Altamira is a Paleolithic cave located in Santillana del Mar (Cantabria region) in northern Spain, containing prehistoric paintings. The cave was inhabited for millennia and so, besides Paleolithic cave art, it contains remains of the daily activities of the prehistoric population. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.

? ? ? ? ? 阿爾塔米拉是一個舊石器時代的洞穴，位于西班牙北部的Santillana del Mar（坎塔布里亞地區(qū)），里面有史前的繪畫。這個洞穴已經(jīng)有幾千年的居住史，因此，除了舊石器時代的洞穴藝術(shù)，它還包含了史前人口的日?；顒舆z跡。1985年，阿爾塔米拉被聯(lián)合國教科文組織宣布為世界文化遺產(chǎn)。

Nowadays, the cave is 270 m long and the archaeological site can be found inside the cave, near the entrance, however, there are also remains outside since the original cave entrance fell down. The cave can be divided into three sections:

the cave entrance

the great room or polychrome room

the gallery.

? ? ? ? ? 這個洞穴長270米，考古遺址可以在洞穴內(nèi)的入口附近找到；然而，原先的洞穴入口倒塌，所以我們可以在現(xiàn)今洞穴的外部發(fā)現(xiàn)一些遺跡。阿爾塔米拉洞穴可分為三個部分。

?山洞口

大廳或多色廳（室）

畫廊

The entrance is the part where people used to live; archaeologists found there remains of animal bones, ash belonging to continuous fireplaces, and flint objects such as knives, axes, and flint fragments, indicating human activity in this part of the cave. Given the fact that archaeologists have found these types of remains located in different layers of sediments, it seems reasonable to assume that the cave was inhabited for long periods of time. The so-called polychrome or great room, painted in several colors, can be found in the inner part of the cave, where there is no natural light. The entrance and the polychrome room form a great hall, but since the cave is a narrow gallery there is little room for large spaces, except for the larger chamber. The end of the cave is a narrow gallery with difficult access, but it also contains Paleolithic paintings and engravings.

? ? ? ? ? 洞穴入口處是人們曾經(jīng)居住的區(qū)域；考古學(xué)家在那里發(fā)現(xiàn)了動物骨骼的遺跡，還有厚厚的灰燼，以及刀、斧、燧石碎片等燧石制品，這表明曾有人類在此地活動。鑒于考古學(xué)家在不同的沉積物層中發(fā)現(xiàn)了這類痕跡，我們似乎可以合理地推測出該洞穴曾長期有人居住。所謂用幾種顏色繪制的多色室或大房間，可以在洞穴的內(nèi)部找到，那里沒有自然光。入口和多色室構(gòu)成了一個大殿，但由于洞穴是一個狹窄的長廊，除了較大的房間外，幾乎沒有大的空間。洞穴的盡頭是一個狹窄的長廊，很難進入，但它也包含舊石器時代的繪畫與壁刻。

?洞穴的歷史

The cave was discovered in 1868 by a hunter, Modesto Cubillas, who told Marcelino Sanz de Sautola, a nobleman in the region, about it. However, Sanz de Sautola did not visit the cave until 1875 and the first excavation works at the site only started in 1879. He found objects made of flint, bone, and horn, as well as colourants, fauna, and shells that allowed the dating of the cave paintings. These works only took place at the entrance of the cave. Sanz de Sautola published his Breves apuntes sobre algunos objetos prehistóricos de la provincia de Santander ("Notes on some prehistoric objects in the Santander region") a year later. At the time of the discovery, the main research on Prehistory was carried out in France by scholars who did not accept the authenticity of the paintings since they did not show the same patterns and features of those caves studied in France. Sanz de Sautola was considered a liar, and Altamira was forgotten. In 1902, E. de Cartailach, a French prehistorian, published Les cavernes ornées de dessins. La grotte d'Altamira, Espagne. ?Mea culpa? d'un sceptique ("The caves decorated with drawings. The cave of Altamira, Spain. ?Mea culpa? of a sceptical") and, from that moment, the cave gained a key role in the international prehistoric research.

