It was quite dark in the caves where the cave men drew these pictures，for of course there were no windows，and the only light was a smoky flame from a kind of lamp.Why，then，did they make pictures at all？Such pictures couldn’t have been just for wall decorations，like those you have on your walls，because it was so dark in the cave.We think the pictures were made just for good luck，as some people put a horseshoe over the door for good luck.Or perhaps they were to tell a story or make a record of some animal the cave man had killed.But perhaps the cave man just had to draw something，as boys and girls nowadays draw pictures on the walls of a shed or even sometimes on the walls of their own houses or，worse yet，on their desk tops.
The pictures made by these wild men—bearded and hairy cave men —are the oldest pictures in the world，and the artists who made them have been dead thousands of years.Can you think of anything you might ever make that would last as long as that？
【中文阅读】
我正在听老师讲课，可手里在玩铅笔。我课桌的桌面上有两个相距约一英寸的小点。我心不在焉地转动手中的铅笔，用笔尖在一个点上戳了一下，又在另一个点上戳了一下。两个小点变成了一双小眼睛。我在每只眼睛旁边画了个圈，又画了个半圈，把两个圆圈连起来，这就画出了一副眼镜。
第二天，我画了鼻子和嘴巴，配合那双眼睛和眼镜。第三天，我画完了脸，还补充了耳朵和头发。第四天，我又加了一顶帽子。第五天，我添上了身体部分：胳膊、腿和脚。
第六天，我还是拿铅笔用力地画着。我一遍又一遍地描着线直到把它们深深地印在我的课桌上。
第七天，我被老师逮个正着，但我也画完了。第八天，我爸收到了一张新课桌的账单，而我却得到了——算了，甭提我得到了什么吧。
“他可能会成为画家。”母亲说。“但愿不会！”父亲答道，“那要花掉我比一张新课桌多得多的钱。”好在上帝拦阻了。
据我所知，某所学校在大厅里放置了一块大木牌，专供学生涂鸦。木牌上方刻着这样一句话：
如果你想画画，就在这块牌子上画吧，只是不要在课桌上画。
如果把铅笔放在某人手中，他就一定会画点什么。他不管是在听课还是在接电话，只要手头有本便签簿，他就会在上面画些圈圈啦，脸蛋啊，或者是三角形和正方形什么的。要不他就会在课桌或墙壁上涂画，因为他总得要画点什么。你看见过没有被乱涂乱画的电话簿吗？这就是人的本性。这表明你是一个真正的人。
如今，动物可以学做许多人类能做的事情，但有一件事动物学不会，那就是画画。狗能用两条腿学走路，甚至帮人取报纸；熊能学会跳舞；马能学会数数；猴子可以学用杯子喝水；鹦鹉可以学舌；但是只有人类才能学会画画。
每一个男孩或女孩都在童年时代的某个时候画过些什么。难道不是吗？你或许画过马或房子，船或汽车，狗或猫。这狗被你画得就像猫，或像一条毛毛虫，但即便如此，你还是比任何动物都强。
甚至生活在很久以前的原始人也能画画。那时还没有房屋，他们全身长着长长的毛发，只住在洞穴里过着几乎和野兽一样的生活。那时候没有纸和笔。他们在穴壁上画画。这些图画没有装裱悬挂在墙上，而是直接画在洞壁和洞顶上。
这些图画有的只是涂鸦或刻在洞壁上，有的是后来才画上去的。当时人们所用的颜料是由一种掺杂着动物油脂的有色粘土混合制成的，通常只有红黄色，或者就用鲜血做颜料，开始是红色，后来几乎就变成了黑色。有些图画看起来就像是用一根烧焦的木棒头画的，就像我们用一根烧过的火柴头画一个黑色标志。还有些图画是刻在骨头上的，比如鹿角或象牙。
现在来猜想一下这些穴居人画的是什么？如果让你随意画幅画——也就是画什么都行。试试看吧。你画的可能是以下五种事物中的一种。我首先猜的是猫，第二次猜了帆船或汽车，第三次猜的是房子，第四次猜的是树或花，最后才猜了人。还会猜出其他什么呢？
其实，穴居人只画了一种东西。不是男人，不是女人，不是树、不是花，也不是风景。他们主要画的是动物。你认为他们画的是哪种动物呢？狗？不，不是狗。马？不，不是马。狮子？不，也不是狮子。他们通常画的是一些大型和奇特的动物。但这些动物都画得栩栩如生，这使我们知道这些动物的长相。下图是一个几千年前的穴居人画的画。
我们看得出这画的是某种动物，但不是猫，也不是毛毛虫。那是他们那个时代特有的某种动物。它看起来像一头象，而它的确就是象的一种——巨象。它的耳朵没有我们现在的象那么大，还长着长长的毛发。现在的象有兽皮或毛皮，但几乎没有毛发。我们把图上的动物称为猛犸（又名毛象）。毛象的毛发很长，因为那时候天气寒冷，而长毛可以保暖。但它比我们现在的象大很多很多。
如今猛犸早已绝种，但人类已经找到了它们的骨头，并把它们放在一起拼成了一个大型骨架。我们现在仍将庞然大物称作“猛犸”。你可能听说过肯塔基州的猛犸洞穴。它被称作猛犸洞并不是因为猛犸在这洞里住过，实际并没住过，而仅仅因为这是一个非常大的洞穴。
除了猛犸，穴居人还画过其他动物。其中有种野牛，就是水牛。水牛的图片可以在美国的5分硬币上看到。它看起来像一头公牛。在西班牙，有个小女孩曾和她的父亲一起走进一个洞穴，他们按着箭头，爸爸在地上寻找，小女孩却盯着洞顶打量。她看见洞顶上画了一群她以为是公牛的动物。她大喊一声，“看，公牛！”她爸爸还以为她看见了真的公牛，喊道：“在哪？在哪？”
他们画的其他动物和我们今天有的这些动物差不多——驯鹿、长角鹿，还有熊和狼。
