印尼史前巖畫可追溯至4萬年前
10月9日，《自然》雜志刊登了一篇文章提供了新的年代判定方法，用于確定印尼蘇拉威蘇島火山洞穴中史前巖石藝術作品的年代?？脊艑W家已經確認有些藝術作品至少創(chuàng)建于4萬年前，因此東南亞洞穴人類藝術作品存在歷史與歐洲一樣久遠。
Archaeologists have long been puzzled about the absence of prehistoric rock art in otherplaces beside Europe, especially since they have already agreed that modern humans wereestablished in South Asia and the Far East by 50,000 years ago. Thanks to new datingtechniques, we now know that humans were producing rock art at both ends of the PleistoceneEurasian world.
考古學家一直糾結于在歐洲之外缺乏史前巖石藝術品，特別是他們已經認可了南亞和中東存在現(xiàn)代人類的歷史能夠追溯到5萬年前的實歸功于新的年代判定技術，現(xiàn)在我們知道了在更新世期間歐亞大陸兩端的人類都曾創(chuàng)作了巖石藝術。
Sulawesi is the world's eleventh largest island and is located in Wallacea, the zone of oceanicislands that lies between Asia and Australia. The Maros and Pangkep regions, where the rock arthas been dated, cover about 450 square kilometers of the island's southwest peninsula. Thecaves containing the motifs were carved into the landscape by ancient volcanic lava flows thatcut into the limestone, forming clusters of towers that erupt from the plains.
蘇拉威蘇是世界上第十一大島，座落于亞洲和澳大利亞大陸之間的海域內華萊士群島。發(fā)現(xiàn)巖石藝術品的馬洛斯和龐格普地區(qū)位于該島的西南部，占地450平方公里。由古老火山熔巖沖擊石灰?guī)r形成的洞穴中，存在著雕刻成風景樣式的藝術作品，展現(xiàn)了平原上的成群的高塔.
The network of foot caves formed around the bases of the towers were occupied byprehistoric humans who migrated east from Africa. As a result of this discovery, the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has added these caves to atentative list of protected world heritage sites. Final selection to the World Heritage List isbased on criteria that demonstrate a site's importance for the world's population.
圍繞著高塔的基座形成了人類足以進入的洞穴群，當時被從非洲遷徙到東方的史前人類所占據。聯(lián)合國教科文組織將這一發(fā)現(xiàn)增補為臨時性世界保護遺址。世界保護遺址最終遴選結果將基于遺址對世界人口影響的重要性進行評判。
Bird Cave in Maros
馬洛斯地區(qū)的鳥類洞穴
Archaeologists have previously discovered materials used by humans within many of the cavewalls and have discovered a total of 90 rock art sites. Previously, the earliest dated evidencefor human occupation at Sulawesi came from radiocarbon dates of excavated deposits in twodifferent caves that showed people were using them for habitation approximately 35,000years ago. Both sites had previously yielded evidence of pigment use, including hematite(iron oxide) crayons and ochre-smeared stone tools, implements that were likely used in thecreation of rock art.
之前考古學家在很多洞穴墻壁上都發(fā)現(xiàn)了人工痕跡，并且總共發(fā)現(xiàn)了90塊巖石藝術作品。之前，蘇拉威蘇遺址最早的人類居住痕跡來自于從兩處不同的洞穴中挖掘出的沉積物，放射性炭檢測顯示大約在3.5萬前有人類穴居于此。之前兩處遺址中出土的證據顯示有染色的痕跡，包括：使用赤鐵塊以及褐石，這些都可能用于巖石作品的創(chuàng)作。
The Maros-Pangkep rock art was actually first recorded in the 1950s and has been studiedextensively by researchers over the subsequent decades. There are two distinct styles of artwithin the caves, dated to the Pleistocene period, which extends between 2.58 million years agoand 11,700 years ago.
事實上馬洛斯-龐格普巖石藝術最早記錄50年代，隨后幾十年來研究者們一直對此進行了廣泛研究。在洞穴中，存在有兩種明顯的藝術風格，可以追溯到更新世時期，即距今258萬年年至11700年前。
Hands in Pettakere Cave
派塔克洞穴中的手形圖案
The first consists of human hand stencils made by spraying wet pigment around human handsthat were pressed against the surfaces. Pleistocene humans likely placed pigment in theirmouths in order to create such a spray. The less common style of cave art found at Maros-Pangkep is characterized by larger, naturalistic profile paintings of wild land mammals that werenative to the island during the Pleistocene period.