? ? ? ? ? ?阿爾塔米拉洞穴，是在1868年由一個獵人莫德斯托·庫比拉斯發(fā)現(xiàn)的，他把情況告訴了本地的貴族馬塞利諾·桑斯·德·桑圖奧拉。然而，馬塞利諾·桑斯·德·桑圖奧拉直到1875年才訪問該洞穴，并且在1879年才組織人進行首次挖掘工作。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了由燧石、骨頭和動物的角制成的物品，以及著色劑、動物遺骸和貝殼，從而可以讓考古學(xué)家們確定洞穴繪畫的年代。這些工作只在洞穴的入口處進行。一年后，馬塞利諾·桑斯·德·桑圖奧拉出版了他的《關(guān)于桑坦德省一些史前物品的說明》（Breves apuntes sobre algunos objetos prehistóricos de la provincia de Santander）。在阿爾塔米拉洞穴被人們發(fā)現(xiàn)的時候，關(guān)于史前史的研究主要集中于法國；學(xué)者們不接受這些繪畫的真實性，因為它們沒有顯示出與法國研究的那些洞穴相同的模式和特征。馬塞利諾·桑斯·德·桑圖奧拉被大多數(shù)學(xué)者們認(rèn)為是騙子，阿爾塔米拉也逐漸被遺忘了。1902年，法國史前學(xué)家E.de Cartailach出版了《Les cavernes ornées de dessins》。La grotte d'Altamira, Espagne. "Mea culpa" d'un sceptique（《用圖畫裝飾的洞穴》，西班牙阿爾塔米拉山洞。"一個懷疑論者的“罪過”），從這一刻起，該洞穴在國際史前研究中重新獲得了關(guān)注。

Later, in 1903, H. Alcalde del Río continued the excavations and discovered two consecutive levels: one from the Upper Solutrean and another from the Lower Magdalenian, both of them belonging to the Paleolithic Period. These data were confirmed in the excavations made by Hugo Obermaier in 1924 and 1925, and J. González Echegaray and L. G. Freeman in 1980 and 1981, where they discovered a bigger complexity of the archaeological register. The studies and dating of the C14-AMS made in 2006 showed the different stages of human occupation of the cave. Eight levels were distinguished, from Middle Magdalenian (15,000-10,000 BCE) to Gravettian (25,000-20,000 BCE).

? ? ? ? ? ? ?1903年，H. Alcalde del Río繼續(xù)挖掘，發(fā)現(xiàn)了兩個連續(xù)的層次：上梭魯特時期，下馬格德林時期，都屬于舊石器時代。這些數(shù)據(jù)在胡戈·歐伯邁爾于1924年和1925年，以及華金·岡薩雷斯·伊克格拉和萊斯里·G·弗里曼于1980年和1981年進行的發(fā)掘中得到了證實，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了更復(fù)雜的考古信息。2006年進行的C14-AMS的研究和測年顯示了人類對該洞穴不同階段的居住狀況。從馬格德林中期（公元前15,000-10,000年）到格拉維特時期（公元前25,000-20,000年），共分八個等級。

?繪? ? ? 畫

Based on the archaeological research, experts assume that the paintings and engravings on the cave walls were made by the people who inhabited the cave during the different periods. Most of the paintings and engravings of Altamira, ranging from animals to hands, are located in the polychrome room. The oldest paintings are located on the right of the roof and they include horses, positive and negative images of human hands, abstract shapes, and a series of dots; mostly drawn by using charcoal. There are also 'masks' created by drawing eyes and mouth on the natural contours of the rock walls, which have been dated to the Lower Magdalenian period. However, the majority of the paintings from this period represent deer.

? ? ? ? ? 根據(jù)考古研究，專家們認(rèn)為洞壁上的繪畫和壁刻是由不同時期居住在洞內(nèi)的人完成的。阿爾塔米拉的大部分繪畫和壁刻，從動物到人的手，都位于多色室大廳中。最古老的繪畫位于洞頂?shù)挠覀?cè)，它們包括馬、人手的正反圖像、抽象形狀和一系列的點；大部分是用木炭畫的。還有一些通過在巖壁的自然輪廓上繪制眼睛和嘴巴而形成的“面具”，其年代為下馬格德林時期。然而，這一時期的大多數(shù)畫作表現(xiàn)的是鹿。

On the right of the roof, we can find the 25 coloured images of the cave (mostly in red and black): big representations of horses, paintings of bison, and a female deer that measures more than two meters. The drawing technique employed was engraving the wall with a flint object and, then, drawing a black line using charcoal. Afterwards, it was coloured with red or yellow. The details, such as hair, were made with a charcoal pencil while elements like eyes or horns were engraved. Although they may seem simple figures, bumps and cracks on the roof were purposely used to give volume to the animals.

