In the blink of an eye, an asteroid forever changed life on Earth.

眨眼間，一顆小行星永遠改變了地球上的生活。

This is the mass extinction that wiped out the giant dinosaurs.

這就是消滅巨型恐龍的大滅絕。

And then afterwards you have the rise of the mammals includes our own origins before a long time that period after the impact remained a mystery.

之後你有哺乳動物的興起，包括我們自己的起源，在很長時間之前，衝擊之後的那段時期仍然是一個謎。

Now, aided by newly recovered fossils and breakthrough technologies, this team of paleontologists are piecing together the prehistoric puzzle, reconstructing the recovery of our world in unprecedented detail.

現在，在新發現的化石和突破性技術的幫助下，這支古生物學家團隊正在拼湊史前的拼圖，以前所未有的細節重建我們世界的復原。

We're able to digitally hole out each individual element to see how everything is then connected.

我們能夠用數字化的方式將每個單獨的元素嫖妓出來，看看所有的東西然後是如何連接起來的。

We're able to really bring these animals back to life.

我們能夠真正讓這些動物復活。

Unlike we've ever been able to do before this technology.

不像我們在這個技術之前能夠做到的。

You're looking at one of the most complete mammalian fossils ever discovered from the first million years after Earth's fifth mass Extinction.

你現在看到的是有史以來發現的最完整的哺乳動物化石之一 來自於地球第五次大滅絕後的第一百萬年。

This is lock Salafis from the paleo, seen the period of time immediately after the extinction event that wiped out more than half the species on the planet.

這是鎖定薩拉菲斯從古人，看到的時間段後，立即滅絕事件，消滅了一半以上的物種在地球上。

It's one of the key pieces to the puzzle of how mammals came to dominate the earth.

這是哺乳動物如何統治地球的關鍵拼圖之一。

Paleontologist Tyler Leeson unearthed this fossil in 2016, using a method of discovery that had rarely been used in North America.

古生物學家Tyler Leeson在2016年發掘了這塊化石，使用了一種在北美很少使用的發現方法。

When I was down in South Africa, they find fossils very differently than the way I was trained here in North America rather than by looking for bones.

當我在南非的時候，他們尋找化石的方式和我在北美接受的訓練很不一樣，而不是尋找骨頭。

They look for these concretions and I pick up one of these ugly, nondescript looking concretions.

他們找這些混凝土，我就撿了一個這些醜陋的，看起來不倫不類的混凝土。

Take my rock hammer and just crack it open and they're looking back at me was a complete mammal skull, and it was just an amazing moment.

拿著我的石錘，只是把它敲開，他們回頭看我的是一個完整的哺乳動物頭骨，這只是一個驚人的時刻。

I called EE and over we started laughing and high fiving celebrating.

我給EE打了電話，那邊我們開始大笑，擊掌慶祝。

All of a sudden we went from basically not seeing any fossils to seeing fossils all over the place.

突然間，我們從基本看不到任何化石，到看到化石遍地。

Tyler and Ian's Discovery, a Corral Bluffs, Colorado, resulted in a literal mountain of fossils from a crucial moment in our planet's history.

泰勒和伊恩的發現，科羅拉多州的科拉爾布拉夫斯，導致了化石山，來自我們星球歷史的關鍵時刻。

It's an interval of time, where many interesting things overlap, right.

這是一個時間的間隔，很多有趣的事情重疊在一起，對吧。

You have giant dinosaurs, giant volcanoes and space rocks.

你有巨大的恐龍，巨大的火山和太空岩石。

Fossils unearthed by Tyler and his team come from a time just after the impact, a period we know little about.

泰勒和他的團隊出土的化石來自於撞擊後的時期 我們對這個時期知之甚少。

I would say that the discovery at Krell Bluffs is a huge scientific breakthrough, and it's one of the most critical intervals in Earth's history, the interval when mammals came into prominence.

我想說，克雷爾懸崖的發現是一個巨大的科學突破，它是地球歷史上最關鍵的區間之一，是哺乳動物嶄露頭角的區間。

For millions of years, these animals had been living in the shadow of dinosaurs.

數百萬年來，這些動物一直生活在恐龍的陰影下。

It wasn't until after the mass extinction that they began to take over.

直到大滅絕之後，他們才開始接管。

We found thousands of vertebrate fossils going from mere fragments.

