How Art Made The World 人、艺术、世界 - 序

Images dominate our lives. They tell us how to behave, what to think and even how to feel. They mold and define us. But why do these images, the pictures, symbols and the art we see around us every day have such a powerful hold on us? The answer lies not here in our time, but thousands of years ago.

Because when our ancient ancestors first created the images that made sense of their world, they produced a visual legacy¹ which has helped to shape our own.

In this series, we'll be traveling around the globe, discovering the world's most stunning² treasures. We'll see how the struggles of early artists led to the triumphs of the world's great civilizations. Our journey will take us through a hundred thousand years of history.

We will be witnessing some of the extraordinary ceremonies of the world's oldest artistic³ cultures. And we'll reveal how they unlock the deep secrets of ancient art. We will be hearing from the people who made these discoveries. "I have very vivid memories of looking up and seeing this huge barramundi fish on the ceiling, it was, uh, unforgettable."

And we will be using science to uncover how thousands of years ago the human mind drove us to create astonishing images.

You'll never look at our world the same way again, for this is the epic⁴ story of how we humans made art and how art made us human.


stunning
(adj.) Surprising 令人吃惊的
barramundi
(n.) Any of several Australian food fishes, such as the lungfish.
澳洲肺鱼一种澳大利亚食用鱼，如肺鱼
epic
(adj.) Surpassing the usual or ordinary, particularly in scope or size
宏大的超凡脱俗，不同一般的，尤其在范围或规模方面

1 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

2 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

3 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

4 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。