Dating Ancient Art
Dating Ancient Art
题目：
Scientific methods of dating ancient art have been developed only relatively recently. Without dates, a theoretical evolutionary model lacking any scientific foundation was long used, and it is still occasionally applied. Its basis is that the older an artwork is, the cruder it must be, which supposes a belief in the linear development of artistic creation, with constant progress made over centuries and millennia. Each time it has been possible to establish solid chronologies, however, this model has proved false. Such was the case for the wall art of Paleolithic (from 3.3 million years ago until 9650 B.C.E.) European caves, when the discovery of the Chauvet cave revealed that from extremely ancient times the visual appeal of the art was extraordinary.
Radiocarbon dating is one method for dating ancient artworks. It is based on the fact that all living organisms contain a very small amount of radioactive carbon identical to that contained in the atmosphere. After death, the organism ceases interacting with the air, and the radioactive carbon gradually disintegrates. We know that it loses half its mass in 5,568 years. Residual microradioactivity can be measured to calculate the date of the organism’s death. A sufficient quantity of organic (carbon-containing) matter is indispensable for applying this method. This means that radiocarbon dating is not currently possible for engravings or sculptures, or for paintings made with mineral pigments (coloring substances), but only for those in which carbon was used, or those whose binding agent-the material used to give cohesion to the paint-is organic (blood, plant gum, or fat, for example) or contains an adequate amount of organic matter.
Therefore, because the vast majority of rock art cannot be dated directly, we try to date it indirectly by establishing either a maximum or a minimum possible age. At times, geologic phenomena provide a solid point of reference. For example, we know that in Scandinavia the sea was 80 meters higher before the Neolithic, 8,000 years ago, than it is today. So if we find carvings at an altitude of 40 meters, they clearly can only belong to a later period, such as the Bronze Age (3200-600 B.c.E.). On the Big Island of Hawaii, with its very active volcano, lava dating back just 600 years has been engraved: these engravings obviously are less than six centuries old.
In other cases, we can evaluate a work’s age by assessing its current state or by considering its immediate environment. In the dryness of deserts, rock engravings change appearance as their patination-a thin outer layer that develops over time-darkens. Consequently, whether in Niger or in New Mexico, the lightest carvings obviously are the most recent. This method, however, gives only a relative indication of age. In the United States and Australia, among other places, attempts have been made to obtain more definitive indications by radiocarbon dating old patination from the organic elements it has trapped. These methods are still experimental and controversial, for in fact it is not clear what is being dated, as the constituent elements of the outer layer may have been integrated into it at various times and may therefore be of different ages.
It is also possible to establish minimal dates when paintings or engravings are partially covered by deposits that can be more faithfully dated than the patinations. In parts of Australia, wasp nests that have formed on drawings can, when they are very old, provide valid and useful dates. In other instances, dating fragments of decorated walls that have broken away, fallen, and been covered up by archaeological layers will give a minimal age, as is the case with the Early Man shelter and Carpenter’s Gap in Australia, and a western Cape shelter in South Africa. This archaeological approach proves even more precise when tools, paints, and other materials used to create the drawings are discovered in a well-dated layer nearby: we then know that the date of the layer will be the date of the paintings. Such was the case with the Bidon cave in France, where splotches of red paint identical to that used in some of the paintings were discovered at the foot of the painted wall. Because the layer in which these splotches were found included coal (organic material), the layer could be radiocarbon-dated to about 21,650 years ago.
1
Scientific methods of dating ancient art have been developed only relatively recently. Without dates, a theoretical evolutionary model lacking any scientific foundation was long used, and it is still occasionally applied. Its basis is that the older an artwork is, the cruder it must be, which supposes a belief in the linear development of artistic creation, with constant progress made over centuries and millennia. Each time it has been possible to establish solid chronologies, however, this model has proved false. Such was the case for the wall art of Paleolithic (from 3.3 million years ago until 9650 B.C.E.) European caves, when the discovery of the Chauvet cave revealed that from extremely ancient times the visual appeal of the art was extraordinary.