我們發現了成千上萬的脊椎動物化石，從單純的碎片。

You're now having thousands of complete fossils.

你現在有上千塊完整的化石。

The story is not just about one particular fossil.

這個故事不僅僅是關於一個特定的化石。

It's about the evolution and the changing ecosystems.

這是關於生態系統的進化和變化。

From right after Earth's last mass extinction, the crowd bluffs Discovery paints a picture of a complete ecosystem with everything from plants to mammals the size of pigs and large dogs.

從地球最後一次大滅絕之後，眾人虛張聲勢的發現描繪了一個完整的生態系統，從植物到豬和大狗大小的哺乳動物，應有盡有。

Tyler and Ian recover fossils that can help piece together how life rebounded during a critical time in Earth's history.

泰勒和伊恩找到了化石，這有助於拼湊出地球歷史上關鍵時期的生命反彈。

In terms of actually analyzing the fossils that we have found, there have been some major technological breakthroughs that have completely revolutionized the field of paleontology.

在實際分析我們所發現的化石方面，已經有一些重大的技術突破，徹底改變了古生物學領域。

One of these breakthroughs is computed tomography or simply C T scans.

其中一個突破口就是計算機斷層掃描或簡稱C T掃描。

Prior to C T technology and paleontology, we really had to cut open the fossils.

在C T技術和古生物之前，我們真的要把化石切開。

We just did not have access to a lot of anatomy without having to destructively sample these precious objects and the C T data allows you to look inside that thing and to say something about the size of its in her nose, its brain.

我們只是沒有獲得大量的解剖學資料，而不必破壞性地對這些珍貴的物體進行取樣，C T數據可以讓你看清那個東西的內部，並說出一些關於它在她鼻子裡的大小，它的大腦。

Look at all the different nerve canals and arterial canals.

看看所有不同的神經管和動脈管。

Now you may have heard a CT scanning.

現在你可能聽說過CT掃描。

It was first developed for medical applications in the 19 seventies, but about a decade later, the technology was adopted by paleontology in the form of micro CT scans to penetrate denser materials like rock and bone.

它最早是在1970年代開發的醫療應用，但大約10年後，該技術被古生物學採用，以微型CT掃描的形式穿透岩石和骨骼等密度較大的材料。

The field hasn't looked back since.

從此，這個領域再也沒有回頭。

Thing is a mammal called Bioko Nadon through all of the teeth.

東西是一種叫生物子納頓的哺乳動物，通過所有的牙齒。

And then back here that is the semi circular canals, the organ of balance.

再後面就是半圓形的運河，平衡的器官。

We can compare the angles of the semicircular canals toe that of modern day animals, to figure out where this animal was living.

我們可以將半圓形甬道的角度與現代動物的角度進行比較，找出這種動物的生活環境。

In this case, it seems like this animal was on the ground, sort of lumbering around.

在這種情況下，這個動物好像是在地上，有點狼狽。

We're able to look at the size of the endo, cast in the size of the brain, to get clues at its overall intelligence and then look at the size of the olfactory evolves and the organ for your sense of smell, all things that we weren't able to do.

我們能夠看內臟的大小，投在大腦的大小，得到它整體智能的線索，然後看嗅覺進化的大小，還有你嗅覺的器官，這些都是我們沒能做到的。

You really 15 years ago.

你真的15年前。

Mhm.

嗯

Since the discovery of Coral Bluffs, Tyler and his team have looked inside 15 fossils using this technique with plans to scan dozens more as they uncover new concretions preparation and the image ing.

自從發現珊瑚崖以來，泰勒和他的團隊已經用這種技術觀察了15個化石內部，並計劃掃描更多的化石，因為他們發現了新的礫石準備和影像。

And the data analysis is still happening right now.

而且現在還在進行數據分析。

So we're learning stuff almost on a weekly basis as this project moves forward.

所以隨著這個項目的推進，我們幾乎每週都在學習東西。

But imaging the fossils is only part of the story.

但化石的成像只是故事的一部分。

It's also crucial to know exactly where in the layers of earth each one was found.

知道每一個人到底是在地層的什麼地方被發現的，這也是至關重要的。

To truly get the big picture of the discoveries at Coral Bluffs, the team needs a bird's eye view on.