最初的人類手形圖案通過將手掌壓在繪圖面上，圍繞手掌噴灑染料液進行制作。更新世時期的人類可能將染料液含在口中制造噴灑效果。馬洛斯-龐格普地區(qū)的洞穴藝術品中較為少見的風格是繪制較大的野生哺乳動物的自然輪廓畫，這些動物在更新世時期生活在該島上。
Both motifs, primarily red in coloration, have typically been found on high roofs and elevatedparts of rock walls that are difficult to access. They are often found close to site entrances, butarchaeologists have also discovered specimens within deep, dark chambers. The subjects andplacements found here often resemble those of European cave art of roughly similar age.
兩種風格的作品基本上都采用了紅色，通常發(fā)現(xiàn)于較難接觸到的洞頂和巖壁的高處，一般都接近洞口。但考古學家在黑暗的洞穴深處也發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些樣本。發(fā)現(xiàn)的樣本和布置方式都與同時期歐洲洞穴藝術較為相似。
Archaeologists used uranium-series dating techniques to analyze coralloids associated with 12human hand stencils and two figurative animal depictions from seven cave sites in the Maros-Pangkep caves. Coralloids are small nodes of calcite that form on the surfaces of limestonecaves, including on top of and beneath the rock art found in
考古學家利用鈾系列放射標定技術分析了從馬洛斯-龐格普地區(qū)7個洞穴中12處手掌圖案和2處動物圖形的珊瑚點。珊瑚點是在石灰?guī)r洞表面上形成的方解石小斑點，包括在巖石藝術品的頂部和底下發(fā)現(xiàn)的珊瑚點。
In cases where coralloid formed on top of paintings, uranium dates provide a minimum age forthe underlying rock art. In some cases, however, painters created their art over the tops ofcoralloids that then continued to grow. Technicians were therefore able to provide bothminimum and maximum ages for such motifs.
有些情況下，在圖案的上面形成珊瑚點，鈾判定能夠給出下部母巖上圖案的最低年份。然而，很多情況下，繪制者創(chuàng)作的圖案覆蓋到上面的珊瑚點，此后珊瑚點會繼續(xù)生長。因此技術人員能夠得出這些作品的最低和最高年份。
The earliest dated image at Maros-Pangkep is a hand stencil with a minimum age of 39,900years ago, making it the oldest known hand stencil in the world. A nearby painting of a “pig-deer” was also dated to 35,400 years ago and is now among the oldest known figurativedepictions in the world.
馬洛斯-龐格普地區(qū)最早的圖案是一幅手形圖，最低年份在39900年前，這也成為目前世界上最古老的手形圖。該圖案附近的一幅“豬鹿”圖也要追溯于35400年前，屬于世界上已知的最古老的形象畫之一。
This dating of rock art in Sulawesi has implications for our understanding of symbolic traditionsin the wider region. Similar art styles have previously been discovered in Borneo and otherlocations in Southeast Asia, and rock art in northern Australia also features hand stencils andpaintings of animals. Many of the excavated deposits associated with these motifs have beendated to as far back as 50,000 years ago, and evidence of ochre processing and hematitecrayons have also been found in these areas.
標定蘇拉威蘇地區(qū)巖石藝術對于我們理解更廣泛地區(qū)的象形傳統(tǒng)具有較高意義。此前，在婆羅洲和東南亞其他地區(qū)也發(fā)現(xiàn)過相似風格的藝術作品。澳洲北部的巖石藝術也以手形圖和動物繪畫而見長。已發(fā)掘的很多與這些藝術品相關的沉積物能夠追溯遠到5萬年前，在這些地區(qū)也發(fā)現(xiàn)了赤石和褐石作為染料的痕跡。
These new findings also provide us with new information regarding the origins of Paleolithic rockart, which has previously been dominated by a Eurocentric focus. Archaeologists havegenerally fallen into two camps regarding the origins of prehistoric cave art. Some argue thatrock art originated in Europe and developed over thousands of years, resulting in the moresophisticated representations of animals at Lasceaux and Altamira 20,000 years ago.
這些新發(fā)現(xiàn)還為我們研究更新世巖石藝術提供了新的信息，而之前一直被歐洲的考古發(fā)現(xiàn)所主導。對于更新世洞穴藝術的起源問題，基本上考古學家們分化成兩種陣營。有些人認為巖石藝術發(fā)源于歐洲，并且發(fā)展了數(shù)千年，形成了2萬年前拉斯西奧斯和阿塔米亞洞穴中更加復雜的動物圖案。
Others, including the authors of the Nature article, suggest that cave art developed morebroadly, and some even go so far as to suggest that cave painting may have been widelypracticed by the first wave of Homo sapiens who left Africa tens of thousands of years earlier.
