主题：古罗马就有中国人 -- 拿不准

　　像我这样有意大利祖先的人，当追溯自己的家谱时往往会颇为吃惊——不仅是东亚人种的后裔，而且还居住耕种在2000年前的一片偏僻森林里，那片森林就在意大利这只靴子的鞋跟处。这项发现很好地证实了罗马时期意大利有亚洲人居住。

外链出处

　　调查人员在古罗马帝王的建筑中发现了一位男性的遗骸并提取牙齿样本。为什么检验牙齿呢？事实上，你出生时喝的水在你牙齿上留下了独一无二的特质。这种水的特质以氧的同位素的形式来体现（这里的同位素是指中子数不同的氧原子）。同位素能告诉我们你出生地点的纬度和海拔，在这项调查中，这位神秘男子显然不是南方意大利人。

　　随后调查人员检验了他的线粒体DNA，这是随着母亲谱系传宗下来的一种DNA，并发现其中包含东亚基因。这项发现发表于《罗马考古学》期刊。

　　这样就声称这个人是自己或者他的祖先徒步走到意大利是不可能的。但显然这位刚刚显露真迹的罗马亚洲人不是什么达官显贵或外交使节的后代，他只是个贫穷的干活者，和他一起埋葬的只是一个罐子而已。

Ancient East Asian Found in Roman Empire

In a report in the Journal of Roman Archaeology, researchers announce the discovery of a body of an east Asian man, buried in Italy two millennia ago. Christopher Intagliata reports

Some people of Italian ancestry, like me, might have a surprise in the family tree—a man of east Asian descent, who was living and working 2,000 years ago in the boondocks near the heel of the Italian boot. The discovery is the first good evidence of an Asian living in Italy during Roman times.

Researchers found his body on an imperial Roman estate and took dental samples. Why examine teeth? Well, the water you drink at birth leaves a distinct signature in your teeth. That water signature is in the form of oxygen isotopes, atoms of oxygen with different numbers of neutrons. Isotopes say something about the latitude and elevation of your birthplace—which in the case of our mystery man definitely wasn’t southern Italy.

Then the researchers tested his mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down through your maternal lineage. And this fellow had east Asian genes. The finding appears in the Journal of Roman Archaeology.

It's impossible to say if the man trekked to Italy himself or one of his ancestors did. But it’s clear that this first known Roman Asian wasn't some aristocratic diplomat. He was just a poor worker, buried with a single pot.

—Christopher Intagliata

[The above text is an exact transcript of this podcast.]

[COLOR=red]ScientificAmerican

外链出处

• 远古的真实穿越
• 来晚了，给葡萄补强
• 古中国人看来真纵横于欧亚大陆上。