要想真正瞭解珊瑚礁的發現的全貌，團隊需要一個鳥瞰圖來了解。

So one of the recent advances that's been remarkable for us is using drone technology to really place the fossils very precisely in a stack of vertical rocks.

所以，最近的一個進展對我們來說是非常顯著的，就是利用無人機技術真正將化石非常精確地放置在一堆垂直的岩石中。

And so we worked with the United States Geological Survey, who has an entire drone team that's pushing the boundaries of this.

所以我們和美國地質調查局合作 他們有一整個無人機團隊，在這方面不斷探索。

A whole new bevy of drones have really allowed us to precisely placed these things down to within centimeters of where we picked him up on the ground.

全新的無人機讓我們能夠將這些東西精確地放置到我們在地上撿到他的地方的幾釐米之內。

The drones are able to capture high resolution X Y and see data by getting data on precise location and elevation, the team is able to accurately place fossils in relation to the Cretaceous Paleo Jean Boundary things.

無人機能夠拍攝到高分辨率的X Y和看數據，通過獲取精確的位置和高程數據，團隊能夠準確地將化石與白堊紀古生代讓界事物的關係。

K P G Boundary is a physical remnant from the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs.

K P G邊界是消滅恐龍的小行星撞擊的物理遺蹟。

This geological marker can be found all around the world With this boundary as a marker, scientists are able to use the radioactive decay of certain isotopes and the magnetic reversal of the planet toe.

這個地質標記在世界各地都能找到 有了這個邊界作為標記，科學家們就能利用某些同位素的放射性衰變和行星趾的磁性逆轉。

Identify time stamps in the rock that helps us put that whole timeline together.

識別岩石中的時間戳，幫助我們把整條時間線整合起來。

Age of the mammals is always on top of the age of the dinosaurs, but the next step is the ability to put the number two that not just say relatively.

哺乳動物的年齡總是在恐龍的年齡之上，但下一步是能夠把二號那不只是說相對。

This is younger or older, because then you're really able to figure out the tempo of evolution and all of these big scientific questions that we're interested in.

這是年輕的還是年長的，因為這樣你就真的能夠搞清楚進化的節奏，以及所有這些我們感興趣的大科學問題。

So building a timeline or what we would call a geo chronological framework in the rocks is critical for us to study evolution, the team is working to accurately date their fossils and trace the first million years immediately after the mass extinction.

是以，在岩石中建立一個時間軸或我們稱之為地質年代框架對我們研究進化至關重要，該團隊正在努力準確地確定他們的化石的日期，並追蹤緊隨大滅絕後的第一百萬年。

Ultimately, what we want to do is understand evolution and how we got to the present moment today, being able to place things on the planet precisely to get ultimately to a framework and then being able to peer inside.

最終，我們要做的是理解進化，理解我們是如何走到今天的當下的，能夠準確地把地球上的東西最終到一個框架，然後能夠在裡面窺探。

These things have been huge advances for our field just in the last 10 or so years.

這些東西對我們這個領域來說，僅僅在過去的10多年裡，就有了巨大的進步。

And as the team gets closer to fully understanding how mammals not only survived but thrived 66 million years ago, the Work and Corral Bluffs continues.

而隨著團隊越來越接近完全理解哺乳動物如何在6600萬年前不僅生存而且茁壯成長，工作和畜欄懸崖繼續。

Sometimes it feels like a project like this is finished when you see like a book end, but we're literally just scratching the surface.

有時候，當你看到像一本書的結尾時，會覺得這樣的項目已經完成了，但我們實際上只是在表面上做文章。

In fact, just these blast past two weeks we've gone out and found Mawr Concrete's Shins Mawr complete mammal skulls, complete turtle shells.

事實上，就在這轟轟烈烈的過去兩週，我們已經出去發現了毛毛混凝土的新斯毛毛完整的哺乳動物頭骨，完整的烏龜殼。

For me, it really has been a renaissance.

對我來說，這真的是一次復興。

That's probably the most exciting time it's ever been to be a paleontologist.

這可能是做古生物學家最激動人心的時刻了。

This is by far the most significant discovery that I've made.

這是我迄今為止最重大的發現。

Um, simply because it's not just about one single fossil.

嗯，只是因為它不只是一個單一的化石。

It's about the entire story.

這是關於整個故事的。

It's the animals, the plants in placing the animals and plants into a ecological context all within time.

是動物、植物在把動物和植物都放在一個生態環境中的時間內。