Archaeometry of rock art paintings: La Piedra De La Cuadricula (Soacha, Cundinamarca, Colombia). A contribution to the study of prehistoric art

Abstract

This article is a part of the results of the master thesis, which aim was to improve significantly the studies of the conditions of pictorial elements in a rock art mural, that is, to know the materials that were used and their interactions with the open air. This academic exercise introduces new aspects in the research process concerning the materials present in these rock art works and leads up to the works about technology of pigments in the studied area, extending the descriptive possibilities of the conservation conditions of rock art. The study of the materials opens a route towards the conservation work, and constitutes an essential way for the projected studies on dating. In this work, pigments were analyzed, some accretions, the rock substrate and the possible raw material of the rock art paintings. This analysis was done using Spectrometry Infrared. This investigation process is set in the context that the research group GIPRI has developed, as an extension of the methodological model of record and documentation of rock art in Colombia, especially in the cundiboyacense highplateau. The rock chosen was “La Piedra de La Cuadricula “, located in a set of 167 rocks in Tequendama’s area, Soacha’s Municipality, in Cundinamarca’s department. This sector is one of the most important archaeological sites of the country. In this site cultural stratigraphic sequences between 12 500 B.P. and 2500 B.P. have been found. On the other hand, there have been developed very important studies of the Pleistocenic and Holocenic environment.