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  3. "Paleolithic Art" → The several millennia following

"Paleolithic Art" → The several millennia following

游客2024-01-04  21
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] Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the author’s opinion about the purpose of cave paintings?
选项 A、The cave paintings were part of a hunting ritual.
B、Artists were honoring their animal ancestors in cave paintings.
C、The exact purpose of cave paintings is not known.
D、Decoration was probably the main reason for painting in caves.
答案 C
解析 Because the author presents several different theories and does not offer a strong argument for any of them, the author’s opinion is probably that the exact purpose of cave paintings is not known. Choice A is not correct because the author also presents the food-creation theory and the mythology theory as alternatives to the hunting ritual theory. Choice B is not correct because the mythology theory is not the only possibility discussed. Choice D is not correct because the author suggests several reasons why this theory cannot explain the narrow range of subjects or the inaccessibility of many of the paintings.
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