Art Panels Research Articles

Micro-Raman spectroscopy and complementary techniques applied for the analysis of rock art paintings at the archaeological locality La Angostura, lower valley of Chubut River (Patagonia, Argentina)

In this paper, we characterized for the first time the painting materials in rock art panels of the Patagonian archaeological locality La Angostura using a methodological approach that combined micro-Raman spectroscopy, attenuated total reflection Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. In this way, we obtained detailed information on the red, green, and black pigments as well as on accessory minerals present in the paints. Hematite was the chromophore in the red paintings while celadonite and glauconite were identified in the green motifs. A manganese oxide, presumably pyrolusite, was characterized as the black pigment. The pigment compositions were also compared to those of natural sediments collected along the valley of the Chubut River, but the components of the red and green sediment samples differed from those present in the rock art paints. In the red motifs of two of the rock art panels, a relevant finding was the presence of gypsum and anhydrite as a priming layer of the corrugated rock support onto which the red paints were applied. This revealed a different painting technique in comparison to that at the other analyzed panels of La Angostura where paints were applied as thin layers on a smooth surface of the rock support. As far as we know, this is the first report on the identification of gypsum and anhydrite as components of a preparation layer in Patagonian rock art. This result contributes to the open discussion on the origin and function of calcium sulfate in rock art.

Improved Application of Hyperspectral Analysis to Rock Art Panels from El Castillo Cave (Spain)

Rock art is one of the most fragile and relevant cultural phenomena in world history, carried out in shelters or the walls and ceilings of caves with mineral and organic substances. The fact it has been preserved until now can be considered as fortunate since both anthropogenic and natural factors can cause its disappearance or deterioration. This is the reason why rock art needs special conservation and protection measures. The emergence of digital technologies has made a wide range of tools and programs available to the community for a more comprehensive documentation of rock art in both 2D and 3D. This paper shows a workflow that makes use of visible and near-infrared hyperspectral technology to manage, monitor and preserve this appreciated cultural heritage. Hyperspectral imaging is proven to be an efficient tool for the recognition of figures, coloring matter, and state of conservation of such valuable art.

Searching for the Right Color Palette: Source of Pigments of the Holocene Wadi Sura Paintings, Gilf Kebir, Western Desert (Egypt)

In this article, we discuss the geological, mineralogical, and geochemical characteristics of the proposed sources of pigments used in the Wadi Sura rock art, southwestern Egypt. Colors used in the paintings include white, yellow, and several reddish hues ranging from pale red to dark reddish brown, rare black, and greenish hues. The results of Raman spectroscopy and pXRF techniques on both raw coloring materials and archaeological pigments show that the ancient artists made extensive use of inorganic clay-based pigment (e.g., kaolinite) associated with anhydrite and gypsum. White raw coloring materials were recorded in the field as thin laminated beds and lenses within the Silurian sandstone bedrock and are also present in paleosol layers and reworked fragments mixed with ocher. Raw materials for red and yellow colors are represented by clay-based mixtures of aluminosilicate with iron oxide, hematite, goethite or magnetite, and gypsum. The amorphous carbon and romanechite, as well as goethite and magnetite, could have been the components of the dark brownish pigments widely used in the rock art of the study area. Surprisingly, lazurite was also recognized among the raw materials, although this blue pigment does not seem to have been used in the Wadi Sura rock art panels (however, bluish and greenish traces as violet reddish hues, along with bluish-greenish yellow colors, are reported in the paintings). Lazurite is not well known in the geology of Egypt and has been detected in this study for the first time. The results of our work indicate that access to the Silurian sandstones, mainly located on the northwestern slope of the plateau, may have been one of the factors for choosing this area of the Gilf Kebir for producing rock art images.

History Disappearing: The Rapid Loss of Australian Contact Period Rock Art

ABSTRACT In Australia, recent climate change has resulted in prolonged droughts, massive devastating bushfires, extreme flooding, and more frequent and intense cyclones, all of which affect archaeological and historic heritage. In this paper, we report on new research on rock art at a site called Djarrng in western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. Djarrng was heavily impacted by Tropical Cyclone Monica in 2006. We have visited the site sporadically since 1992, most recently in September 2019. We also have photographs taken in 1979 and accessed others taken in 1965 and so are in a position to document change to rock art panels over a 54 year period. We discuss not only change at the site as a result of the cyclone but also more general changes to rock art imagery at Arnhem Land sites in the past two hundred years, as well as lessons learnt from natural disasters that could be important for future rock art conservation.

