IDENTIFICATION OF ORGANIC BINDERS IN PRE-HISTORIC PIGMENTS THROUGH MULTIPROXY ARCHAEOMETRIC ANALYSES FROM THE TOCA DO PARAGUAIO AND BOQUEIRÃO DA PEDRA FURADA SHELTERS (SERRA DA CAPIVARA NATIONAL PARK, PIAUÍ, BRAZIL)

Hugo Gomes; Pierluigi Rosina; Niéde Guidon; Cristiane Buco; Thalison dos Santos; Lisa Volpe; Carmela Vaccaro; George H. Nash; Sara Garcês

Rock Art Research

Vol. 36 No. 2 (2019)
Published : Nov 13, 2019

IDENTIFICATION OF ORGANIC BINDERS IN PRE-HISTORIC PIGMENTS THROUGH MULTIPROXY ARCHAEOMETRIC ANALYSES FROM THE TOCA DO PARAGUAIO AND BOQUEIRÃO DA PEDRA FURADA SHELTERS (SERRA DA CAPIVARA NATIONAL PARK, PIAUÍ, BRAZIL)

Hugo Gomes ⁽¹⁾, Pierluigi Rosina ⁽²⁾, Niéde Guidon ⁽³⁾, Cristiane Buco ⁽⁴⁾, Thalison dos Santos ⁽⁵⁾, Lisa Volpe ⁽⁶⁾, Carmela Vaccaro ⁽⁷⁾, George H. Nash ⁽⁸⁾, Sara Garcês ⁽⁹⁾

(1) Quaternary and Prehistory Group of Geosciences Centre, Coimbra University (u. ID73 – FCT), Portugal

(2) Quaternary and Prehistory Group of Geosciences Centre, Coimbra University (u. ID73 – FCT), Portugal

(3) Fundação Museu do Homem Americano (FUMDHAM), Brazil

(4) IPHAN, Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

(5) IPHAN, Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

(6) Physics and Earth Sciences Department of Ferrara University, Italy

(7) Physics and Earth Sciences Department of Ferrara University, Italy

(8) Quaternary and Prehistory Group of Geosciences Centre, Coimbra University (u. ID73 – FCT), Portugal

(9) Quaternary and Prehistory Group of Geosciences Centre, Coimbra University (u. ID73 – FCT), Portugal

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Abstract

Pigments from several pre-Historic rock art painting samples were analysed through a multiproxy archaeometric approach. Sampling occurred in two rockshelters within the National Park of Serra da Capivara National Park area (a UNESCO World Heritage Site): Toca do Paraguaio and Toca do Boqueirão da Pedra Furada. Five complementary techniques x-ray micro-fluorescence, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, stereomicroscope observation and high temperature-gas chromatography (HT-GC) were combined to identify and characterise the inorganic and organic material. In particular, gas-chromatography analyses revealed the presence of binders, hardly recognised in rock art pre-Historic pigments. These binder substances (plant fatty acids) could be included in the pigment process ‘chain-opératoire’.