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Abstract
Could not be possible that rock paintings with similar hues and morphologies were the result of different paint preparations inside a cave but distanced in time? Is there any archaeometric approach that allow us to evidence these subtle differences? Aiming to address these inquires, in this work are presented the potentials of new physicochemical lines of evidence for characterization and differentiation of paint mixtures. This will improve the understanding of the technical heterogeneity and temporal complexity of painting sets executed in a particular archaeological site. In order to explore these points, the results obtained in the micro-stratigraphic studies of samples taken from the painted walls of Oyola, an archaeological site located in the northwest of Argentina, are presented. These samples have been analyzed by micro-Raman spectroscopy (mRS) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM–EDS). The differences found by cross-section chemical studies could be explained as a consequence of two situations: 1-differences in the painting’s chemical components, either in the pigments involved or additives used; and, 2-differences in the physical properties of the mixtures such as stratum thickness and/or particle size. Also, in this article are explained each of the hypothesis, presenting the limits of these interpretations and pointing out future research challenges. As we discussed, it could be possible that the chemical and physical differences found between paint mixtures were the material expression of varied types of pictorial techniques.
Highlights
In last decades, archaeometric studies have been a powerful tool to understand the materials employed in paintings [1,2,3,4,5,6] as well as the natural and/or anthropic phenomena that affect them throughout time [7,8,9,10,11,12]
These samples have been analyzed by micro-Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM–EDS)
Archaeometric studies stood out as a valuable tool to discriminate between different paint mixtures that could be linked with various painting events at the same cave, perhaps chronologically distanced
Summary
Archaeometric studies have been a powerful tool to understand the materials employed in paintings [1,2,3,4,5,6] as well as the natural and/or anthropic phenomena that affect them throughout time [7,8,9,10,11,12]. As a matter of fact, a painting is the result of the application of different paint mixtures with determined proportions of diverse materials onto the rock surface using specific tool/s and technique/s These mixtures have been usually described in the literature as the combination of a pigment (grounded solid colored materials or organic colorants), a binder (commonly an organic material) and. The paintings are the sum of materials, and the product of various preparation stages, practices and physical transformations employed to obtain desired final painting properties such as color hue, brightness, durability, texture, etc Such activities could be grinding, sifting, mixing, heating treatments, among others [36,37,38,39,40]. This concept is not equivalent to the recipe’s notion, because involves the result of a particular paint preparation different from others following the same general rule
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