The devil’s in the detail: revisiting the ceiling panel at RSA CHI1, Kamberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

ABSTRACT Recent work on a well-known San rock art panel from South Africa shows that continued movement between, on the one hand, San beliefs and rituals and, on the other, the images themselves allows us to move from general statements about San rock art to specific understandings. We demonstrate that continuing field research, combined with the revisiting of painted panels, is uncovering diverse ways in which San rock painters deployed and, at the same time, individually transmuted abstract ideas and experiences into material images, often in easily missed details. One of these instances, hitherto unknown, is described. By following-up the heuristic potential of this approach researchers are able to explore the ways in which San imagery played a social role at different times and in different places in San history.

Hunter-gatherers on the basin’s edge: a preliminary look at Holocene human occupation of Nangara-Komba Shelter, Central African Republic

ABSTRACT Limited excavations at Nangara-Komba Shelter along the northern margin of the Congo Basin have recovered evidence for intermittent and at times intensive human visits beginning approximately 5100 cal. BC. Numerous rock art panels adorn the shelter’s walls and ceramics appear to have initially been brought to the site between 1050 and 900 cal. BC, if not earlier. Charred Canarium schweinfurthii endocarp fragments were collected in all stratigraphic aggregates and reflect the use of canarium for food, fuel and/or medicinal purposes during the middle and late Holocene. Abundant quartz and quartzite artefacts occur throughout the deposits and mark a continuous and stable microlithic tradition. The site was used only by foraging groups who ultimately interacted with Bantu and later Ubangian farmers and possibly smelters. Nangara-Komba represents a sheltered context where the use of lithic tools appears to have persisted well into the late Holocene and is the only known site in the Central African Republic and Sangha River Interval with episodic occupations spanning the past 7000 years.

Red‐coated rocks on the seashore: The esthetics and geology of prehistoric rock art in Alta, Arctic Norway

AbstractResearch suggests that the World Heritage rock engravings in Alta, Northern Norway, were made along the seashore over a period of 5000 years. The postglacial rebound and consequent land uplift have caused a continuous displacement of the shoreline, now situating the earliest rock art panels up to 26 m above sea level. By examining the rock surfaces at Hjemmeluft and other sites, using field observations and geological analyses, we found that the pronounced red bedrock surfaces in the current seashore zone are composed of inorganic iron films related to a high content of magnetite in the native sandstone. Coupled with an interpretation of regional environmental history, we also found that it is highly likely that the rock art was originally carved on rocks with red iron films, rocks that are now generally gray. Due to the land uplift and subsequent covering of the rock art with lichen, moss, and turf, the red color has waned at the rock art sites. This knowledge may renew interpretation and understanding of the location of rock art in Alta and may have implications for conservation and management.

Un soplo de vida en la pared. Arte rupestre y la noción de persona entre los mayas del Posclásico de Laguna Mensabak, Chiapas

El arte rupestre presente en los riscos de Laguna Mensabak expresa elementos vinculados a la noción y construcción de la persona maya durante el periodo Posclásico. Para ofrecer una aproximación a la manera en que se conceptualizó a la persona en el pasado, primeramente se hace una revisión de los conceptos nativos de persona mediante la información etnográfica y lingüística maya en el marco del modelo antropológico del personhood. Posteriormente, se analizan dos paneles rupestres del Risco Mensabak y se concluye con la proposición de que la noción maya de persona durante el Posclásico en la región era de carácter dividual y permeable.