? ? ? ? ? 在洞頂?shù)挠覀?cè)，我們可以看到25幅彩色圖像（主要是紅色和黑色）：大型馬匹、野牛的繪畫，以及一只超過兩米的雌鹿。所采用的繪畫技術(shù)是用燧石物體在墻上刻畫，然后用木炭勾畫出一條黑線。之后，用紅色或黃色進行著色。頭發(fā)等細節(jié)是用炭筆畫出來的，而眼睛或角等元素是刻出來的。雖然它們看起來很簡單，但屋頂上的凹凸不平和裂縫被特意用來賦予繪畫立體化。

The narrow gallery contains a special set of masks representing animal faces, for instance, deer and bison. The technique employed is simple and astonishing at the same time. The artist took advantage of the natural contours and the perspective to create a whole face with simple elements such as eyes and lines representing the mouth or the nose.

? ? ? ? ? 狹窄的畫廊里有一套特殊的面具，代表動物的臉，例如鹿和野牛。所采用的技術(shù)很簡單，同時也很令人吃驚。遠古藝術(shù)家利用自然輪廓和透視的優(yōu)勢，用簡單的元素，如眼睛和代表嘴巴或鼻子的線條，創(chuàng)造出一張完整的臉。

?如今的阿爾塔米拉

Nowadays, Altamira cave is closed to the public due to preservation problems. As said before, the entrance fell over and covered the cave, creating a stable climate inside that ensured the preservation of the paintings, but when it was discovered, the air started entering from the outside and caused changes in humidity and temperature. Furthermore, during the 20th century, walls and paths were built inside the cave to accept hundreds of thousands of visitors. All these changes affected the paintings, as well as the human presence. Between 1997 and 2001, measures were taken to control the state of the cave. In 2002, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) started an exhaustive conservation plan and, from 2011, an international committee of experts studies the feasibility of giving access to a restricted number of visitors without affecting the preservation of the paintings.

? ? ? ? ? 如今，阿爾塔米拉山洞由于保存問題，不對公眾開放。如前所述，該洞穴的入口處倒塌，覆蓋了洞穴，在里面形成了穩(wěn)定的氣候，保證了繪畫的保存，但當(dāng)它被發(fā)現(xiàn)后，空氣開始從外面進入，造成濕度和溫度的變化。此外，在20世紀(jì)，洞內(nèi)修建了墻壁和道路，以接受成千上萬的游客。這些變化都影響了繪畫，以及古人類遺址。1997年至2001年間，科學(xué)家們采取了一些措施來控制洞穴的狀況。2002年，西班牙國家研究委員會（CSIC）開始了一項詳盡的保護計劃，從2011年開始，一個國際專家委員會研究了在不影響繪畫保存的情況下允許有限數(shù)量的游客進入的可行性。

Even though the original cave cannot be visited, archaeological studies and experts made possible the re-creation of the cave that can be visited as well as the Altamira Museum which contains a permanent collection of objects from Altamira and other surrounding caves.

? ? ? ? ? 盡管不能參觀原來的洞穴，但在考古研究和專家們的努力下，人們仿建了可以參觀的洞穴以及建造了阿爾塔米拉博物館。該博物館包含來自阿爾塔米拉和其他周圍洞穴的永久收藏品。

參考書目：

Altamira Museum website: information of the cave Accessed 1 Dec 2016.

Carballo, J. The cave of Altamira and other caves with paintings in the province of Santander. Patronato de las cuevas prehistoricas de la provincia de Santander, 1963.

Curtis, G. The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists. Anchor, 2007.

Guinea, M.A.G. Altamira and other Cantabrian Caves. Silex, 1979.

Poyato, J.C. Altamira: Historia de una pol??mica. Stella Maris, 2015.

UNESCO video: "Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain".Accessed 1 Dec 2016.

原文網(wǎng)址：https://www.worldhistory.org/Altamira/