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
2025-02-05
2
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] According to paragraph 1, Paleolithic people may have used cave art for all of the following purposes EXCEPT
选项
A、People may have danced in front of the images.
B、Hunters could have used the figures for target practice.
C、Leaders might have performed magical rituals in the caves.
D、Animals may have been kept in the caves near the drawings.
答案
D
解析
Choice A is mentioned in paragraph 1, sentence 5. Choice B is mentioned in paragraph 1, sentence 6. Choice C is implied in paragraph 1, sentences 3 and 5.
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3944133.html
相关试题推荐
"PaleolithicArt"Fromthemomentin1879thatcavepaintingswerediscovered
"PaleolithicArt"Fromthemomentin1879thatcavepaintingswerediscovered
TheUpperPaleolithicRevolutionP1:Theoldstoneageistheearliestperiodof
TheUpperPaleolithicRevolutionP1:Theoldstoneageistheearliestperiodof
TheUpperPaleolithicRevolutionP1:Theoldstoneageistheearliestperiodof
TheUpperPaleolithicRevolutionP1:Theoldstoneageistheearliestperiodof
TheUpperPaleolithicRevolutionP1:Theoldstoneageistheearliestperiodof
TheUpperPaleolithicRevolutionP1:Theoldstoneageistheearliestperiodof
TheUpperPaleolithicRevolutionP1:Theoldstoneageistheearliestperiodof
TheUpperPaleolithicRevolutionP1:Theoldstoneageistheearliestperiodof
随机试题
甲公司与乙公司重组后,甲公司存续,乙公司全部资产并入甲公司,并注销乙公司法人资格
消防增(稳)压设施保养项目有()。A.机房环境检查 B.消防水箱保养
组织变革的阻力可归纳为()。A.心理因素造成的阻力 B.经济因素造成的阻力
A.105 B.111.1 C.166.7 D.172
以下哪些不是引起高尿酸血症的原因A.嘌呤分解增加 B.遗传性尿酸排泄障碍 C
下列不属于银行市场定位原则的是( )。A.可衡量性原则 B.围绕目标原则
下列关于银行抵债资产的表述,错误的是( )。A.集体所有的土地使用权可以单独用
A工程队的效率是B工程队的2倍,某工程交给两队共同完成需要6天。如果两队的工作效
研究各种运输方式的合理分布、合理配备以及发展规律的工作称为( )。A.运输管理
地基与基础工程的基坑土方开挖的原则是()。A.由上而下、分块分段分层 B
最新回复
(
0
)