World's oldest trousers found in ancientChinese graveyard
中国古墓中发现了世界最古老裤子
NEW DELHI: Men started using trousers asfar back as 3000 years ago, new research has found. A pair of trousers wasdiscovered in an ancient graveyard in China's Tarim Basin in Xinjiang province.Carbon dating showed that it was about 3000 years old making it the oldestspecimen of the trousers ever found.

新德里：一项最新研究发现，3000年前，人们就已经开始穿裤子了。中国新疆塔里木盆地的一处古墓里发现了一条裤子。碳年份测定法表明这件裤子已经3000年之久，成为了目前所发现的世界上最古老的裤子。
The researchers, who are from Germany andChina, suggest that the garment was developed to make it riding horses easy.Their findings are published in the journal Quaternary International.
来自德国和中国的研究人员说，制造这件裤子的目的是为了让骑马变得更轻松。研究结果发布在了《国际第四纪》杂志上。

The Tarim Basin in western China is host tothe famous Yanghai tombs, an ancient burial ground containing over 500 gravesgoing back thousands of years. Researchers found mummified corpses of two adultmales of about 40 years age, both wearing trousers. Carbon dating was used toestablish the age of the garments in the time interval between the 13th and the10th century BCE.
中国西部的塔里木盆地拥有著名的洋海墓地，这是个古老的坟场，里面包含了500多个坟墓，历史可追溯到几千年前。研究人员发现了两具40来岁的成年男子的木乃伊，都穿着裤子。用碳年份测定法检测后发现，这两件裤子生产于公元前13到10世纪之间。

Along with the bodies, a horse bit made ofwood, a whip, a bow and a battle-axe were also found. This suggests that thetwo men were herders and warriors, using horses for getting around. The cut ofthe trousers also indicates that they were designed to be worn by horse backriders.
随同尸体一起被发现的还有木头做的马嚼子，一个马鞭，一支弓，一把战斧。这说明这两名男子是牧人和战士，利用马作为出行工具。这两件裤子的剪裁也表明了是为骑马人专门设计的。

Each pair of trousers was made from threepieces of cloth, one for each leg and a central, crotch piece. Each had a beltmade of strings. The researchers noted that no cutting of cloth was needed aseach cloth piece was shaped on the loom. Each pant leg also had cross stitchingthat appeared to serve a purely decorative function.
每件裤子由三块布组成，两块布构成裤腿，另外一块布构成中心地带的胯部。每件裤子都有一条由绳子做成的要带。研究人员注意到，这些布匹上并没有出现切割的痕迹，因为每块布的形状都是在织布机上形成的。每条裤腿上还有十字绣，这应该仅仅是为了装饰的目的。

"The yarns of the three fabrics andthreads for final sewing match in color and quality, which implies that the weaverand the tailor was the same person or that both cooperated in a highlycoordinated way. The design of the trousers from Yanghai with straight-fittinglegs and a wide crotch-piece seems to be a predecessor of modern ridingtrousers," the researchers write in their paper.
“三块布匹的纱线和最后的缝线在颜色和质量上都匹配，这表明织工和裁缝是同一人，或者说这两人配合的非常好。这两件裤子的裤腿直筒剪裁以及宽胯设计风格貌似是现代骑马裤的先驱，”研究人员写到。

Many historians believe that trousers wereinvented as a means of riding horses-riding for a long time can cause skinirritation and discomfort. The trousers worn by horse riders likely migrated toother people, the theory goes, who chose to adopt them for unknown reasons. Itslikely modifications were made because riding pants are not particularlycomfortable for walking or engaging in everyday life. Prior to trousers, peopleof both genders tended to wear tunics, robes, togas, etc. It is also generallybelieved that horse riding by humans began approximately 4000 years ago, whichsuggests trouser wearing began long before the two men in the Yanghai gravesitedonned theirs.
许多历史学家认为裤子是以骑马裤的形式问世的——长时间的骑马可引发皮肤刺激和不适。有一种理论认为，这些原先为骑马人所穿的裤子后来传播到了其他人手上，而这些人不知出于何故决定采用这种裤子。人们可能对骑马裤进行了一定的修改，因为穿着骑马裤走路或者做事并不特别舒服。在裤子出现以前，不管男人还是女人，一般都穿束腰外衣，长袍，宽外袍等等。人们还普遍认为人类在大约4000年前开始骑马，这表明早在洋海古墓里的这两名男子穿裤子之前就已经存在穿裤子行为了。