Ancient Rock Art's Colours Come from Microbess
微生物成活颜料
A particular type of ancient rock art in Western Australia maintains its vivid colors because it is alive,researchers have found.
研究人员发现，在澳大利亚西部，有一种特殊的古岩石刻依然色泽鲜艳，因为它们是"活的"。
Jack Pettigrew and his colleagues of the University of Queensland in Australia studied 80 of these Bradshaw rock artworks named for the 19th Century-naturalist who first identified in 16 locations within Western Australia's Kimberley region and found that a vast majority of them showed signs of life.
澳大利亚昆士兰大学的杰克·佩蒂格鲁和他的同事们共选取了80幅古代"布拉德肖岩画"作为研究对象，这些岩画据说是以首次鉴别它们的19世纪博物学家布拉德肖的名字命名，分别位于澳大利亚金伯利地区的16处地点，研究人员发现岩画有生命的迹象。
"The team dubbed the phenomenon "living pigments". "Living pigments" is a metaphorical device to refer to the fact that the pigments of the original paint have been replaced by pigmented micro-organisms.
研究组把这种现象称为"活颜料"活颜料"是个比喻的说法，其真相是绘制岩画最初使用的颜料已经被画作表面的微生物所取代。
Professor Pettigrew told BBC News, "These organisms are alive and could have replenished themselves over endless millennia to explain the freshness of the paintings" appearance."
杰克·佩蒂格鲁教授接受英国广播公司采访时说这些有机生物是活的，千万年以来它们不断地繁衍、扩大，这也就解释了为什么这些岩画会历久弥新"。