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印度尼西亚苏拉威西岛南部的马罗斯-庞凯普一带，石灰岩洞穴里保存着世界上最古老的洞穴壁画：一幅描绘类人形象与野猪的画作至少有 51,200 年历史，附近穆纳岛上的一枚红色手印则至少有 67,800 年。今年强厄尔尼诺带来高温少雨，印尼遭遇 2015 年以来最严重的森林和土地火灾，火势也蔓延到这片国家公园，曾逼近洞穴约 800 米。澳大利亚格里菲斯大学的考古学家解释，火焰即使不碰到岩壁，高温也会改变洞内温度、使石灰岩出现细小裂缝，导致颜料剥落；烟雾带来的烟灰则会覆盖画面。目前尚无壁画受损的报告，但专家仍需实地研究，而当地截至报道时还没有下雨。文章按“事件—背景—原因—现状”展开，阅读时可留意 so、but、because 如何连接因果与转折，以及 could、may 如何表达尚未发生的风险。

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For tens of thousands of years, paintings on the walls of limestone caves on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi have survived. Now researchers fear they could be damaged in only a few weeks. Indonesia is facing its worst forest and land fires in more than a decade, and the fires have reached the hills around some of the oldest art made by humans.

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数万年来，印度尼西亚苏拉威西岛上石灰岩洞穴壁上的画作一直保存了下来。如今，研究人员担心它们可能在短短几周内遭到损坏。印尼正面临十多年来最严重的森林和土地火灾，火势已蔓延到环绕着一些人类最古老艺术作品的山丘。

The caves are in Maros-Pangkep, in the province of South Sulawesi. In one of them, a painting shows human-like figures with a pig. Researchers from Griffith University in Australia have dated it to at least 51,200 years ago. On Muna, a smaller island nearby, a red hand stencil is at least 67,800 years old. These works are older than the famous cave paintings of Lascaux in France.

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这些洞穴位于南苏拉威西省的马罗斯-庞凯普。其中一个洞穴里的一幅画描绘了类人形象和一头猪。澳大利亚格里菲斯大学的研究人员测定，它至少有 51,200 年历史。在附近较小的穆纳岛上，一枚红色手印至少有 67,800 年历史。这些作品比法国著名的拉斯科洞穴壁画还要古老。

The fires are linked to the weather. A strong El Niño this year has brought higher temperatures and less rain, so forests and peatland across Indonesia have become dry and easy to burn. Sumatra and Borneo are the worst affected, but fires have also spread in Sulawesi. Firefighter Muhammad Ikfar said fires burned near one cave for more than a week earlier this month and came within 800 metres of it. More than 270 hectares of the national park around the caves burned between September 30 and October 18.

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这些火灾与天气有关。今年强烈的厄尔尼诺带来了更高的气温和更少的降雨，因此印尼各地的森林和泥炭地变得干燥、容易燃烧。苏门答腊岛和婆罗洲受灾最严重，但火势也蔓延到了苏拉威西岛。消防员穆罕默德·伊克法尔说，本月早些时候，大火在一个洞穴附近燃烧了一周多，距离洞穴最近只有 800 米。9 月 30 日至 10 月 18 日期间，洞穴周围的国家公园有超过 270 公顷土地被烧毁。

Why is a fire dangerous even if it never touches the walls? Basran Burhan, an archaeologist at Griffith University, said heat is the first and most serious problem. It changes the temperature around the paintings and can speed up the damage to the rock. He told Indonesia’s ANTARA news agency that strong heat may cause tiny cracks in the limestone, so the colour can peel off. Smoke brings a second problem: soot. It can cover the images like a black blanket and make them hard to see.

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为什么火焰即使从未碰到岩壁也很危险？格里菲斯大学考古学家巴斯兰·布尔汉说，高温是首要也是最严重的问题。它会改变壁画周围的温度，并可能加快岩石的损坏。他告诉印尼安塔拉通讯社，强烈的高温可能使石灰岩出现细小裂缝，导致颜料剥落。烟雾带来第二个问题：烟灰。烟灰会像一条黑毯子一样覆盖画面，使人难以看清。

The paintings are already treated with great care. Local officials allow only five visitors into a cave at a time, because even the heat from human bodies can change the air inside. “If human body heat affects these paintings, a wildfire is infinitely worse,” Burhan said.

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这些壁画本来就受到精心保护。当地官员规定每个洞穴一次只允许五名参观者进入，因为即使是人体散发的热量也会改变洞内的空气。“如果人的体温都会影响这些壁画，那么一场山火的危害要严重得多。”布尔汉说。

There have been no reports so far that painted cave walls were damaged, and experts say they still need to study the sites closely. But on October 22 and 23, firefighters were still working in other parts of the park, and there was no rain yet. Burhan warned that without quick action, the region could lose some of the most amazing evidence of human history.

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目前还没有关于带画洞壁受损的报告，专家表示他们仍需对这些遗址进行仔细研究。但在 10 月 22 日和 23 日，消防员仍在公园其他区域灭火，而且当地仍未下雨。布尔汉警告说，如果不迅速采取行动，这个地区可能会失去一些最令人惊叹的人类历史证据。

新闻来源

• CNA (Reuters) · The world’s oldest cave paintings in Indonesia under threat of wildfires (23 Oct 2026)
• ANTARA News · Wildfires threaten world’s oldest cave art in South Sulawesi (16 Oct 2026)
• detikTravel · Kebakaran Hutan Karst Pangkep Ancam Situs Purba, Lukisan Gua Jadi Sorotan (24 Oct 2026)

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