In paragraph 1, why does the author emphasize the visual appeal of the art in the Chauvet cave?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
ATo argue against the idea that art has improved steadily over time
BTo help explain the linear development of artistic creation
CTo show how much artistic progress was made during the Paleolithic period
DTo give an example of ancient art that is reliably dated
2
Radiocarbon dating is one method for dating ancient artworks. It is based on the fact that all living organisms contain a very small amount of radioactive carbon identical to that contained in the atmosphere. After death, the organism ceases interacting with the air, and the radioactive carbon gradually disintegrates. We know that it loses half its mass in 5,568 years. Residual microradioactivity can be measured to calculate the date of the organism’s death. A sufficient quantity of organic (carbon-containing) matter is indispensable for applying this method. This means that radiocarbon dating is not currently possible for engravings or sculptures, or for paintings made with mineral pigments (coloring substances), but only for those in which carbon was used, or those whose binding agent-the material used to give cohesion to the paint-is organic (blood, plant gum, or fat, for example) or contains an adequate amount of organic matter.
According to paragraph 2, why can radiocarbon dating not be used for dating engravings, sculptures, and artworks made with mineral pigments?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AThese objects contain a type of carbon that is different from atmospheric carbon.
BThe radioactive carbon in these objects disintegrates too rapidly.
CThe method requires more organic matter than these objects have
DThe organic matter in these objects cannot be separated from other material.
3
Therefore, because the vast majority of rock art cannot be dated directly, we try to date it indirectly by establishing either a maximum or a minimum possible age. At times, geologic phenomena provide a solid point of reference. For example, we know that in Scandinavia the sea was 80 meters higher before the Neolithic, 8,000 years ago, than it is today. So if we find carvings at an altitude of 40 meters, they clearly can only belong to a later period, such as the Bronze Age (3200-600 B.c.E.). On the Big Island of Hawaii, with its very active volcano, lava dating back just 600 years has been engraved: these engravings obviously are less than six centuries old.
Paragraph 3 suggests that Scandinavian carvings found at an altitude of 40 meters could not belong to a period before the Neolithic because
Inference Questions推理题
Athe location of the carvings was underwater then
Bthe carvings would have been destroyed over such a long period of time
Cthe carvings have characteristics typical of art from the later Bronze Age
Dsimilar carvings found on the Big Island of Hawaii have been shown to be less than six centuries old
4
In other cases, we can evaluate a work’s age by assessing its current state or by considering its immediate environment. In the dryness of deserts, rock engravings change appearance as their patination-a thin outer layer that develops over time-darkens. Consequently, whether in Niger or in New Mexico, the lightest carvings obviously are the most recent. This method, however, gives only a relative indication of age. In the United States and Australia, among other places, attempts have been made to obtain more definitive indications by radiocarbon dating old patination from the organic elements it has trapped. These methods are still experimental and controversial, for in fact it is not clear what is being dated, as the constituent elements of the outer layer may have been integrated into it at various times and may therefore be of different ages.
According to paragraph 4, the color of the patination of rock engravings in desert regions can allow us to
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
Aconfirm the definitive age of the outer layer of the engravings
Bevaluate the quality of the engravings in their original state
Cestablish how the environment of the engravings has changed over time
Dcompare the ages of different engravings in the same area
5
In other cases, we can evaluate a work’s age by assessing its current state or by considering its immediate environment. In the dryness of deserts, rock engravings change appearance as their patination-a thin outer layer that develops over time-darkens. Consequently, whether in Niger or in New Mexico, the lightest carvings obviously are the most recent. This method, however, gives only a relative indication of age. In the United States and Australia, among other places, attempts have been made to obtain more definitive indications by radiocarbon dating old patination from the organic elements it has trapped. These methods are still experimental and controversial, for in fact it is not clear what is being dated, as the constituent elements of the outer layer may have been integrated into it at various times and may therefore be of different ages.
According to paragraph 4, using the organic elements trapped in the patination of old artworks for radiocarbon dating creates which of the following problems?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AThe organic elements lighten the patination that has developed over time.
BIt is difficult to determine what the organic elements in the patination are.
CThe organic elements often integrate constituent elements that are not organic.
DThe organic elements in the patination may come from different periods of time
6
It is also possible to establish minimal dates when paintings or engravings are partially covered by deposits that can be more faithfully dated than the patinations. In parts of Australia, wasp nests that have formed on drawings can, when they are very old, provide valid and useful dates. In other instances, dating fragments of decorated walls that have broken away, fallen, and been covered up by archaeological layers will give a minimal age, as is the case with the Early Man shelter and Carpenter’s Gap in Australia, and a western Cape shelter in South Africa. This archaeological approach proves even more precise when tools, paints, and other materials used to create the drawings are discovered in a well-dated layer nearby: we then know that the date of the layer will be the date of the paintings. Such was the case with the Bidon cave in France, where splotches of red paint identical to that used in some of the paintings were discovered at the foot of the painted wall. Because the layer in which these splotches were found included coal (organic material), the layer could be radiocarbon-dated to about 21,650 years ago.