另外一些人包括《自然》雜志上文章的作者在內，都認為洞穴藝術的發(fā)展更具廣泛性，有些人甚至進一步認為或許數(shù)萬年前離開非洲的第一波赫姆智人便已經普遍創(chuàng)作過洞穴圖案。
One limitation of examining rock art is the survivability and deterioration of the motifs overtime. The Nature article authors explain in their paper that, even in prehistoric times, rock artwas already in an advanced state of deterioration. Local custodians have further reportedthat the loss of the art has accelerated in recent decades. Many pieces of rock art haveundoubtedly disappeared over the millennia, leaving only remnants for archaeologists toanalyze.
研究巖石藝術的限制之一便是經歷時間洗禮這些作品的可延續(xù)性和受到的風化。作者在《自然》雜志的文章中解釋到，即使在史前時代，巖石藝術品已經遭受較嚴重的風化。當?shù)氐谋Ｗo者進一步報告稱近幾十年這些藝術品的損失越來越嚴重。幾千年來，很多巖石藝術樣本無疑已經消失了，只留下殘跡令考古學家分析。
However, we do have evidence of the use of pigments as early as 400,000 years ago, whichwere also used in the practice of body painting. In 1999, archaeologists discovered more than300 pieces of pigment in the Twin Rivers Cave in Zambia. The stratigraphic layer in which thepigments were found also contained Middle Stone Age artifacts and sediment dating tobetween 400,000 and 200,000 years ago. The pigments were found in a range of colorsincluding brown, red, yellow, purple, blue, and pink that all derived from locally availableminerals.
然而，我們確實掌握了早在40萬年前人類利用染料的證據，也被用于人體彩繪。1999年，考古學家在贊比亞的雙子河流域洞穴中發(fā)現(xiàn)300多個染料樣本。發(fā)現(xiàn)染料的地層中還包含有中石器時代器物和沉積物，起始于40萬至20萬年間。發(fā)現(xiàn)的染料包含有棕色、紅色、黃色、紫色、藍色以及粉色，全部來自于當?shù)氐牡V物質。
In an interview with National Geographic, Alistair Pike, one of the archaeologists who authoredthe Nature article, speculated on why prehistoric humans around the world started creatingcave art. He explained that in the past one argument "was that when modern humans migratedto Europe, they competed with Neanderthals for caves, which led to a cultural change."
《自然》雜志上文章的作者之一，派克接受國家地理頻道采訪時，圍繞著世界各地的史前人類開始創(chuàng)作洞穴藝術，思索他們?yōu)楹螘@樣做。他解釋道過去的一種觀點認為“這源于現(xiàn)代人類移居到歐洲時，他們需要與當?shù)匮ň尤烁偁幎囱?，因此導致了文化的變遷。”
"What's clear now is that the phenomenon happened elsewhere," he continued. "Once modernpeople left Africa, they might have faced a different environment and social situation [and]different puzzles. They may have had to live in larger groups to survive, which leads to a needfor stronger socialization. One way to display rituals and symbols is with cave art."
“目前我們清楚了解了其他地區(qū)出現(xiàn)的現(xiàn)象，”他繼續(xù)說道。“一旦現(xiàn)代人類離開非洲，他們或許要面對一個不同的環(huán)境和社會狀態(tài)，要處理不同的難題。他們或許不得不為了生存而組成更大的居住群體，導致他們需要更高的社會化。辦法之一便是通過洞穴藝術來舉行儀式，展示象征符號。”
His interview also hints at just how similar prehistoric humans were to us today. "Certainlymaking hand stencils seems a universal human practice. Children love to make handprints,even today. We see them in cave art in different times and places everywhere," Pike stated. "Itcould just be that the urge to make cave art is universal."
采訪中他還暗示史前人類與我們今天的做法會如此相似。“制作手形圖案似乎肯定是人類的一種普遍行為。即使今天，兒童們也喜歡制作手形印記。在不同的時期不同地點的洞穴藝術中我都發(fā)現(xiàn)了這一點，”派克說道。“可能就是源于這種沖動使洞穴藝術成為普遍現(xiàn)象。”
He further states that similarities between cave art in Europe and Asia undoubtedly go muchdeeper. This "is why we need to find more cave paintings," he explained. In addition, we mustobtain the resources and financial ability to perform similar tests on rock art motifs that wealready know about. While we know of approximately 90 motifs on Sulawesi, there are,without a doubt, thousands or even tens of thousands around the world, both discovered andundiscovered, waiting to tell us more about our ancestors.
他進一步陳述到歐洲和亞洲洞穴藝術的相似性無疑會進一步加深。這是“為何我們需要發(fā)掘更多洞穴繪畫的原因，”他解釋到。此外，我們必須得到對已知的巖石藝作品開展類似研究的資源和資金。雖然我們研究了蘇拉威蘇的大約90塊藝術作品，但毋庸置疑的是全世界仍存在數(shù)千乃至數(shù)萬件巖石藝術作品，無論是已發(fā)掘出的還是為被發(fā)現(xiàn)的，都在等著我們去探求祖先留下的信息。