Independent component analysis (ICA): A statistical approach to the analysis of superimposed rock paintings

Independent Component Analysis (ICA) is a statistical technique for decomposing information from datasets into maximally independent components. ICA allows the researcher to recover two or more independent signals that appear mixed within the same dataset. This paper shows ICA to be an extremely effective method for separating different colours found in rock paintings into discrete images or components. The comparison between the results of ICA and PCA (Principal Component Analysis) shows that ICA accurately separates panels with more than one type of colour, while PCA achieves a lower degree of separation. This study also shows that in scenes with monochrome depictions, ICA tends to be slightly more effective in separating the pigments from the rock. The ICA method has been applied successfully to several rock art panels from Northern Chile, where the use of diverse types of mineral pigments is common. Two analyses conducted at the Pampa El Muerto 11 site in the Northern Chilean highlands reveal how ICA can contribute to a more compelling interpretation of more intricate panels. The comparison between the results of ICA and PCA (Principal Components Analysis) shows that ICA correctly separates panels with more than one type of pigment, while PCA achieves a lower degree of separation. This study also shows that in scenes with monochrome depictions, ICA tends to be slightly more effective in separating the pigments from the rock. ICA algorithm has been successfully in several rock panels from Northern Chile, where the use of diverse types of mineral pigments is usual. Two panels from the Pampa El Muerto site have been analysed with the technique mentioned above, informing that its application can collaborate on a more compelling interpretation of intricate panels.

Fluvial dynamics and palaeolithic settlement: new data from the Côa Valley (Portugal)

The geomorphological context of the Côa Valley open-air Palaeolithic rock art offers a unique opportunity to analyse its stratigraphic relationship with preserved Quaternary deposits and to reconstruct those that may have since disappeared. Litho-stratigraphic units, discontinuities and their architecture are interpreted in the context of the valley’s evolution and its environment. The spatial distribution of rock art panels, chronological attribution of the rock art and their geomorphological context can help us to reconstruct the topography of the valley at the time of its production and to identify where rock art panels could be buried, as well as to establish their chronology.

El abrigo con pintura esquemática de Pala de Cabras (Ourense). Encuentros y desencuentros entre dos tradiciones

Los resultados del presente estudio han permitido redefinir la iconografía del abrigo de Pala de Cabras (Ourense). Este yacimiento, con 15 paneles, constituye uno de los conjuntos con Arte Esquemático más complejos del noroeste de la Península Ibérica. Entre las figuras pintadas destacan 3 representaciones de las llamadas figuras oculadas, soliformes, ramiformes y zig-zag. La identificación de nuevas figuras obliga a una revisión del marco cronológico del yacimiento y, por lo tanto, a un nuevo análisis de su contexto cultural dentro de las regiones rupestres de la Península Ibérica. La presencia de este abrigo en las sierras orientales gallegas, está ayudando a definir la zona de encuentro entre dos tradiciones rupestres: la Esquemática y la Atlántica.

CALCIUM OXALATE RADIOCARBON DATING: PRELIMINARY TESTS TO DATE ROCK ART OF THE DECORATED OPEN-AIR CAVES, ERONGO MOUNTAINS, NAMIBIA

ABSTRACTThe direct dating of rock paintings is not always possible due to the lack of organic carbon compounds in pigments, or because sampling from a heritage site is often restricted. To overcome these limitations, dating laboratories have to develop new approaches. In this study, we consider sampling calcium oxalate crusts covering the painted artworks as a way to indirectly date the rock art. This stratigraphic approach includes isolating and extracting pure oxalate from the crusts. The approach was tested on natural bulk accretions collected in the open-air sites of Erongo Mountains in Namibia. The accretions were separated into two phases (pure oxalate and the remaining residues) with a special pretreatment. This process removes carbonates through acidification (HCl 6N) and dissolves the oxalate into the supernatant, leaving the minerals and windblown organic compounds in the residue. The efficiency of the separation was checked on the two phases by FTIR analyses and by 14C dating and showed that pure oxalate powders were indeed obtained. AMS radiocarbon results of various accretions on the same art panels provided ages from modern periods to 2410 ± 35 BP. From these first results, more targeted sampling campaigns can be considered to provide a terminus ante quem for the rock art.

La Aproximación histórica al arte rupestre prehispánico de la sierra de El Alto-Ancasti (provincia de Catamarca, noroeste argentino)

How can we approach the process through which rock art panels have been built and modified? How to connect these histories of painting/engraving with the others social practices performed in the caves though the time? The goal of this article is to remark the importance of these questions and describe a methodology intended to solve them through the combination of multiple levels of analysis, with five different lines of evidence (spatial analysis, overlapping studies, morphologic-stylistic studies, analysis of pigment mixtures and the stratigraphic excavation of the floor’s sediments). As an example, we present the results obtained by the application of this methodology to the study of the rock art from El Alto-Ancasti’s Sierra; however the methods and techniques could be useful for the research of other sites.

