Lead and Zinc Pigmented Mural Paints: Lowry Pueblo Great House, Southwest Colorado

Summary

We used numerous techniques to study the white step pattern murals of Lowry Pueblo Kivas A and B: visual analysis, portable X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, and powder X-ray diffraction. Elemental analyses identified lead and zinc in the shiny bright white paint layer and calcium in the dull white paint layer. X-ray diffraction confirmed zinc oxide and lead sulfate pigment minerals in the shiny, bright white paint layer, whereas calcium carbonate was identified as the pigment for the dull white paint layers. Radiocarbon dating places mural production at 1020-1185 cal AD, consistent with occupation at Lowry Pueblo Great House. Because this underlying shiny, white paint layer is from an earlier painting event than the dull white, the lead paint layer could not be due to a modern addition. Selection of this lead and zinc pigment by kiva decorators produced a desirable paint finish; however, lead ore processing and paint manufacture likely had negative health implications.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• A Material World: Collaborative Research in Art, Archaeology, and Materials Science in the Study of the Ancient Americas

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14922