Efficient quantification procedures for data evaluation of portable X-ray fluorescence – Potential improvements for Palaeolithic cave art knowledge

Müller, Klaus; Plassard, Frédéric; Cleyet-Merle, Jean-Jacques; Arias, Pablo; Peredo, Roberto Ontañón; Reiche, Ina

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.06.008

Cited by 12 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The methodological problems involved in analysing iron‐oxide pigment‐based, red‐brown rock art have been discussed by Gay et al . (). Quantitative evaluation of several datasets showed different problems associated with the variation of atmospheric conditions when measurements are made and the kind of bedrock that had been used as ‘canvas’ (Gay et al .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Quantitative evaluation of several datasets showed different problems associated with the variation of atmospheric conditions when measurements are made and the kind of bedrock that had been used as ‘canvas’ (Gay et al . ). At Tumlehed, the bedrock is composed of red gneiss.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…; Gay et al . , ). In the present investigation, PXRF measurement was used to determine the elemental composition of pigments of the different panel motifs.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elk Heads at Sea: Maritime Hunters and Long‐Distance Boat Journeys in Late Stone Age Fennoscandia

Paulsson

Isendahl

Markurth

2019

Oxford J Archaeology

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Summary Tumlehed is the most well‐preserved and complex prehistoric rock painting in the coastal region of south‐west Sweden. Originally reported and described in 1974, we re‐documented the panel using digital and IR photography, DStretch image enhancement software, and non‐destructive PXRF spectroscopy. This re‐documentation revealed a more complex image inventory with several previously unknown motifs and image details. The new data provide a better basis for identifying motif categories, the organization of the panel, the chronological sequence, and different frequentation periods. We report on the only known boats with an elk‐head stem in southern and western Scandinavian rock art, the emergence of rock art boat depictions in the region, and evidence for long‐distance maritime journeys and sea‐mammal hunting in the later Stone Age. Comparisons to similar images with shoreline data in Fennoscandia narrow the time range for the date of the painting to 4200–2500 BC.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Elk Heads at Sea: Maritime Hunters and Long‐Distance Boat Journeys in Late Stone Age Fennoscandia

Paulsson

Isendahl

Markurth

2019

Oxford J Archaeology

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“…Analyses were conducted at 20 kV-200 mA for a 300-s live time. As mentioned by Roldán et al (2010), López-Montalvo et al (2014, and Gay et al (2016), primary X-rays of pXRF spectrometers penetrate and excite the pictorial layers and the substrate on which they lie. Exciting the elements does not directly result in their detection.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As for rock paintings themselves, thanks to the elemental information gathered, it gives information on chronology (Huntley et al 2018;Wesley et al 2014) or provenance of raw materials used to perform some paintings (Bedford et al 2014;Huntley et al 2013;Wallis et al 2017). Although in situ pXRF analyses remained scarce in Africa (Steyn 2014), they have been carried out intensively in America (Appoloni et al 2009;Bedford et al 2014Bedford et al , 2018Koenig et al 2014;Loendorf and Loendorf 2013;Newman and Loendorf 2005;Sepúlveda et al 2015: Velliky andReimer/Yumks 2013), Australia (Huntley 2012(Huntley , 2015Huntley et al 2013Huntley et al , 2018Huntley and Galamban 2016;Wallis et al 2017;Wesley et al 2014), and Europe (Beck et al 2012(Beck et al , 2014Gay et al 2015Gay et al , 2016López-Montalvo et al 2014;Nuevo et al 2012;Olivares et al 2013;Roldán et al 2010;Sanoit et al 2005;Silva et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First in situ pXRF analyses of rock paintings in Erongo, Namibia: results, current limits, and prospects

Mauran

Lebon

Détroit

et al. 2019

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Namibia is one of the southern African countries hosting the richest rock art heritage, with thousands of rock paintings. Although numerous studies investigated their distribution, style, and possible meaning, few are known about the materials used to perform these paintings. Our in situ study aimed at identifying the diversity of pigments and alterations of some rock paintings in the northwestern part of the Erongo (Namibia). It relies on extensive pXRF analyses of 35 figures from eight rock art sites of the area. Despite common limits of in situ pXRF analyses, the extensive number of figures analyzed and the original data treatment that we performed pioneered the first scientific analyses of the pigments from rock painting sites in the Erongo Mountains. Furthermore, the study also confirmed the presence of iron oxide pigments on a portion of wall exposed during the excavations carried out at the archeological site of Leopard Cave and of possibly datable alterations over several paintings, paving the way to future chronological analyses of past tradition of rock paintings in Central Namibia.

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Characterizing the pigments and paints of prehistoric artists

Sanz

Chieli

2021

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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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.

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Efficient quantification procedures for data evaluation of portable X-ray fluorescence – Potential improvements for Palaeolithic cave art knowledge

Cited by 12 publications

References 27 publications

Elk Heads at Sea: Maritime Hunters and Long‐Distance Boat Journeys in Late Stone Age Fennoscandia

Elk Heads at Sea: Maritime Hunters and Long‐Distance Boat Journeys in Late Stone Age Fennoscandia

First in situ pXRF analyses of rock paintings in Erongo, Namibia: results, current limits, and prospects

Characterizing the pigments and paints of prehistoric artists

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