The word “faithfully” in the passage is closest in meaning to
Vocabulary Questions词汇题
AUsefully
BQuickly
CIndependently
DAccurately
7
It is also possible to establish minimal dates when paintings or engravings are partially covered by deposits that can be more faithfully dated than the patinations. In parts of Australia, wasp nests that have formed on drawings can, when they are very old, provide valid and useful dates. In other instances, dating fragments of decorated walls that have broken away, fallen, and been covered up by archaeological layers will give a minimal age, as is the case with the Early Man shelter and Carpenter’s Gap in Australia, and a western Cape shelter in South Africa. This archaeological approach proves even more precise when tools, paints, and other materials used to create the drawings are discovered in a well-dated layer nearby: we then know that the date of the layer will be the date of the paintings. Such was the case with the Bidon cave in France, where splotches of red paint identical to that used in some of the paintings were discovered at the foot of the painted wall. Because the layer in which these splotches were found included coal (organic material), the layer could be radiocarbon-dated to about 21,650 years ago.
Paragraph 5 suggests that minimal ages of artworks in the Early Man shelter and Carpenter’s Gap in Australia were obtained by
Inference Questions推理题
Adetermining the age of wasp nests that formed on the artworks
Bdating layers of material in which fallen pieces of the artworks were buried
Ccomparing the artworks to well-dated ones in a western Cape shelter in South Africa
Dstudying various tools and materials used to create the artworks
8
It is also possible to establish minimal dates when paintings or engravings are partially covered by deposits that can be more faithfully dated than the patinations. In parts of Australia, wasp nests that have formed on drawings can, when they are very old, provide valid and useful dates. In other instances, dating fragments of decorated walls that have broken away, fallen, and been covered up by archaeological layers will give a minimal age, as is the case with the Early Man shelter and Carpenter’s Gap in Australia, and a western Cape shelter in South Africa. This archaeological approach proves even more precise when tools, paints, and other materials used to create the drawings are discovered in a well-dated layer nearby: we then know that the date of the layer will be the date of the paintings. Such was the case with the Bidon cave in France, where splotches of red paint identical to that used in some of the paintings were discovered at the foot of the painted wall. Because the layer in which these splotches were found included coal (organic material), the layer could be radiocarbon-dated to about 21,650 years ago.
According to paragraph 5, how were the Bidon cave paintings dated?
Factual Information Questions事实信息题
AThe source of the red paint used in the paintings was discovered.
BTools used to create the paintings were found in a well-dated layer nearby.
CPaint from the original paintings was found near them in a layer that could be radiocarbon-dated.
DOrganic materials that could be radiocarbon-dated were used in creating the paintings.
9
Therefore, because the vast majority of rock art cannot be dated directly, we try to date it indirectly by establishing either a maximum or a minimum possible age. [■] At times, geologic phenomena provide a solid point of reference. For example, we know that in Scandinavia the sea was 80 meters higher before the Neolithic, 8,000 years ago, than it is today. [■] So if we find carvings at an altitude of 40 meters, they clearly can only belong to a later period, such as the Bronze Age (3200-600 B.c.E.). [■] On the Big Island of Hawaii, with its very active volcano, lava dating back just 600 years has been engraved: these engravings obviously are less than six centuries old. [■]
Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage
Maximum possible age can also be indicated by the age of the surface on which artworks were created.
Insert Text Questions句子插入题
Where would the sentence best fit？Click on a square sentence to the passage.
10
The process of dating ancient artworks presents a number of challenges.
Prose Summary Questions概要小结题
Select 3 answers
ABecause older artworks are often cruder than younger ones, it may be possible to determine whether one artwork is older or younger than another.
BThe age of an artwork can be established if carbon is present in the artwork or in archaeological material related to the artwork.
CAn artwork’s oldest or youngest possible age or its age relative to other objects can be inferred based on conditions or past events in the artwork’s environment.
DScientific dating of ancient artworks has demonstrated the falseness of a previously popular theoretical model about artistic development throughout history.
ERadiocarbon dating is not possible for many artworks because the radioactive carbon can quickly disintegrate to less than half of the original amount.
FNew dating methods have suggested that some ancient artworks, especially rock engravings in dry areas and paintings using coal, are older than previously believed.
