Les colorants de l’art paléolithique dans les grottes et en plein air

Behrmann, Rodrigo de Balbín; González, José Javier Alcolea

doi:10.1016/j.anthro.2009.09.012

Cited by 26 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Different mixtures were tested, using water or milk as solvents and honey, egg white, or animal fat as binders. Data from ethnographic studies [ 30 – 31 ], recent research focused on assessing variability in chaînes opératoires of pigment production [ 32 – 34 ], physicochemical characterization of recipes and “paint pots” of the prehistoric colour palette [ 35 – 37 ], as well as other experimental approaches to pigments in Palaeolithic art [ 38 ], all provide justification for the selection of these substances as solvents or binders. The last step of experimentation involved the use of produced charcoal crayons ( chaîne opératoire 1) and the different pigment mixtures obtained ( chaînes opératoires 2.1 and 2.2) on a limestone plaque from the Valltorta-Gassulla area.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of plant cells in black pigments of prehistoric Spanish Levantine rock art by means of a multi-analytical approach. A new method for social identity materialization using chaîne opératoire

et al. 2017

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We present a new multi-analytical approach to the characterization of black pigments in Spanish Levantine rock art. This new protocol seeks to identify the raw materials that were used, as well as reconstruct the different technical gestures and decision-making processes involved in the obtaining of these black pigments. For the first of these goals, the pictorial matter of the black figurative motifs documented at the Les Dogues rock art shelter (Ares del Maestre, Castellón, Spain) was characterized through the combination of physicochemical and archeobotanical analyses. During the first stage of our research protocol, in situ and non-destructive analyses were carried out by means of portable Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF); during the second stage, samples were analyzed by Optical Microscopy (OM), Raman spectroscopy, and Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). Two major conclusions have been drawn from these analyses: first, charred plant matter has been identified as a main component of these prehistoric black pigments; and second, angiosperm and conifer charcoal was a primary raw material for pigment production, identified by means of the archaeobotanical study of plant cells. For the second goal, black charcoal pigments were replicated in the laboratory by using different raw materials and binders and by reproducing two main chaînes opératoires. The comparative study of the structure and preservation of plant tissues of both prehistoric and experimental pigments by means of SEM-EDX underlines both a complex preparation process and the use of likely pigment recipes, mixing raw material with fatty or oily binders. Finally, the formal and stylistic analysis of the motifs portrayed at Les Dogues allowed us to explore the relationship between identified stylistic phases and black charcoal pigment use, raising new archaeological questions concerning the acquisition of know-how and the transfer of traditionally learned chaînes opératoires in Spanish Levantine rock art.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of plant cells in black pigments of prehistoric Spanish Levantine rock art by means of a multi-analytical approach. A new method for social identity materialization using chaîne opératoire

et al. 2017

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“…The shells at Fuente del Salín that show use wear for the processing of ochre must be considered when assessing the validity of the interpretation that the utilized pigments showing traces of calcium carbonates were used intentionally as an additive for a specific recipe (Balbín-Behrman and Alcolea-González 2009). In reality, these traces may merely represent the residue of the shells having been used as an instrument for obtaining the ochre powder.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shell Technology, Rock Art, and the Role of Marine Resources during the Upper Paleolithic

Solana¹,

Gutiérrez-Zugasti²,

González-Morales³

et al. 2013

Current Anthropology

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“…While the most archaeologicallyvisible use of both red and black colouring materials during the Palaeolithic remains parietal art (see e.g. Clottes et al, 1990;Baffier et al, 1999;Chalmin et al, 2003;de Balbín Behrmann and González, 2009;Menu, 2009;Beck et al, 2014), several other uses of these two pigments have equally been documented. Hematite-bearing materials, commonly referred to as 'ochre', are the most common pigments described from archaeological and ethnographic contexts.…”

Section: Mineral Pigments In Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manganese and iron oxide use at Combe-Grenal (Dordogne, France): A proxy for cultural change in Neanderthal communities

Dayet

Faivre

Bourdonnec

et al. 2019

Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports

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Neanderthal material culture patterning in Western Europe has been primarily approached from retouched stone tools and associated flake production methods. While considerable effort has been devoted over the past decade to better characterize Middle Palaeolithic lithic techno-complexes (LTCs) in this region, the extent to which they reflect cultural groups still remains unclear. In this respect, integrating other forms of archaeological evidence could provide valuable insights on the cultural significance of late Middle Palaeolithic industrial variability. The site of Combe-Grenal (Dordogne, France) has yielded consistent evidence of mineral pigment use throughout the upper part of the sequence. Here we explore whether mineral pigments might be embedded with an indexical meaning and if changes in pigment exploitation potentially reflect cultural changes. We combined a microscopic use-wear approach with SEM-EDS, pXRF, and XRD analyses of 73 pigment fragments from layers 26 to 11 in order to reconstruct the different stages of their acquisition and use (provenance, selection, processing, function). Our results show manganese oxides to have been used in the lower layers of the Quina LTC, while red and/or yellow iron oxide pieces were employed during the Discoid and Discoid/ Levallois LTCs. This decrease in manganese oxide use correlates with a change in lithic technology and may represent some form of cultural change.

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Les colorants de l’art paléolithique dans les grottes et en plein air

Cited by 26 publications

References 11 publications

Identification of plant cells in black pigments of prehistoric Spanish Levantine rock art by means of a multi-analytical approach. A new method for social identity materialization using chaîne opératoire

Identification of plant cells in black pigments of prehistoric Spanish Levantine rock art by means of a multi-analytical approach. A new method for social identity materialization using chaîne opératoire

Shell Technology, Rock Art, and the Role of Marine Resources during the Upper Paleolithic

Manganese and iron oxide use at Combe-Grenal (Dordogne, France): A proxy for cultural change in Neanderthal communities

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