Pillows are a universal part of our lives and there are more options than there have ever been， each with its own claim of support and comfort. While the idea of pillows being a soft place to rest your head is not a new concept， it certainly wasn't its original purpose.

So far as we know， the earliest pillows date back over 9，000 years to Mesopotamia， or modern day Iraq. Formed from stone， the top was carved in a half-moon shape to support the neck. The idea obviously wasn't comfort， at least not immediate comfort. The basic function of the pillow was to keep the head off the ground and prevent insects from crawling into mouths， noses， and ears. Ancient Egyptians and Chinese also used similar pillows， though each culture had its own reasons for them.

The Egyptians believed that the head was an important spiritual and life center for the body， so pillows and headrests were created to hold and protect it. Most of these pillows， while similar to the Mesopotamians' in their curved top， were carved out of wood and reserved mainly for wealthy individuals.

The Chinese on the other hand， created ornately1） decorated pillows from many materials including wood， stone， bamboo， and even porcelain2）， bronze， and jade. Though they had the knowledge and ability to create soft pillows， they believed that such pillows stole energy and vitality from the body while one slept and were ineffective at keeping demons3） away.

Ancient Greeks and Romans used pillows more similar to those we know today—cloth bags filled with materials such as feathers or straw. By the Middle Ages in Europe， however， pillows had fallen out of favor4） with many. Many men viewed pillows as a sign of weakness， and their use was primarily limited to pregnant women.

While they did make a resurgence5） after the Middle Ages， pillows did not become nearly as universal as they are today until the Industrial Revolution. The improvements in technology made mass production of textiles6） possible， meaning everyone could sleep with a pillow at night and could even afford decorative pillows for chairs and couches， something that earlier would have been seen as a symbol of high status.

For such a simple idea， it’s amazing to see that the pillow is still changing—new materials and shapes arise constantly， claiming to provide more support and a better night's sleep than your old pillow. Though few people are likely to base their purchases on how well a pillow protects their ears from insects anymore， the pillow has been an important piece of human culture throughout much of our history and continues to be today.

枕頭是我們生活中普普通通的一部分，可供我們選擇的枕頭之多前所未有，而且每一種枕頭都擁有其所聲稱的支撐性和舒適性。雖然枕頭為你的頭提供了一個(gè)柔軟的休息之地這一想法并不是什么新概念，但這確非枕頭最初的用途。

據(jù)我們所知，最早的枕頭可以追溯到9000多年前的美索不達(dá)米亞，也就是現(xiàn)在的伊拉克。那時(shí)的枕頭是石頭加工成形的，上面被鑿成半月形來支撐脖子。這樣做顯然不是為了舒服，起碼不是為了讓人立刻感到舒服。這種枕頭的基本作用就是使頭部離開地面，防止蟲子爬進(jìn)嘴巴、鼻子和耳朵里。古埃及人和古中國人也使用過類似的枕頭，不過每種文化各有各的使用枕頭的理由。

古埃及人相信頭部是身體重要的精神和生命中心，所以他們創(chuàng)造了枕頭和頭墊來支撐和保護(hù)頭部。雖然那時(shí)的大多數(shù)枕頭與美索不達(dá)米亞的一樣，上部也被做成了半月形，不過卻是用木頭做的，而且主要供富人專用。

但中國人當(dāng)時(shí)制作的枕頭卻裝飾華麗，使用的材料也多種多樣，包括木頭、石頭、竹子甚至是陶瓷、青銅和翡翠。他們雖然有知識(shí)也有能力制作軟枕，但卻認(rèn)為軟枕會(huì)在人入睡后偷取人體的精氣和生命力，也不能有效阻止惡魔靠近。

古希臘人和古羅馬人使用的枕頭則更加接近我們今天所知道的枕頭——塞滿了羽毛或稻草一類材料的布口袋。然而到了中世紀(jì)的歐洲，枕頭卻已然失去了很多人的寵愛。許多男人將枕頭視作身體虛弱的標(biāo)志，其使用也因而主要限于孕婦。

盡管枕頭的確在中世紀(jì)后再度興起，但直到工業(yè)革命時(shí)期才差不多像今天一樣普及。技術(shù)的進(jìn)步使紡織品的大規(guī)模生產(chǎn)成為可能，這就意味著每個(gè)人晚上都能枕著枕頭睡覺，甚至還能買得起椅子和沙發(fā)上的裝飾性靠枕，而這在之前一直被視作地位崇高的象征。

令人吃驚的是，為了這樣一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的目的，枕頭還在不停變化——新材料和新形狀不斷涌現(xiàn)，每一個(gè)都聲稱能比你的舊枕頭給你提供更好的支撐和更好的睡眠。雖然可能沒什么人購買時(shí)還會(huì)基于一個(gè)枕頭能多有效地防止蟲子進(jìn)入耳朵這樣的需要，但枕頭貫穿我們大部分的歷史，一直是人類文化的重要組成部分，現(xiàn)在仍然如此。

1.ornately [???ne?tli] adv. 裝飾華麗地；過分裝飾地

2.porcelain [?p??s?l?n] n. 瓷

3.demon [?di?m?n] n. 惡魔

4.fall out of favor： 失寵

5.resurgence [r??s??d??ns] n. 重新興起；復(fù)蘇

6.textile [?teksta?l] n. 紡織品