Why are these 32 symbols found in caves all over Europe | Genevieve von Petzinger | TED

譯者: Ming Gui Tan 審譯者: Linda LEUNG

There's something about caves --

山洞散發著一股魅力--

a shadowy opening in a limestone cliff that draws you in.

在石灰懸崖處 迷人的幽暗開口

As you pass through the portal between light and dark,

當你從明亮走進幽暗

you enter a subterranean world --

你即進入了一個地底世界--

a place of perpetual gloom, of earthy smells, of hushed silence.

一個長年昏暗，土味撲鼻，萬籟俱寂的地方

Long ago in Europe,

在很久以前的歐洲

ancient people also entered these underground worlds.

古人也曾經 遊走過這地底世界

As witness to their passage,

作為他們旅程的印記

they left behind mysterious engravings and paintings,

他們留下了神秘的刻畫和壁畫

like this panel of humans, triangles and zigzags from Ojo Guareña in Spain.

像這組在西班牙Ojo Guareña 的人形、三角形和鋸齒形的圖樣

You now walk the same path as these early artists.

你正追尋這些早期畫家的踪跡

And in this surreal, otherworldly place,

在這超乎現實世界之處

it's almost possible to imagine

幾乎難以想像

that you hear the muffled footfall of skin boots on soft earth,

你能夠聽到皮靴 踩在鬆軟土地上那含糊的腳步聲

or that you see the flickering of a torch around the next bend.

或在下一個轉彎處看到 火把的閃爍

When I'm in a cave,

當我在山洞裡

I often find myself wondering what drove these people to go so deep

我常常思考是甚麼東西 推動這些人去深入

to brave dangerous and narrow passageways to leave their mark?

如此險窄的通道 來留下他們的印記？

In this video clip,

這段短片

that was shot half a kilometer, or about a third of a mile, underground,

是在西班牙Cudon的一個山洞的前半個公里

in the cave of Cudon in Spain,

或者大概三分之一英里的地下道

we found a series of red paintings on a ceiling

在某山洞頂部的一系列的紅色壁畫

in a previously unexplored section of the cave.

這區域從未被探究過

As we crawled forward, military-style, with the ceiling getting ever lower,

當我們繼續往前的軍人式爬行， 洞頂變得越來越低

we finally got to a point where the ceiling was so low

直到洞頂低到

that my husband and project photographer, Dylan,

連我的丈夫和攝影師Dylan

could no longer achieve focus on the ceiling with his DSLR camera.

沒辦法用DSLR相機 對焦到洞頂為止

So while he filmed me,

所以當他在拍我的時候

I kept following the trail of red paint with a single light

我一直尾隨紅壁畫的踪跡 手裡持著單束光源

and a point-and-shoot camera that we kept for that type of occasion.

還有一架留給這種特別時刻 使用的傻瓜相機

Half a kilometer underground.

在地底半公里之深。

Seriously.

天啊

What was somebody doing down there with a torch or a stone lamp?

在那裡拿著電筒或石燈是要幹嘛？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I mean -- me, it makes sense, right?

我是說，是我的話就很合理對吧？

But you know,

但你知道嗎？

this is the kind of question that I'm trying to answer with my research.

這就是我想要透過我的研究來解答的問題

I study some of the oldest art in the world.

我研究的是世上最古老的藝術之一

It was created by these early artists in Europe,

皆出自於歐洲的早期畫家的手中

between 10,000 and 40,000 years ago.

大約是一萬到四萬年前

And the thing is

而事實上

that I'm not just studying it because it's beautiful,

我不是衝著它們的美而去研究的

though some of it certainly is.

雖然某部分是

But what I'm interested in is the development of the modern mind,

我感興趣的是現代思維的發展

of the evolution of creativity, of imagination, of abstract thought,

創意、想像力和抽象思維的演進

about what it means to be human.

以及作為人類的真諦

While all species communicate in one way or another,

雖然所有的生物 各自利用自己的方式互相溝通

only we humans have really taken it to another level.

唯有人類的溝通方式真正鶴立雞群

Our desire and ability to share and collaborate

我們對於分享與合作的嚮往和能力

has been a huge part of our success story.

成為了人類成功的基石

Our modern world is based on a global network of information exchange

我們的現代世界建立在 全球化的資訊交換網絡之上

made possible, in large part, by our ability to communicate --

一大部分緣於 我們溝通的能力--

in particular, using graphic or written forms of communication.