Unraveling rock art palimpsests through superimpositions: The definition of painting episodes in Los Toldos (southern Patagonia) as a baseline for chronology

This paper aims to link the production of rock paintings in Los Toldos (Argentina) to the human use of the locality in the context of the long term process of the peopling of Patagonia. The study is centered in the construction of a rock art painting sequence from the analysis of superimpositions in Cueva 2 and Cueva 3 sites. Rock art panels were considered as cumulative palimpsests and analyzed through the use of a Harris matrix. Eight painting episodes could be distinguished in Cueva 2, which were related to five painting episodes detected in Cueva 3. The temporal relationships of the different painting episodes respect to a series of natural imprints in the rock supports provided elements for the hypothetical estimation of a coarse grained temporal framework. The first painting episode is underrepresented due to its state of preservation and position in the base of the sequence. Together with the second episode, it is associated to the earliest human occupations of the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. The third, fourth and fifth painting episodes are the most intense and relate to the most intensive human occupations of the middle Holocene. The late Holocene episodes are represented by fewer diverse motifs in Cueva 2. The results of our analysis constitute the baseline from which future compositional analyses need to be performed in order to evaluate the possibility of dating rock art by chronometric methods.

The Holocene humid period in the Nefud Desert: Hunters and herders in the Jebel Oraf palaeolake basin, Saudi Arabia

Archaeological surveys and excavations in the Jebel Oraf palaeolake basin, north-western Saudi Arabia, have identified a well-preserved early- to mid-Holocene landscape. Two types of occupation site can be distinguished: nine small and ephemeral scatters from single occupation phases on the slopes of sand dunes and three hearth sites indicative of repeated occupation on palaeolake shorelines. In addition, 245 rock art panels, 81 cairns, and 15 stone structures were recorded. This diverse dataset provides an opportunity to reconstruct occupation patterns and changes in landscape use. A particularly important site, Jebel Oraf 2, documents two episodes of lake high stands at ca. 6500 BC and 5300 BC, flooding parts of the locality. Neolithic pastoralists likely occupied the site after the end of the wet season, when the terrain was dry. Earlier sites are located in dune embayments some 7–14 m above the shore of the palaeolake. These locations are consistent with hunting strategies identifiable in the rock art that suggest wildlife was ambushed at watering places. Later rock art at Jebel Oraf also documents the hunting of wild camel in the Iron Age. The lithic industries documented in the Jebel Oraf basin support arguments of repeated contact with Levantine populations.

Archaeology and art in context: Excavations at the Gunu Site Complex, Northwest Kimberley, Western Australia.

The Kimberley region of Western Australia is one of the largest and most diverse rock art provenances in the world, with a complex stylistic sequence spanning at least 16 ka, culminating in the modern art-making of the Wunumbal people. The Gunu Site Complex, in the remote Mitchell River region of the northwest Kimberley, is one of many local expressions of the Kimberley rock art sequence. Here we report excavations at two sites in this complex: Gunu Rock, a sand sheet adjacent to rock art panels; and Gunu Cave, a floor deposit within an extensive rockshelter. Excavations at Gunu Rock provide evidence for two phases of occupation, the first from 7–8 to 2.7 ka, and the second from 1064 cal BP. Excavations at Gunu Rock provide evidence for occupation from the end of the second phase to the recent past. Stone for tools in the early phase were procured from a variety of sources, but quartz crystal reduction dominated the second occupation phase. Small quartz crystals were reduced by freehand percussion to provide small flake tools and blanks for manufacturing small points called nguni by the Wunambal people today. Quartz crystals were prominent in historic ritual practices associated with the Wanjina belief system. Complex methods of making bifacially-thinned and pressure flaked quartzite projectile points emerged after 2.7 ka. Ochre pigments were common in both occupation phases, but evidence for occupation contemporaneous with the putative age of the oldest rock art styles was not discovered in the excavations. Our results show that developing a complete understanding of rock art production and local occupation patterns requires paired excavations inside and outside of the rockshelters that dominate the Kimberley.

Earliest hunting scene in prehistoric art.

