石器时代的滑雪传统如何在新疆延续

choi

Kade Krichko, 石器时代的滑雪传统如何在新疆延续. 纽约时报中文网, Apr 21, 2017
cn.nytstyle.com/style/20170421/skiing-china-cave-paintings/

, which is translated from

Kade Krichko, History Runs Cold. The cradle of skiing may be in China's Altai Mountains. But ethnic minorities here fear that the old ways are in peril. New York Times, Apr 23, 2016 (in the SportsSunday section).

Note:
(a) In print, the first photo (of two boys) is overlaid with a legend in large print:

'Ten thousand years ago, the only way our ancestors could eat was because they could ski. If they did not eat, we wouldn't be here, so there is a strong connection to the past.' A traditional skier who flies the flag of Kazakhstan over his family home in Khom [克尔木村, per cn.nytimes.com], China, where two boys, above, stood with winter gears last year.

(b) "in the rolling lowlands of the Altai Mountains * * * a herd of unsuspecting ibex. * * * To their left [northwest in the NYT photo of a cave, about 10 cm away], a fifth swoops downhill, corralling the beasts with a spear in his hand.  His pigmented frame arcs from left, to right, and back again — a ski turn that may be the oldest ever recorded.  The hunters are part of a cave painting in the northern tip of China's Xinjiang Province, a wedge of territory that pokes up between Mongolia to the east and Kazakhstan to the west. According to Chinese archaeologists, the painting dates back more than 10,000 years — 2,000 more than the next earliest ski artifact on record."
(i) Altai Mountains
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altai_Mountains
(also spelled Altay Mountains)

The adjective is Altaic.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Altaic
(ii)
(A) ibex
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ibex
(B) For ibex, see Capra (genus)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capra_(genus)

Judging from the map of distribution of various species, it is clear that what in Altai Mountains is Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica), not Alpine ibex (Capra ibex).
(iii) 熊聪茹 and 樊英利, 探访人类滑雪的'发源地'-汗德尕特蒙古民族乡. 新华网, Feb 8, 2004
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newsce ... content_1303891.htm
("雪板长１－２米，宽约１０厘米，前端微翘，和现代滑雪板的形状大致相同。不同的是，原始滑雪板的雪杖只有一根，长约３米，滑雪时分别在身体左右两侧支撑地面掌握平衡。 * * * 木板上还钉有一块长度相同的马皮")

"汗德尕特蒙古民族乡在阿勒泰市正南约３０多公里的地方"
(A) 新疆维吾尔自治区伊犁哈萨克自治州阿勒泰地区 阿勒泰市  Altay City
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altay_City
(or Aletai; a city in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang)  
(B) 汗德尕特蒙古民族乡  Handegate Mongol Ethnic Township (within Altay City)
(iv) Cui Jia, Traditional Skiing Lives on as Fur Flies. China Daily USA, Jan 15, 2014.
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/epa ... ontent_17237544.htm

Quote:

"To cope with the natural environment, the Tuvan, who are believed to be a branch of the Mongolian ethnic group, developed their unique skiing techniques. * * * a rock painting of human figures skiing discovered near Altay city, about 200 kilometers from Hemu 新疆维吾尔自治区阿勒泰地区布尔津县 禾木哈纳斯蒙古族乡 禾木村.  Experts say the primitive people who lived in the Altay area were very likely the first humans to master the art of skiing, and the Tuvan still employ the same techniques as those depicted in the painting.  Unlike modern skiers, the Tuvan use a single, long wooden pole held with both hands at the back of the skis to balance and steer. They also lean most of their body weight on the pole, rather like gondoliers.

"The hand-made skis with bent tips, but no overall standard design, can cross the snow just as quickly as modern skis when descending, but there's one feature of fur skis that modern-day equipment can't match - the ability to ski uphill. * * * When moving uphill, the coarse fibers of the fur dig into the snow, allowing the skiers to gain the necessary purchase, but they flatten down and become slick during a descent.

* Tuvan is people or language of Tuva 图瓦.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuva
(or Tyva Republic, in Russia)
(v) 张艳秋, 我国古代滑雪工具名称演变. 中国社会科学报, Aug 12, 2015
http://www.cssn.cn/yyx/yyx_yymt/ ... 50812_2116869.shtml
("在《山海经》第十八卷《海内经》中记载: '有钉灵之国,其民从膝已下有毛,马蹄,善走,'  此中 '蹄' 即是当地人对滑雪器具的称谓")
(A) The above quotation from "Hai Nei Jing" 海内经 is globally accepted as the earliest text of human skiing, which is described as "206 BC" in 西汉 dynasty.
(B) For the full text of 海内经, see 山海经/海内经
https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-han ... 7%E5%85%A7%E7%B6%93
(vi) 旅游卫视行者的小院儿 (blogger's name), 这群90岁老人滑着雪，准备去打猎. Sina Weibo, Mar 16, 2017
http://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/sho ... 078085&infeed=1
(view photos only, particularly cave paintings; no need to read text)
(vii) Oddly, try as I may, I can not find an academic report on the discovery.