特別是圖像跟文字的溝通

The thing is, though,

儘管如此

that we've been building on the mental achievements

我們承接的

of those that came before us for so long

是古人的思想成就

that it's easy to forget that certain abilities haven't already existed.

以致於我們容易忘記有些能力 並非該時代的範疇

It's one of the things I find most fascinating

這是我深入我們的歷史以來

about studying our deep history.

發現到最有趣的體悟。

Those people didn't have the shoulders of any giants to stand on.

那些人根本沒有巨人的肩膀可以站

They were the original shoulders.

他們就是最原始的巨人肩膀

And while a surprising number of important inventions

而雖然大量的重要發明

come out of that distant time,

出自於那遠古的時代

what I want to talk to you about today is the invention of graphic communication.

我想要跟你分享的是 圖像溝通的發明

There are three main types of communication,

主要的溝通方式一共有三種

spoken, gestural -- so things like sign language --

口語

手勢-- 像手語之類的

and graphic communication.

以及圖像溝通

Spoken and gestural are by their very nature ephemeral.

口語和手勢的溝通本質上是短暫的

It requires close contact for a message to be sent and received.

訊息的傳送需要近距離的接觸

And after the moment of transmission, it's gone forever.

而訊息只要傳送完畢就會永遠消失

Graphic communication, on the other hand, decouples that relationship.

反之，圖像溝通打斷這種關係

And with its invention, it became possible for the first time

自從圖像溝通問世，我們首次能夠

for a message to be transmitted and preserved

讓訊息的傳送和留存

beyond a single moment in place and time.

超越當下的時空限制

Europe is one of the first places

歐洲是我們最早

that we start to see graphic marks regularly appearing

發現在岩壁、岩棚 甚至一些僅存的開放區域

in caves, rock shelters and even a few surviving open-air sites.

有圖樣記號規律出現的地方

But this is not the Europe we know today.

但這不是我們所認識的現代歐洲

This was a world dominated by towering ice sheets,

那是一個被高聳的冰原充滿的世界

three to four kilometers high,

各個都三到四公里高

with sweeping grass plains and frozen tundra.

被大片的草原和凍原覆蓋

This was the Ice Age.

這，就是冰河時期

Over the last century,

自從上個世紀以來

more than 350 Ice Age rock art sites have been found across the continent,

超過350個冰河時期的石畫區 在歐洲大陸被發掘出來

decorated with animals, abstract shapes and even the occasional human

其中刻有動物、抽象圖案 甚至一些少見的人類圖案

like these engraved figures from Grotta dell'Addaura in Sicily.

像這些在西西里的阿達拉山洞 (Grotta dell'Addaura) 看到的雕刻

They provide us with a rare glimpse

它們讓我們一窺

into the creative world and imagination of these early artists.

這些早期畫家的創意和想像力

Since their discovery,

自從發掘出它們

it's been the animals that have received the majority of the study

動物雕刻圖一直都是研究的焦點

like this black horse from Cullalvera in Spain,

像這匹在西班牙的古拉維拉(Cullalvera) 找到的黑馬圖

or this unusual purple bison from La Pasiega.

或是這隻在帕斯加(La Pasiega) 看到的奇特紫水牛

But for me, it was the abstract shapes, what we call geometric signs,

但對我而言，反而是抽像圖案， 所謂的幾何圖形

that drew me to study the art.

燃起了我研究這類藝術的興趣。

The funny this is that at most sites

詭異的是，在大部分的地點

the geometric signs far outnumber the animal and human images.

幾何圖形的數量遠超於動物和人類的圖案

But when I started on this back in 2007,

可是我在2007年開始從事研究時

there wasn't even a definitive list of how many shapes there were,

這些圖案根本沒有明確的數量和清單

nor was there a strong sense

更沒有人有興趣去知道

of whether the same ones appeared across space or time.

究竟不同的時間、地點有否出現過相似的圖案

Before I could even get started on my questions,

在我還未開始解除我的疑惑之前

my first step was to compile a database

需要先編輯一個資料庫

of all known geometric signs from all of the rock art sites.

來包含所有石畫地點的所有幾何圖形

The problem was that while they were well documented at some sites,

問題是，雖然在某些地點的圖案非常明確

usually the ones with the very nice animals,

這通常都是那些可愛的動物圖案，

there was also a large number of them where it was very vague --

仍有一大部分仍然非常含糊不清--

there wasn't a lot of description or detail.

根本沒有細節或註解可以參考

Some of them hadn't been visited in half a century or more.

