Elemental and mineralogical study of earth-based pigments using particle induced X-ray emission and X-ray diffraction

Nel, Petronella; Lynch, Peter A.; Laird, J.S.; Casey, H.; Goodall, Liz; Ryan, C.G.; Sloggett, Robyn

doi:10.1016/j.nima.2009.12.003

Cited by 24 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Although conventional ICPMS is destructive by nature, laser ablation (LA) ICPMS involves the removal of a small quantity of solid surface material (micron size) and is regarded as semi-quantitative as the sample properties can influence the amount of material ablated [13]. Particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) and proton induced gamma emission (PIGE) spectroscopies are non-destructive techniques than can provide quantitative information about heavier elements [11,14]. However, PIXE/PIGE require access to an accelerator, which limits access compared to XRF for rock art pigment characterisation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pigment characterisation in Australian rock art: a review of modern instrumental methods of analysis

Stuart

Thomas

2017

Herit Sci

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The many thousands of Aboriginal rock art sites extending across Australia represent an important cultural record. The styles and materials used to produce such art are of great interest to archaeologists and those concerned with the protection of these significant works. Through an analysis of the mineral pigments utilised in Australian rock art, insight into the age of paintings and practices employed by artists can be gained. In recent years, there has been an expansion in the use of modern analytical techniques to investigate rock art pigments and this paper provides a review of the application of such techniques to Australian sites. The types of archaeological information that may be extracted via chemical analysis of specimens collected from or at rock art sites across the country are discussed. A review of the applicability of the techniques used for elemental analysis and structural characterisation of rock art pigments is provided and how future technological developments will influence the discipline is investigated.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pigment characterisation in Australian rock art: a review of modern instrumental methods of analysis

Stuart

Thomas

2017

Herit Sci

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“…PIXE has proven to be a very valuable tool for determining the provenance of various archaeological materials in many regions throughout the world, including North American native copper [13], ancient Indian coins [14], Middle Age jewels [15], lithics [16], ceramics [17], emeralds set on Visigothic royal crowns [18][19], rubies inlaid in a Mesopotamian statuette [19][20], obsidian [21], pigments [22][23][24], and glass [9]. Nevertheless, PIXE is rarely used to source chert artifacts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ion Beam Analysis of Microcrystalline Quartz Artifacts from the Reed Mound Site, Delaware County, Oklahoma

et al. 2015

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Ion beam analysis (IBA) has been a powerful, non-destructive tool for archaeological research worldwide for over four decades, yet its full potential is seldom realized in North American archaeology. Herein the potential of particle induced X-ray emission spectrometry (PIXE) as a tool for future Ozarks chert provenance studies is evaluated based on its ability to facilitate (1) discrimination of Ozarks chert materials from different geological formations and (2) identification of discrete groups of artifacts from the same geological formation. In addition, PIXE was also used to evaluate the elemental heterogeneity of Ozarks chert materials. Thirty chert (microcrystalline quartz) artifacts were visually sorted and classified according to macroscopic features characteristic of certain chert resources from particular Ozarks geological formations. The elemental concentrations obtained from PIXE analysis underwent multivariate statistical analyses in order to gain insight from the data. The results indicate that PIXE could be a useful tool for assigning Ozarks chert materials to their respective geological formations, and possibly for determining regional or sub-regional provenance.

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“…Techniques such as transmission electron microscopy with electron diffraction (Pomiès et al, 1999;Chalmin et al, 2004), scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersion spectroscopy (Darchuk et al, 2010), Xray diffraction (Nel et al, 2010), Raman and infrared spectroscopies (Darchuk et al, 2010;Bikiaris et al, 2000;Ramos et al, 2008;Smith et al, 1999) have been used to determine specific iron mineral phases. These methods can also provide information on other minerals associated with these iron oxides, as well as related to the mineralogical composition of the geological source (Nel et al, 2010), or artificially added as extender by human during pigment preparation to enhance specific properties (Clottes et al, 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These methods can also provide information on other minerals associated with these iron oxides, as well as related to the mineralogical composition of the geological source (Nel et al, 2010), or artificially added as extender by human during pigment preparation to enhance specific properties (Clottes et al, 1990). Various elemental analysis methods were also used to characterise rich iron oxide pigments and artefacts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For ICP-MS analysis, laser ablation was used to perform micro-sampling on small area (~50 µm) (Green and Watling, 2007). But in most cases, these studies were focused on geological provenances and no specific precautions were thus taken into account for sampling geological materials that were crushed and ground to fine powder prior to analyses (Nel et al, 2010;Popelka-Filcoff et al, 2007;Erlandson et al, 1999). Such methods can not be applied to valuable archaeological artefacts which need the use of non-destructive analytical techniques.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prehistoric pigment characterisation of the Abri Pataud rock-shelter (Dordogne, France)

Lebon

Beck

Grégoire

et al. 2014

Open J Archaeometry

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Iron oxide pigments found in archaeological context constitute an important source of information for the understanding of cultural and subsistence activities of ancient human cultures. In order to complete archaeological contextual information, many analytical methods have been applied to characterise pigments and to provide further information on this material (e.g. supplies, selections, mechanical or physical transformations of raw material, use and application processes). Several studies have demonstrated that the elemental composition of iron oxide pigments can be used to discriminate between several geological provenances. In this study, non-destructive micro-particle induced Xray emission analysis was applied in order to distinguish different kinds of reddish pigments from the prehistoric site of Abri Pataud, more especially from the Layer 2 attributed to Final Gravettian period (22,000 BP). By using an external beam, this technique required no sampling, and enabled us to perform localised analyses directly on raw material, on ochre residues applied on artefacts or on fragments of the wall of this rock-shelter. The results obtained by this technique demonstrate that the pigments covering the decorated fragments of the rock-shelter wall, found during the excavation of the Layer 2, have elemental compositions similar to the composition of a raw pigment found in the same layer. These results suggest that the shelter was decorated during the Final Gravettian period and thus provide new insights for the understanding of the archaeological context of this occupation layer.

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Elemental and mineralogical study of earth-based pigments using particle induced X-ray emission and X-ray diffraction

Cited by 24 publications

References 12 publications

Pigment characterisation in Australian rock art: a review of modern instrumental methods of analysis

Pigment characterisation in Australian rock art: a review of modern instrumental methods of analysis

Ion Beam Analysis of Microcrystalline Quartz Artifacts from the Reed Mound Site, Delaware County, Oklahoma

Prehistoric pigment characterisation of the Abri Pataud rock-shelter (Dordogne, France)

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