These particles react with minerals in rocks to produce radioactive nuclides, a class of atoms.

这些粒子与岩石中的矿物质发生反应，产生放射性核素，这是一种原子。

The sediment was dated based on the ratio of two nuclides.

种核素的比例确定了沉积物的年代。

This is possible because the two nuclides break down at different rates, through the process of radioactive decay.

这是可能的，因为这种核素在放射性衰变过程中以不同的速率分解。

But that date has been overthrown by work employing cosmogenic nuclide dating.

但该日期已宇宙成因核素测年的工作推翻。

To test that idea, they directly dated the cave breccias in Members 2 and 4 using cosmogenic nuclide dating, which Dr Granger helped develop.

为了验证这个想法，他们使格兰杰博士帮助开发的宇宙成因核素测年法，直接对成员 2 和成员 4 中的洞穴角砾岩进行了测年。

A sophisticated dating technique, called cosmogenic nuclide dating, has upended previous estimates—and, with that, is rewriting an important chapter in the story of human evolution.

一种称为宇宙成因核素测年的复杂测年技术推翻了之前的估计，并由此改写了人类进化史的重要篇章。

When a breccia-forming object falls into a cave, it finds itself shielded from cosmic rays, and the steady decay of its existing cosmogenic nuclides can be used to determine how long ago it fell in.

当形成角砾岩的物体落入洞穴时， 它发现自己免受宇宙射线的影响， 并且其现有的宇宙成因核素的稳定衰变可以来确定它落入洞穴的时间。