首页
登录
职称英语
"Paleolithic Art" → The several millennia following
"Paleolithic Art" → The several millennia following
游客
2024-01-04
23
管理
问题
"Paleolithic Art"
→ The several millennia following 30,000 B.C. saw a powerful outburst of artistic creativity. The artworks produced range from simple shell necklaces to human and animal forms in ivory, clay, and stone to monumental paintings, engravings, and relief sculptures covering the huge wall surfaces of caves. 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!
By contrast, some scholars have argued that the magical purpose of the paintings was not to
facilitate
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 foodcreation 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. For now, the paintings remain an enigma.
→
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. Several observers have seen a primitive writing form in these representations of nonliving things, but the signs, too, may have had some other significance. Some look like traps and arrows and, according to the hunting-magic theory, may have been drawn to insure success in capturing or killing animals with these devices. At Pech-Merle in France, the "spotted horses" painted on the cave wall may not have spots. Some scholars have argued that the "spots," which appear both within and without the horses’ outlines, are painted rocks thrown at the animals.
→ Representations of human hands also are common. Those around the Pech-Merle horses, and the majority of painted hands at other sites, are "negative," that is, the artist placed one hand against the wall and then painted or blew pigment around it. Occasionally, the artist dipped a hand in paint and then pressed it against the wall, leaving a "positive" imprint. These handprints, too, must have had a purpose. Some scholars have considered them "signatures" of cult or community members or, less likely, of individual artists. [br] According to paragraph 5, why did artists leave a positive imprint of their hands on cave paintings?
选项
A、It represents human beings in the cave paintings.
B、It could have been a way for them to sign their work.
C、It was a hunter’s handprint among the herd of animals.
D、It might have been a pleasing image without much meaning.
答案
B
解析
"Some scholars have considered them [positive imprints] ’signatures’ of cult or community members, or… individual artists." Choices A and C are not correct because they are not mentioned or implied. Choice D is not correct because the author states that the "handprints… must have had a purpose."
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3332988.html
相关试题推荐
Thefollowingareessentialrequirementsforwhichjobs?Writethecorrectlette
Thefollowingareessentialrequirementsforwhichjobs?Writethecorrectlette
Thefollowingareessentialrequirementsforwhichjobs?Writethecorrectlette
Thefollowingareessentialrequirementsforwhichjobs?Writethecorrectlette
Whowilldothefollowingtasks?Writethecorrectletter,A,BorCnexttoQue
Whowilldothefollowingtasks?Writethecorrectletter,A,BorCnexttoQue
Whowilldothefollowingtasks?Writethecorrectletter,A,BorCnexttoQue
Whichattitudeisassociatedwiththefollowingpeopleduringtheconversation?
Whichattitudeisassociatedwiththefollowingpeopleduringtheconversation?
Whichattitudeisassociatedwiththefollowingpeopleduringtheconversation?
随机试题
[originaltext]Americanssufferfromanoverdoseofwork.Regardlessofwho
eBay[A]eBayisaglobalphenomenon—theworld’slargestgaragesale,onl
设曲线y=f(x),其中f(x)是可导函数,且f(x)>0。已知曲线y=f(x)
A
危险物品的生产、经营、储存单位以及矿山、建筑施工单位的主要负责人和安全生产管理人
代理关系的主体不包括( )。A.代理人 B.被代理人 C.利害关系人 D
已知某可比交易单价为4500元/m2,已知该交易实例在建设时拖欠建设工程价款10
复合性创伤患者出现下列情况,应首先抢救A.腹部创伤 B.四肢开放性创伤 C.
关于季节性失业下列说法中正确的有()。A.季节性失业是一种正常失业 B.季
男,45岁。饮酒、饱餐后突发左上腹持续性疼痛10小时,吐后腹部不缓解。无慢性胃病
最新回复
(
0
)