Characterizing the pigments and paints of prehistoric artists

Abstract

This paper offers a broad and critical overview of current discussions on the potential uses and the characterization of pigments in prehistory, with a special focus on prehistoric rock art. Today, analytical approaches to pigments and paints allow us to go beyond the identification of the elemental and molecular composition of these archaeological remains, to explore also raw material procurement, transformation and use strategies of interest to investigate the technological and socio-cultural practices of prehistoric artists and their change over space and time. The paper also summarizes the palette of prehistoric artists, as well as the techniques and analytical strategies used to date to characterize prehistoric pigments and paints (colours, raw materials, binders and recipes) used in prehistoric rock art.

Pigments — Mercury-based red (cinnabar-vermilion) and white (calomel) and their degradation products

“…The second group of contributions is focused on pigments, starting from a philological essay on terminology (Becker 2021). Three archaeological reviews on prehistoric (Domingo Sanz and Chieli 2021), Roman (Salvadori and Sbrolli 2021) and medieval (Murat 2021) wall paintings clarify the archaeological and historical/cultural framework. A series of archaeometric reviews illustrate the state of the art of the studies carried out on Fe-based red, yellow and brown ochres (Mastrotheodoros et al 2021); Cubased greens and blues (Švarcová et al 2021); As-based yellows and reds (Gliozzo and Burgio 2021); Pb-based whites, reds, yellows and oranges (Gliozzo and Ionescu 2021); Hg-based red and white (this paper) and organic pigments (Aceto 2021).…”

Wall paintings through the ages: the roman period—Republic and early Empire

“…Even outside the Vesuvian area, the archaeometric investigations on ancient wall paintings are often oriented to the study of single sites (e.g., Hernanz et al 2008;Gutman et al 2016;Guirdzhiiska et al 2017), and the reference to defined styles is not always evident.…”

Assessment of Easily Accessible Spectroscopic Techniques Coupled with Multivariate Analysis for the Qualitative Characterization and Differentiation of Earth Pigments of Various Provenance

“…Natural earths (iron and manganese oxides and hydroxides) are an important class of mineral pigments extensively used since prehistoric times due to their abundance, high coloring capacity and stability [1][2][3]. Earth pigments are often identified as colorful remains in archeological contexts-being used by ancient civilizations for decorative, medicinal, religious or symbolic purposes [2,4].…”