有些甚至超過半世紀以來都杳無人跡

These were the ones that I targeted for my field work.

這些就是我實地考察的重點

Over the course of two years,

兩年過去了

my faithful husband Dylan and I each spent over 300 hours underground,

我不離不棄的丈夫跟我一起 在地底下花了超過300小時

hiking, crawling and wriggling around 52 sites

在位於法國、西班牙 和西西里的52個山洞

in France, Spain, Portugal and Sicily.

攀越和爬行

And it was totally worth it.

這完全是划得來的

We found new, undocumented geometric signs at 75 percent of the sites we visited.

在去過的75%地點中 我們發現全新、不見經傳的幾何圖形

This is the level of accuracy I knew I was going to need

我深知我正需要這種精確的程度

if I wanted to start answering those larger questions.

來回答更重要的問題

So let's get to those answers.

那讓我們去尋找答案吧

Barring a handful of outliers, there are only 32 geometric signs.

排除一堆異類之外，剩下32中幾何圖形

Only 32 signs

歷遍三萬年的時間，橫跨整個歐洲版圖

across a 30,000-year time span and the entire continent of Europe.

只有32個符號

That is a very small number.

多麼渺小的數字啊

Now, if these were random doodles or decorations,

如果這些只是隨意的塗鴉或裝飾

we would expect to see a lot more variation,

理論上應該會看到更多樣化的圖案

but instead what we find are the same signs

可是我們發現同樣的符號

repeating across both space and time.

經年累月的在各地不斷的重複著

Some signs start out strong, before losing popularity and vanishing,

有些符號先盛後衰

while other signs are later inventions.

有些則是比較後期的創作

But 65 percent of those signs stayed in use during that entire time period --

但65%的符號在那段時間內不斷的出現--

things like lines, rectangles triangles, ovals and circles

比如線條、四方形 三角形、橢圓形和圓形

like we see here from the end of the Ice Age,

接近冰河時期末開始

at a 10,000-year-old site high in the Pyrenees Mountains.

出現在庇里牛斯山上的萬年山洞

And while certain signs span thousands of kilometers,

有些符號的分佈範圍長達幾千公里

other signs had much more restricted distribution patterns,

有些的分佈則比較受限

with some being limited to a single territory,

甚至當中只分佈在單一區域

like we see here with these divided rectangles

像這些被劃分的四方形

that are only found in northern Spain,

只出現在北西班牙

and which some researchers have speculated

而有些學者認為

could be some sort of family or clan signs.

這些可能是家族或氏族的象徵符號

On a side note,

順帶一提

there is surprising degree of similarity in the earliest rock art

從法國到西班牙以及自印尼到澳洲

found all the way from France and Spain to Indonesia and Australia.

出現的早期石畫的相似度驚人地高

With many of the same signs appearing in such far-flung places,

當中相同的符號在相隔很遠的地方同時出現

especially in that 30,000 to 40,000-year range,

尤其在三萬到四萬年前這段時間內

it's starting to seem increasingly likely

我越來越認為

that this invention actually traces back to a common point of origin in Africa.

這些創作的共同發源地能夠追朔到非洲

But that I'm afraid, is a subject for a future talk.

但恐怕那又會是下次演講的主題

So back to the matter at hand.

那我們回過頭來看看

There could be no doubt that these signs were meaningful to their creators,

無疑的，這些符號對於其創作者意義深遠

like these 25,000-year-old bas-relief sculptures

例如這兩萬五千年

from La Roque de Venasque in France.

在法國弗納斯屈厄山洞 (La Roque de Venasque)的淺浮雕

We might not know what they meant, but the people of the time certainly did.

我們可能不知道它們的意義 但那時的人肯定知道

The repetition of the same signs, for so long, and at so many sites

這些符號長時間以來，在各個地點的重複

tells us that the artists were making intentional choices.

告訴我們這些畫家 清楚知道自己在做什麼

If we're talking about geometric shapes,

如果我們談論的是

with specific, culturally recognized, agreed-upon meanings,

具體、具文化認同感和共識的幾何圖形

than we could very well be looking

那在我們眼前的很可能是

at one of the oldest systems of graphic communication in the world.

世上最古老的圖案溝通系統之一

I'm not talking about writing yet.

當然這還稱不上的文字

There's just not enough characters at this point

這裡的符號數量沒有多到

to have represented all of the words in the spoken language,

可以代表所有口述的詞彙

something which is a requirement for a full writing system.

