Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) and Photogrammetric Studies In Illinois Rock Art Research

Summary

Illinois rock art studies conducted in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries typically used drawings, tracings, and print photography to record prehistoric petroglyphs and pictographs. These types of studies have been replaced in recent years by a variety of new methods including digital photography, DSTRETCH enhancement, photogrammetry, pXRF analysis, and other technologies. These new techniques have greatly enhanced our ability to quickly and accurately record rock art sites in comparison to older methods. In this paper we present several case studies that showcase the use of these new methods and their ability to enhance or correct information collected by earlier rock art studies. Of particular relevance are recent (2016) photogrammetric and 3-D modeling studies of several large panels containing hundreds of painted and pecked images images at the Piney Creek site (11R26), which the senior author (Wagner) recorded in 2001 through the use of tracing, line drawings, and conventional photography. Comparison of the two techniques demonstrates the clear superiority of photogrammetry and 3-D imaging in terms of the reduced amount of time and greater level of accuracy in regard to rock art site recording over more conventional approaches.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Methodology and Interpretation in the Archaeology of Rock Art

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14705