures as small as the egg...
大到修建运河得到它
and as large as a canal to get it...
以及其它神秘的方法
another mystery remains.
身体通过饥饿告诉我们
Our bodies tell us We need food...
需要食物
through hunger.
我们口渴 就需要喝水
We know We need Water through thirst.
那要怎么知道我们需要盐
How do We know When We need salt?
我们的身体会传达出需要盐的渴望
What our body did is sort of give us cravings for
salt...
然后我们就上瘾了
and we sort of got addicted to it.
你可能不会那样想你自己
You may not specifically think to yourself...
'我想吃盐' 但你渴望着
'I crave salt,' but you crave...
那种从食物中获得盐的味觉
that taste sensation that salt gives food.
你可以把这种叫做 '盐感'
You could call this craving our 'salt sense. '
进化中也有相应的这一部分
There's an evolutionary component to this as
well.
有些把盐叫做'原始的上瘾'
Some call salt 'the primal addiction.'
这些也算是人类大历史
These are the sort of connections
向我们展示的一种相互联系
that big history shows us very well, I think.
根据最近的研究 我们嗜盐的本性
According to recent research, our addiction to
salt...
可能也是对其它东西上瘾的根本
might be the root of all addictions.
所以 可能是对烟草上瘾
So, it could be that a craving for tobacco
或者酒精 或者其它什么
or alcohol or something...
真是生物学上必要的成瘾
is just an unfortunate side effect...
引发的一个不幸的副作用
of these biologically necessary addictions.
人类大历史揭露我们嗜盐的本性
Big history reveals that our salt addiction...
是其它出乎意料关系中的关键
is the key to some unexpected connections.
[ 中文 ]
公元前200年
200 B.C.
超过百万的劳工
More than one million laborers...
修建世界上最长的防御工事
are building the longest defensive fortification in the
World-
长城
the Great Wall.
全部完工 它将延展超过3000英里
When complete, it Will stretch more than 3, 000
miles...
横穿中国北部边境
across China's northern border.
这是项大工程
It is a massive undertaking...
对于皇帝也有一个大问题
and the emperor has an enormous problem-
怎么付工钱
how to pay for it.
谋士给了一个聪明的解决办法
His advisers propose a clever solution.
盐税
Tax salt.
尚书们向国家建议
The economists are saying to the government...
'我们要垄断盐'
'We need to monopolize salt.
'你需要控制住盐
You need to take control of salt
因为它至关重要'
because this is incredibly valuable.'
税收让盐变得昂贵
Taxes make salt expensive...
而盐带来民愤
and salt addicts angry.
但人们需要盐
But the people need salt.
而皇帝得到了长城
And the emperor gets his Wall.
但盐税也会适得其反
But a salt tax can backfire.
1930年的印度
In India in 1930...
圣雄甘地游行抗议英国的盐税
Where Mahatma Gandhi's march against the British salt
tax...
最终导致独立战争
ultimately leads to independence.
1789年的法国
In France in 1789...
压榨性的盐税
Where a crushing tax on salt
引导着人们达到容忍临界点
pushes the people to their breaking point.
一个地方的不满注入到其它地方
And this discontent feeds into other
discontents...
至少它要为法国大革命的爆发负部分责任
and is at least partly responsible for the outbreak of the
French Revolution.
盐这种简单的东西
The simple stuff of salt...
调动着历史上复杂的民众力量
sets in motion the complex forces of history.
但它是如何影响到从法老死亡
But how does it affect everything from the death of
pharaohs...
到文明的起源
to the birth of civilization?
秘密尽在盐的力量里
The secret is in the superpower of salt.
我们见证过盐引起的城市崛起
We've seen that salt led to the rise of
cities...
和帝国的坠落
- and the fall of kings.
它也是生命本身的关键
And it is the key to life itself.
小晶体蕴含着大力量
A tiny crystal With a giant impact.
因为盐有它的超能力
Because salt has a superpower.
公元前1213年 埃及
Egypt, 1213 B.C.
法老拉美西斯去世
Pharaoh Ramses has died.
如果祭司不能在腐化前保存好尸体
If priests can't preserve his body before rot sets
in...
