纪录片《文明》 第4期 创世纪的第二个瞬间（4）（在线收听）

They are a design,

这是一种设计

and design announces the beginning of culture.

这一设计宣告了文明的开始

Another 40,000 years pass and in northern Spain

又过了四万年 在西班牙的北部

within a hill so uncannily conical it seems man-made

在一座好似人造般的锥形山体里

that mineral, that red ochre, has become paint.

这种矿石 红赭石 被用作了涂料

Deep inside a cave,

在洞穴深处

rudimentary marks have bloomed and multiplied, red circles.

原始符号如红色的圆圈 成倍地蔓延开来

There are no brushes, no sticks to lay on this paint,

没有画笔和树枝可以蘸上这涂料

they are all applied orally

都是用嘴弄上去的

colour swilled in the mouth with saliva

将涂料与唾液在口中混合

and blown directly onto the rock.

然后直接喷到岩石上

And then these,

还有这些

an eruption of design not blown onto the surface, but painted.

这成片的绘画不是喷上去的 而是手绘而成

Contours, outlines, flowing streams of dots.

线条 轮廓 成串的圆点

There's a meaning here, but we don't know what it is.

肯定代表着什么 但我们并不知道

The signs of a biological compulsion to pattern,

这些迹象表明了对绘画的本能冲动

it's what we humans do,

这正是我们的天性

what we want to do,

我们想这么做

what we can't stop ourselves doing.

我们无法控制自己