穴居人画画的穴洞十分昏暗，因为那儿根本就没开窗。唯一的光亮就是某种壁灯发出的昏暗的光。那他们干吗要画画呢？这些图画不可能仅仅只是为了装饰洞壁，就像我们在墙上挂画一样，因为洞穴里实在是太暗了。我们认为穴居人画画是为了祈求好运，就像人们把马蹄铁放在门头上企盼吉祥是一样的。或者他们是要讲述一个故事或就是记下捕杀的某种动物。或许他们不得不画画，就像现在的孩子们在小木屋，甚至有时候在自家的墙上画画一样，或干脆就在课桌上画。
这些原始人——多须长毛的穴居人——画的是世界上最古老的画。但这些艺术家早在几千年前就去世了。你认为你所制作的任何东西能像那些画一样持久吗？
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE
这画有毛病吗
THE cave men made pictures on the walls and ceilings of their caves.The old Egyptians didn’t live in caves.They lived in houses，where they didn’t draw pictures on the walls or ceilings.Their houses were usually mud huts，not much better than the caves that the cave men lived in，but the Egyptians were not interested in the houses they lived in.They were interested only in the houses they were dead in （tombs，we call them）or in the houses they made for their gods （temples，we call them）.
Most dead people are buried in the ground nowadays，but the Egyptians thought the ground was no place for the dead.Besides，much of the ground of Egypt was under water for almost half of each year，for the River Nile flooded the country regularly every summer，and that would have been bad for graves.
The Egyptians believed their bodies would come to life again after thousands of years，and so kings and rich people，who could afford it，built tombs to be buried in.And they built them to last—never out of wood or anything like that，but of solid stone or brick.They wanted to put their bodies in a safe place，something like a safe-deposit vault.When they died，their bodies were preserved in a way we call embalming，so as not to decay.
These embalmed bodies were called mummies and the mummies were put in coffins that were shaped something like the bodies.On the coffins，or mummy cases，and on the plaster walls of their tombs and temples，the Egyptians drew and painted pictures—thousands of them，to cover every bit of space.And these pictures were made while the people were still alive.
These pictures that the Egyptians made on the mummy cases and on the walls of tombs and temples were not pictures of wild animals such as the cave men made.Some were of animals，though not the kind of animals the cave men drew.Most of the pictures were of people—men and women，kings and queens，gods and goddesses.
There is a way of finding out how old boys and girls are，without asking their age.We show them drawings of three faces from each of which something has been left out.The first face has no eyes，the second face has no mouth，the third face has no nose.Then we ask who can tell what is left out.Now，you might think any one could tell what was wrong with these pictures，but until boys and girls are about six years old，they can’t seethat anything at all is left out，so if they can’t see what is wrong，we know they are not six years old.
No.2-1EGYPTIANS BRINGING PRESENTS TO THE KING（埃及人向国王献礼）Courtesy of The University Prints
