Perhaps the most obvious way artistic creation reflects how people live is by mirroring the environment — the materials and technologies available to a culture.
定语从句省略that are
也许，艺术创造反应人们如何生活的最明显的方式是：通过反应环境。
环境指的是：一个文化所能获得和运用的材料和技术。
The use of certain metals , for example, may be reserved for ceremonial objects of special importance.
比如，某些金属只留着用来制作具有特殊重要性的仪式物品。而不被用于制作其他物品。
The belief in the supernatural powers of a stone or tree may cause a sculptor to be sensitive to that material.
对一个石头或一棵树的超自然力量的信仰可能会导致一个雕刻家对这个材料特别敏感。
What is particularly meaningful to anthropologists is the realization that although the materials （available to a society） may （to some extent） limit or influence what it can do artistically, the materials （by no means） determine what is done.
对人类学家而言，特别有意义的是这种意识：
尽管一个社会所能获得的材料可能在某些程度上会限制或影响它的艺术创造，
但材料绝不会决定什么东西被创造。
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