To match the environmental record with the historical one, researchers looked at more than 7,200 tree fossils from the past 2,500 years.
為了印證環(huán)境情況與人類歷史之間的關(guān)系，科學(xué)家們研究了超過7200多塊樹齡在2500年以上的古樹化石。

The study, published in the journal Science, said: 'The rise and fall of past civilizations have been associated with environmental change, mainly due to effects on water supply and agricultural productivity, human health and civil conflict.
這篇發(fā)表于《科學(xué)》雜志的報告稱，人類文明的興衰起伏總是與氣候環(huán)境的變化密切相關(guān)，這主要便現(xiàn)在水源供應(yīng)、農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)、人體健康和社會沖突方面。

'Wet and warm summers occurred during periods of Roman and Medieval prosperity.
在夏季溫暖潮濕的時期正是羅馬和中世紀的繁榮時期。

'Increased climate variability from AD 250 to 600 coincided with the demise of the Western Roman Empire and the turmoil of the Migration Period.
而從公元250年到600年間，氣候變化頻繁，這正好配合了西羅馬帝國的衰落以及動蕩的遷移時期的到來。

'Distinct drying in the third century paralleled a period of serious crisis in the western Roman Empire marked by barbarian invasion, political turmoil and economic dislocation in several provinces in Gaul.'
三世紀時爆發(fā)大規(guī)模的干旱，西羅馬帝國在這時慘遭野蠻的入侵，在高盧的很多地區(qū)政治局面不穩(wěn)，經(jīng)濟凋敝。

Oak rings are sensitive to changes in precipitation, and can show changes according to what was happening in the environment.
樹木的年輪對于降水量的變化十分的敏感，它記錄了不同時期的環(huán)境狀況以及變化。

The research could also glean signs about what was happening from changes in how many trees were being cut.
這項研究還收集了有關(guān)于樹木減少所導(dǎo)致的環(huán)境改變之間的聯(lián)系。

The study said: 'Reduced tree harvesting around AD 250 to 400 coincides with the biggest central Europe historical crisis, the Migration Period, a time marked by lasting political turmoil, cultural change and socio-economic instability.
研究稱，公元250年到400年間，樹木被大量的砍伐，與此同時恰逢歐洲大陸正遭受著有史以來最大的危機，大遷移，此時標志性的社會現(xiàn)象包括了政治更迭、文化變遷以及經(jīng)歷衰退。

'Increasing timber harvest for construction is represented by abundant felling parallel to socio-economic consolidation from the sixth to the ninth centuries.'
因建筑需求所而引發(fā)的大規(guī)模的伐木行為，正好出現(xiàn)在了社會經(jīng)濟趨于平穩(wěn)的六世紀到九世紀之間。

The scientists said 'unfavourable climate may have contributed to the spread of the second plague pandemic, the Black Death, which reduced central Europe's population after AD 1347 by 40 to 60 percent.'
科學(xué)家們還表示，不利的天氣條件也助漲了第二次的鼠疫大爆發(fā)，黑死病，這些流行病的傳染導(dǎo)致了1347之后歐洲人口驟減四到六成。

Researchers also noted that a sharp decline in North American temperatures around the same time saw an 'abrupt desertion of former Greenland settlements'.
研究人員還指出，北美地區(qū)在同時期出現(xiàn)了氣溫劇烈下降的情況，從而迫使了大批人口從格林蘭島遷出。

Technological advances have made the modern human population less vulnerable to environmental changes to a certain extent, the study said.
隨著科學(xué)技術(shù)的進步，人類受到氣候環(huán)境變化的影響也越來越小。

However we are 'certainly not immune to the predicted temperature and precipitation changes, especially considering that migration to more favourable habitats as an adaptive response will not be an option in an increasingly crowded world.'
盡管如此，我們并不能幸免于可預(yù)知的氣溫及降水變化，而在這個日益擁擠的世界里，遷移已經(jīng)不再是一個選擇和適應(yīng)環(huán)境的辦法了。