TOEFL Reading
Paleolithic Art
P1 From the moment in 1879 that cave paintings were discovered at Altamira, scholars have wondered why the hunter-artists of the Old Store 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 started 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.
According to paragraph 1, why was the cave art difficult to find?
The artists were probably trying to keep their work a secret from their tribe
The artists could have begun their painting while they were confined in the caves
The artists may have chosen a location deep in the caves to hold ceremonies
The artists had to practice before they made images that more people could see
2. According to paragraph 1, Paleolithic people may have used cave art for all of the following purposes EXCEPT
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
P2 In contrast, some scholars have argued that the magical purpose of the paintings and reliefs 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 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
P3 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 and 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.
P4 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.
P5 Representations of human hands also common. At Pech-Merie 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, an individual artist. But like everything else in Paleolithic art, their meaning is unknown.
9. According the paragraph 5, why did artists leave a positive imprint of their hands on cave paintings?
It represents human beings in the cave paintings
It could have been a way for them to sign their work
It was a hunter’s handprint among the herd of animals
It might have been a pleasing image without much meaning
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