法老的灵魂就不能去往轮回
his soul Won't make it to the afterlife.
盐就是他们所需要的
And salt is how they do it.
埃及人通常用一种天然碳酸钠盐
The Egyptians used a type of salt called
natron...
来保存人类尸体
to preserve the human body.
这可能是人类历史上制造的
It's probably the most effective preservative
最有效的防腐剂
ever made in human history.
想起来就有趣
It's a funny thing to think about...
但如果你看 他们如何
but if you look at there are recipes-
制造木乃伊的方法 这也是
how they made mummies, and it's...
和你保鲜时用的方法十分相似
very much the same recipe as how you preserve a
fish.
把内脏取出用盐腌制他们
You remove the entrails and you pack them with
salt.
做成人体腌肉
It's a human codfish.
为什么盐能够保存东西
Why does salt preserve things?
因为盐有高于水的超级力量
Because salt has a superpower over Water.
人类大历史放大了盐在微观世界的作用
Big history zooms in to the microscopic World of
salt.
我们正看着一块盐的晶体分子
We 're looking at a clump of salt molecules...
有富含水的外层组织
in tissue that's filled With Water.
等到水分子飘来 他们锁定盐晶体
As the Water molecules float by, they lock onto the
salt...
然后分开它们
and pull it apart.
盐晶体分开
The salt molecules separate
把水分从组织中吸走
and draw the Water out of the tissue.
没有了水
Without Water,
微生物就会衰败死亡
the microbes that cause decay die...
干的组织能保存几个月或几年
and the dry tissue lasts for months or years.
盐能保存肉类
The discovery of salt's power to preserve
meat...
鱼类 蔬菜 甚至木乃伊的发现
fish, vegetables and even mummies...
是文明一个巨大的进步
Was a great step forward for civilization.
在电气时代之前
In a World before electricity,
盐就是人类的冷藏库
salt Was mankind's refrigerator...
是把食物从一个丰收期
the key Way to preserve food
保存到下一个丰收期的重要方法
from one harvest to the next.
农业社会的一个最大问题就是
One of the great problems for agricultural
societies...
如何保存东西 而盐就给出了答案
is how to preserve things, and salt is the
answer.
'意大利香肠'这个词
The Word 'salami'...
就是腌肉的古老存在形式
an ancient form of salted meat...
源自拉丁语的'盐'
comes from the Latin Word sal or salt.
还有 '腊肠'
'酱油'
So do the Words 'sausage,
'调味汁'这些词都是
' 'sauce'and 'salsa. '
自盐能保存食物和人类尸体以来
Since salt saved both food and people...
就有了'救赎'这个词
so does the Word 'salvation. '
盐是如此贵重
And since salt Was so valuable
罗马人用它来奖赏士兵
that the Romans paid their soldiers With it...
也就有'薪水'的说法
so does the Word 'salary. '
我们知道了盐是生命必需物质
We've seen that salt is so essential to life...
人也有嗜盐的本性
that humans became salt addicts.
就是这个小晶体造就了我们道路
That this tiny crystal built our roads...
运河 城市
our canals, our cities.
保存我们的食物 救我们于饥饿
That it preserved our food, saved us from
starvation...
使文明得以显现
and allowed civilization itself to arise.
历史由盐的简单化学变化变革
History transformed by the simple chemistry of
salt...
以一种无形的方式吸走水分
and the invisible Way that salt draws moisture out of
things.
盐是人类大历史一个很棒的例证
Salt is a really cool example of big history
because...
因为通过盐的晶体颗粒
through the crystal of one grain of salt...
你能看遍古今
you can see all of history.
但盐的故事才只是开始
But the story of salt is just the beginning.
还有更大的难题隐藏在人类大历史中
There's a much bigger puzzle hidden in big
history.
每一集开启一个提示
Each episode unlocks a clue.
每天的寻常事 飞行
Everyday things like flight...
金子
gold...
山脉都藏着线索
and mountains hold the key.
看完这些
Watch them all,
你将会见证这个宏伟的秘密被揭露
and you'll see this grand mystery
revealed-
关于人类大历史的时间 空间
the big history of time, of space...
还有我们的大历史
the big history of us.
人类大历史