Humans seem to have an adaptive predisposition for inventing, telling and consuming stories1. Prehistoric cave art provides the most direct insight that we have into the earliest storytelling2-5, in the form of narrative compositions or 'scenes'2,5 that feature clear figurative depictions of sets of figures in spatial proximity to each other, and from which one can infer actions taking place among the figures5. The Upper Palaeolithic cave art of Europe hosts the oldest previously known images of humans and animals interacting in recognizable scenes2,5, and of therianthropes6,7-abstract beings that combine qualities of both people and animals, and which arguably communicated narrative fiction of some kind (folklore, religious myths, spiritual beliefs and so on). In this record of creative expression (spanning from about 40thousand years ago (ka) until the beginning of the Holocene epoch at around 10ka), scenes in cave art are generally rare and chronologically late (dating to about 21-14ka)7, and clear representations of therianthropes are uncommon6-the oldest such image is a carved figurine from Germany of a human with a feline head (dated to about 40-39ka)8. Here we describe an elaborate rock art panel from the limestone cave of Leang Bulu' Sipong4 (Sulawesi, Indonesia) that portrays several figures that appear to represent therianthropes hunting wild pigs and dwarf bovids; this painting has been dated to at least 43.9ka on the basis of uranium-series analysis of overlying speleothems. This hunting scene is-to our knowledge-currently the oldest pictorial record of storytelling and the earliest figurative artwork in the world.

IT adaptation in sugar supply chain: a study at milling level

The purpose of the study is to catalogue issues in the sugar supply chain at the procurement and sugar production levels. By a review of prior art and expert panel discussions, certain issues were identified for the facilitation of e-applications in the sugar production process. The relevance of the issues identified was checked by conducting a field survey. A total of 30 sugar mills in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India were targeted and 120 were collected from the mill managers to identify issues at procurement and sugar production stages. For checking the scope of IT applications, a total of 180 respondents were collected from 120 mill managers and 60 employees of IT companies who provide supply chain IT solutions. On the basis of the findings, the paper proposes certain IT solutions for solving the identified issues which will help in improving sugar cane processing at the sugar production level.

Hyperspectral Imaging Techniques for the Study, Conservation and Management of Rock Art

Paleolithic rock art is one of the most important cultural phenomena in the history of mankind. It was made by making incisions and/or applying natural pigments mixed with water or organic elements on a rock surface, which for millennia has been subjected to different factors of natural and anthropogenic alteration that have caused its deterioration and/or disappearance. The present paper shows a methodology that employs hyperspectral technology in the range of visible light and the near infrared spectrum, providing a scientific and non-destructive way to study, conserve and manage such a valuable cultural heritage. Recognition of coloring matter, formal recognition of the figures, superposition of forms and documentation of the state of conservation are relevant topics in rock art, and hyperspectral imaging technology is an efficient way to study them. The aim is to establish a method of creating pigment cartography and enhancing the visualization of rock art panels. Illumination sources, spectroradiometry measurements and camera adjustments must be taken into account to generate accurate results that later will be pre-processed to derive reflectance data, and then pigment analysis and enhanced visualization methods are applied. This methodology has allowed us to obtain 76% more figures than using traditional techniques throughout the case study area.

Protecting Stone Heritage in the Painted Desert: Employing the Rock Art Stability Index in the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

Located in northeastern Arizona (USA), Petrified Forest National Park (PEFO) presents a unique story of both geologic and human history. Though perhaps most well-known for its abundant petrified wood and being part of the Painted Desert, visitors are often surprised when they discover PEFO hosts many ancient petroglyph sites. Over the years, many attempts have been made to record the petroglyph sites, but nothing has been done to assess their geomorphic stability. To address this shortcoming, we employed the Rock Art Stability Index (RASI) to assess geologic stability and (potential) deterioration of rock art sites in PEFO. Used for more than a decade as a triage for researchers assessing which rock art panels/sites are in the most danger of eroding, RASI uses a rank-based system to assess over three-dozen rock decay parameters, resulting in an overall condition analysis of a rock art panel. The findings can then be grouped together by site location to gain a clearer understanding of overall decay processes responsible for (potential) erosion. This study highlights RASI, its use as a low-cost, non-invasive, rapid field assessment technique, and assesses the geomorphic stability of five major petroglyph sites in the Petrified Forest National Park.