要知道這是完整書寫系統的必要因素

Nor do we see the signs repeating regularly enough

同時這些符號的規律性

to suggest that they were some sort of alphabet.

還不至於能讓我們覺得它們是一種文字

But what we do have are some intriguing one-offs,

但我們卻發現到 一些比較新奇 只出現一次的符號

like this panel from La Pasiega in Spain, known as "The Inscription,"

例如這個在西班牙的帕斯加(La Pasiega) 出現的圖案，叫做『銘文』(The Inscription)

with its symmetrical markings on the left,

左邊有對稱的筆劃

possible stylized representations of hands in the middle,

中間可能是雙手的風格化圖案

and what looks a bit like a bracket on the right.

還有右邊看似掛號的符號

The oldest systems of graphic communication in the world --

世上最古老的圖案溝通--

Sumerian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs, the earliest Chinese script,

蘇美的楔形文字、埃及的象形文字 以及中國的漢字

all emerged between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago,

皆在四五千年前出現

with each coming into existence from an earlier protosystem

每一個都萌芽於更早期的原型

made up of counting marks and pictographic representations,

由數字記號和象形符號組成

where the meaning and the image were the same.

當中的意義和圖形是相符的

So a picture of a bird would really have represented that animal.

鳥的圖形顧名思義就是鳥的意思

It's only later that we start to see these pictographs become more stylized,

到後期的時候 這些象形符號才變得更風格化

until they almost become unrecognizable

直到難以辨認

and that we also start to see more symbols being invented

還有更多的符號陸續被發明

to represent all those other missing words in language --

來代表該語言中其餘的文字--

things like pronouns, adverbs, adjectives.

比如代名詞、副詞、形容詞

So knowing all this,

總而言之

it seems highly unlikely that the geometric signs from Ice Age Europe

看來冰河時期歐洲的幾何圖形

were truly abstract written characters.

不太像是抽象的符號

Instead, what's much more likely

相反，有很高的可能性

is that these early artists were also making counting marks,

這些早期的畫家 其實是在書寫數字記號

maybe like this row of lines from Riparo di Za Minic in Sicily,

像這些在西西里Riparo di Za Minic的線條

as well as creating stylized representations

又或者是在創造或風格化

of things from the world around them.

他們周遭的事物

Could some of the signs be weaponry or housing?

是否有些代表著武器或建築？

Or what about celestial objects like star constellations?

或是天體，如星座之類的？

Or maybe even rivers, mountains, trees -- landscape features,

甚至是河流、山川、樹木--自然景觀

possibly like this black penniform surrounded by strange bell-shaped signs

像是這些被奇怪的鐘狀符號 圍繞著的黑色羽狀符號

from the site of El Castillo in Spain.

出現於西班牙的卡斯蒂略金字塔（El Castillo)

The term penniform means "feather-shaped" in Latin,

Penniform 在拉丁文裡是『羽狀』的意思

but could this actually be a depiction of a plant or a tree?

但有沒有可能這其實是 一種植物或樹木的示意圖？

Some researchers have begun to ask these questions

有些學者已經開始

about certain signs at specific sites,

針對這些特定地點找到的符號提出疑問了

but I believe the time has come to revisit this category as a whole.

但我相信是時候讓我們 整體性的重溫這主題了

The irony in all of this, of course,

諷刺的是

is that having just carefully classified all of the signs into a single category,

當我精心的把這些符號歸納成一個類別

I have a feeling that my next step will involve breaking it back apart

我有預感下一步就是拆散它們

as different types of imagery are identified and separated off.

來應付不同的符號的辨識和區分

Now don't get me wrong,

請不要誤會

the later creation of fully developed writing

一個完整的書寫系統 在後期所發明的文字

was an impressive feat in its own right.

本身確實是個令人敬佩的貢獻。

But it's important to remember

但切記

that those early writing systems didn't come out of a vacuum.

早期的書寫系統 並不是無中生有的

And that even 5,000 years ago,

即便是五千年前

people were already building on something much older,

人們已經在更古老的東西上 創造新的事物

with its origins stretching back tens of thousands of years --

其根源可以追朔到 千萬年前--

to the geometric signs of Ice Age Europe and far beyond,

到冰河時期歐洲的幾何圖形 甚至更久遠以前

to that point, deep in our collective history,

直到最初始的那個當下

when someone first came up with the idea of making a graphic mark,

有個人心血來潮畫出一個圖形符號

and forever changed the nature of how we communicate.

而永遠改變了我們溝通的性質

Thank you.

謝謝

(Applause)

（掌聲）