第2259期:Scientists Find World’s Oldest Cave Painting in Indonesia

On the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, scientists have discovered the world’s oldest known cave painting. The researchers used a laser to date the painting. They found it was created at least 51,200 years ago.
在印度尼西亚的苏拉威西岛，科学家们发现了世界上已知最古老的洞穴绘画。研究人员使用激光对这幅画进行了年代测定，发现它至少是在51,200年前创作的。

The painting is inside a cave called Leang Karampuang in an area of South Sulawesi province. The scientists used the laser to date crystal structures of the mineral calcium carbonate that formed naturally on top of the painting.
这幅画位于南苏拉威西省的一个叫Leang Karampuang的洞穴内。科学家们使用激光对在绘画顶部自然形成的碳酸钙矿物晶体结构进行了年代测定。

Maxime Aubert is an expert in archaeology at Griffith University in Australia. He was one of the leaders of the research published in the journal Nature. He said the new dating method is an improvement over other ways of dating rock paintings.
马克西姆·奥贝尔是澳大利亚格里菲斯大学的考古学专家。他是发表在《自然》杂志上的这项研究的领导者之一。他说，这种新的年代测定方法比其他测定岩画年代的方法有所改进。

The painting is a dark red color. It shows a pig that is 92 centimeters by 38 centimeters. Three human-like images are near the pig.
这幅画呈深红色，显示了一只长92厘米、宽38厘米的猪。猪的附近有三个类似人类的图像。

The researchers think the painting is likely the oldest-known evidence of storytelling in art.
研究人员认为，这幅画可能是已知最古老的讲故事艺术的证据。

Griffith University archeologist Adam Brumm was another leader of the research team. He thinks the position of the human images near the pig gives the painting a feeling of action. “There is something happening between these figures. A story is being told,” he said.
格里菲斯大学的考古学家亚当·布鲁姆是研究团队的另一位领导者。他认为，人类图像在猪附近的位置给这幅画带来了行动的感觉。他说：“这些人物之间正在发生一些事情，一个故事正在被讲述。”

The researchers also used the laser to estimate the date from another cave painting on Sulawesi. That cave is called Leang Bulu' Sipong 4. The painting in it shows part-human, part-animal figures hunting pigs and small buffalo.
研究人员还使用激光对苏拉威西岛上的另一幅洞穴绘画进行了年代估算。那个洞穴叫做Leang Bulu' Sipong 4。里面的画展示了部分人类、部分动物的图像正在捕猎猪和小型水牛。

"We, as humans, define ourselves as a species that tells stories, and these are the oldest evidence of us doing that," Aubert said.
奥贝尔说：“我们作为人类，将自己定义为一个讲故事的物种，而这些是我们这样做的最古老证据。”

Little is known about the people who created the Sulawesi cave paintings. Aubert said the paintings might be older than the age found by the new testing. The paintings might date closer to the time humans first came to the area, around 65,000 years ago.
关于创作苏拉威西洞穴绘画的人们知之甚少。奥贝尔说，这些绘画的年代可能比新测试发现的年代更久远。它们的年代可能更接近于人类第一次来到这个地区的时间，大约在65,000年前。

Until now, the oldest-known cave painting was from another cave in Sulawesi, from at least 45,500 years ago.
在此之前，已知最古老的洞穴绘画来自苏拉威西岛的另一个洞穴，至少有45,500年的历史。

The researchers said the Leang Karampuang painting is older than the cave paintings of Europe. The oldest known painting found in Europe is at El Castillo in Spain, dating to about 40,800 years ago.
研究人员说，Leang Karampuang的绘画比欧洲的洞穴绘画更古老。欧洲已知最古老的绘画是在西班牙的埃尔卡斯蒂略，年代约为40,800年前。

Before the discovery of cave paintings in South Sulawesi in 2014, some experts thought humans first created art in Europe.
在2014年发现南苏拉威西的洞穴绘画之前，一些专家认为人类最早在欧洲创造了艺术。

"This discovery of very old cave art in Indonesia drives home the point that Europe was not the birthplace of cave art,” Brumm said.
布鲁姆说：“这一在印度尼西亚发现的非常古老的洞穴艺术证明了欧洲并不是洞穴艺术的发源地。”

"The earliest Sulawesi rock art is not 'simple,'" Aubert added. "It is quite advanced and shows the mental capacity of people at the time."
奥贝尔补充说：“最早的苏拉威西岩画并不‘简单’。它相当高级，显示了当时人们的精神能力。”