首页
登录
职称英语
"Paleolithic Art" From the moment in 1879 that cave paintings were discovered
"Paleolithic Art" From the moment in 1879 that cave paintings were discovered
游客
2024-01-03
24
管理
问题
"Paleolithic Art"
From the moment in 1879 that cave paintings were discovered at Altamira, scholars have wondered why the hunter-artists of the Old Stone Age decided to cover the walls of dark caverns with animal images. Various answers have been given, including that they were mere decoration, but this theory cannot explain the narrow range of subjects or the inaccessibility of many of the paintings. In fact, the remoteness and difficulty of access of many of the cave paintings and the fact they appear to have been used for centuries are precisely what have led many scholars to suggest that the prehistoric hunters attributed magical properties to the images they painted. According to this argument, by confining animals to the surfaces of their cave walls, the artists believed they were bringing the beasts under their control. Some have even hypothesized that rituals or dances were performed in front of the images and that these rites served to improve the hunters’ luck. Still others have stated that the painted animals may have served as teaching tools to instruct new hunters about the character of the various species they would encounter or even to serve as targets for spears.
In contrast, some scholars have argued that the magical purpose of the paintings and reliefs was not to ft te the destruction of bison and other species. Instead, they believe prehistoric painters created animal images to assure the survival of the herds Paleolithic peoples depended on for their food supply and for their clothing. A A central problem for both the hunting-magic and food-creation theories is that the animals that seem to have been diet staples of Old Stone Age peoples are not those most frequently portrayed. B
Other scholars have sought to reconstruct an elaborate mythology based on the cave paintings, suggesting that Paleolithic humans believed they had animal ancestors. Still others have equated certain species with men and others with women and also found sexual symbolism in the abstract signs that sometimes accompany the images. C Almost all of these theories have been discredited over time, and art historians must admit that no one knows the intent of these paintings. D In fact, a single explanation for all Paleolithic murals, even paintings similar in subject, style, and composition (how the motifs are arranged on the surface), is unlikely to apply universally. The works remain an enigma—and always will—because before the invention of writing, no contemporaneous explanations could be recorded.
That the paintings did have meaning to the Paleolithic peoples who made and observed them cannot, however, be doubted. In fact, signs consisting of checks, dots, squares, or other arrangements of lines often accompany the pictures of animals.
Representations of human hands are also common. At Pech-Merle in France, painted hands accompany representations of spotted horses. These and the majority of painted hands at other sites are "negative," that is, the painter placed one hand against the wall and then brushed or blew or spat pigment around it. Occasionally, the painter dipped a hand in the pigment and then pressed it against the wall, leaving a "positive" imprint. These handprints, too, must have had a purpose. Some researchers have considered them "signatures" of cult or community members or, less likely, of individual artists. But like everything else in Paleolithic art, their meaning is unknown.
The mural (wall) paintings at Pech-Merle also allow some insight into the reason certain subjects may have been chosen for a specific location. One of the horses may have been inspired by the rock formation in the wall surface resembling a horse’s head and neck. Old Stone Age painters and sculptors frequently and skillfully used the caves’ naturally irregular surfaces to help give the illusion of real presence to their forms. Altamira bison, for example, were painted over bulging rock surfaces. In fact, prehistorians have observed that bison and cattle appear almost exclusively on convex surfaces, whereas nearly all horses and hands are painted on concave surfaces. What this signifies has yet to be determined. [br] The word those in the passage refers to
选项
A、peoples
B、staples
C、animals
D、theories
答案
C
解析
"A central problem for both the ... theories is that the animals that seem to have been diet staples of Old Stone Age peoples are not those [animals] most frequently portrayed." The pronoun "those" does not refer to Choices A, B, or D.
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3329576.html
相关试题推荐
Inthelate1930’sandearly1940’s,JacobLawrencecreatedmanypaintings_____
Thesubjectsofthepaintingsaremostlyanimals.Thepaintingsrestonbare
UpperPaleolithicartwasnotconfinedtocavepaintings.Manyshaftsofspe
TheparticularsymbolicsignificanceofthecavepaintingsinsouthwesternF
Thesubjectsofthepaintingsaremostlyanimals.Thepaintingsrestonbare
Thesubjectsofthepaintingsaremostlyanimals.Thepaintingsrestonbare
Thesubjectsofthepaintingsaremostlyanimals.Thepaintingsrestonbare
"PaleolithicArt"Fromthemomentin1879thatcavepaintingswerediscovered
"PaleolithicArt"Fromthemomentin1879thatcavepaintingswerediscovered
"PaleolithicArt"Fromthemomentin1879thatcavepaintingswerediscovered
随机试题
NASAaskedanexperttowriteabooktoprovethat______.[br]Thedoubtersthi
WelcometoNorthRoadMedicalCenter!We
单、多层重要公共建筑和二类高层建筑的耐火等级不低于()。A.一级 B.二级
大体积混凝土出现的裂缝,具有危害性的有( )。 A、贯穿裂缝 B、斜裂缝
患者男性,70岁,有慢性阻塞性肺气肿病史,咳嗽、咳脓痰、伴气急,加重2周。今晨神
在小组工作计划书的内容中,要包含“组员”这一必要环节,而在“组员”中不必涉及(
女性,60岁。1个月来无诱因感心悸,呈发作性,持续1~2小时可自行缓解,半小时前
患者女,45岁,腮腺肿物5年,无痛性生长,检查见右耳下一结节状肿物,活动,肉眼观
道德的认识功能不能使人们正确认识A.社会生活中各种道德要求的正负作用 B.自己
关于施工成本及其管理,下列说法正确的是()。A.施工成本是指施工过程中消耗的构成
最新回复
(
0
)