首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
"Paleolithic Art" From the moment in 1879 that cave paintings were discovered at Altamira, scholars have wondered why the hun
"Paleolithic Art" From the moment in 1879 that cave paintings were discovered at Altamira, scholars have wondered why the hun
admin
2018-07-24
27
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.
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://jikaoti.com/ti/GfhYFFFM
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.TheTawnyOwlMost【L31】______owlspeciesinUKStronglynocturna
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.TheTawnyOwlMost【L31】______owlspeciesinUKStronglynocturna
Choosethecorrectletter,A,BorC.WhatdoesJimthinkaboutthedifferenceamongspeciesinnaturalandartificiallight?
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.ChimpanzeeBehavioursSpeciesWecanfindPanorPanTroglody
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.ChimpanzeeBehavioursSpeciesWecanfindPanorPanTroglody
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.ChimpanzeeBehavioursSpeciesWecanfindPanorPanTroglody
Completethesentencebelow.WriteNOMORETHANTWOWORDSfortheanswer.Therearethreefullscholarshipsthatcovertuitiona
PREPARINGFORASCHOLARSHIPINTERVIEWSophiethinksthescholarshipselectors
Whataspectofpaintinginthenineteenthcenturydoesthepassagemainlydiscuss?Theexhibitionofpaintingsorganizedin187
"PhilosophyClass"Accordingtotheprofessor,whatwastheeffectofusingLatinasauniversallanguageofscholarship?
随机试题
小华今年7岁,因为经常逃学和打架,由学校老师转介学校社工人员处理。经调查,社工人员发现,小华和家人住在一间普通民房里,他的父亲有酗酒的习惯,而且时常殴打母亲,在小华两岁半时便外出打工。小华的母亲大部分时间都在餐厅工作,回到家中常已是筋疲力尽,觉得在管教小华
A.创伤后骨髓炎B.慢性骨髓炎C.局限性骨囊肿D.急性血源性骨髓炎起病急骤,全身中毒症状明显,可导致感染性休克的是
收缩压140~159mmHg,舒张压90~99mmHg收缩压≥180mmHg,舒张压≥110mmHg
证见咳嗽,涎唾多,形瘦短气,虚烦不眠,自汗盗汗,咽干舌燥,大便干结,脉虚数。方剂宜选用
在可能的情况下,下列环境影响经济评价的方法中,()方法首选考虑。
“月落乌啼霜满天,江枫渔火对愁眠。姑苏城外寒山寺,夜半钟声到客船。”这首诗歌中的“愁”字是指
下列关于栈和队列说法中,正确的是()。
三位高中生赵、钱、孙和三位初中生张、王、李参加一个课外学习小组。可选修的课程有:文学、经济、历史和物理。(1)赵选修的是文学或经济。(2)王选修物理。(3)如果一门课程没有任何一个高中生选修,那么任何一个初中生也不能选修该课程
"3M"comesfrom"MinnesotaMining&Manufacturing,"butthosethreeMsmightbetterstandforMistake=Magic=Money.Throughoutit
A、Gettingentertained.B、Knowingmorepeople.C、Gettingmoreresource.D、Beingmoreinspired.A
最新回复
(
0
)