人类大历史（2013）

Big History S01E01

Part 3 March 29, 2021, 2:01 p.m.

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.