Hand Traces: Technical Aspects of Positive and Negative Hand-Marking in Rock Art

Abstract

Affordances necessary for the making of hand traces in the form of stencils and prints-primarily the availability of pigment and a suitable surface-bear on our understanding of their emergence as early exograms. Matters relating to the question of how pigment was/is applied, the placement and embellishment of images, the procurement and preparation of ochre, and the selecting and priming of surfaces, are discussed here-as well as the intriguing occurrence of variant hands. Advantage is taken of Australia's position as a zone of ongoing hand-marking practice to suggest what can be learned from ethnography. Finally, avenues for future research are proposed with a view to opening out a discussion of external information storage possibilities in relation to hand traces.

Palaeoproteomic identification of the original binder and modern contaminants in distemper paints from Uvdal stave church, Norway

“…Unexpectedly, in both samples we detected a large number of human saliva proteins, especially in UV1. While saliva has reportedly been used as a paint binder in certain contexts 47 – 49 , it is very unlikely that it would be used in late mediaeval Norway, especially considering the amounts required for the large painted area of the church. However, even though the presence of saliva proteins might appear to be peculiar, using one’s own saliva has been one of the most common agents for cleaning a painting’s surface 50 .…”

Identification of organic material in Los Buitres 1 rock art shelter, Badajoz, Spain.

“…Organic binders are thought to be contemporaneous with ancient pigment production even though their trace elements are considered to be less significant than that of inorganic materials (Brook et al 2018). Known organic binding agents in rock art paintings include various animal fats, blood, bone marrow fat, egg yolk and/or albumen, human saliva, plant residues and urine (Watchman, 1993;Watchman and Cole, 1993;Dobrez 2014;Oliveira et al, 2017Oliveira et al, , 2019Brook et al 2018).…”

Hand stencils and communal history: A case study from Auwim, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea

“…Their representation in the global rock art assemblage provides a unique opportunity to explore or better understand the social and cultural context of image production, as they represent the physical reality of the individual artists and/or community that produced them. Hand stencils are created through a method of spraying paint made with ochre or other pigments onto a hand placed on a cave or rock shelter walls and/or ceilings leaving behind an outline of the original human hand (see Dobrez, 2013, 2014 for a discussion on different hand stencil production techniques). They are found primarily in parts of northern Africa (e.g., Le Quellec, 2016), Europe (e.g., Bahn, 1998; Clottes & Courtin, 1996, p. 66; Faurie & Raymond, 2004; Morley, 2007, p. 74, see fig.…”