0000000000363145
AUTHOR
Inés Domingo
Application of field portable EDXRF spectrometry to analysis of pigments of Levantine rock art
The results of the analyses of elemental composition of red and black pigments of Levantine rock art from La Saltadora rock shelters (Valltorta gorge, Castellon, Spain) are presented in this paper. Nondestructive analyses were carried out using a portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer developed for in situ analysis. The results revealed the strong presence of calcium in all the analyzed locations due to the contribution of the underlying calcareous bedrock and the overlying crust. Iron is the main element detected in red pigments and manganese in black pigments. Iron and calcium ratios have been found indicative of the degree of preservation of the pictorial laye…
Latest developments in rock art recording: towards an integral documentation of Levantine rock art sites combining 2D and 3D recording techniques
This paper presents a further step in the integral documentation of prehistoric rock art, combining 2D and 3D digital recording techniques. Image processing and digital enhancement techniques are an invaluable aid to obtain high quality and accurate 2D recordings, especially when working with faint motifs or complex superimpositions. But what constitutes a real breakthrough is the possibility of combining 2D digital tracings with metric 3D models, providing a whole set of metric outputs that improve our understanding of the motifs in their context and, at the same time, can be used to deliver accurate metric reproductions. The Levantine rock art at Cingle de la Mola Remigia (Ares del Maestr…
IDENTIFICATION, PROCESSING AND USE OF RED PIGMENTS (HEMATITE AND CINNABAR) IN THE VALENCIAN EARLY NEOLITHIC (SPAIN)
The results of the first elemental and structural physicochemical analyses (SEM–EDX, TXRF, XRD, FTIR, GC and EDXRF) of Early Neolithic red pigment samples from the region of Valencia confirm one of the earliest uses of cinnabar (HgS) in Spain (5300 to 5000 cal bc). They also inform on the storage of massive quantities of hematite and the development of specific technologies of hematite-based paint production and use. The samples were recovered at the three most significant Early Neolithic sites of the Mediterranean coast of Spain: Cova de l'Or (Beniarres, Alacant), Cova de la Sarsa (Bocairent, Valencia) and Cova Fosca (Vall d'Ebo, Valencia), which together have provided the most important E…