The Honda Ridge Pilot Project: Microscopy and Stratigraphy at the Honda Ridge Rock Art Site, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Author(s): Audrey Lindsay; Timothy Murphy

Year: 2018

Summary

The Honda Ridge pictograph panel contains highly stratified elements painted on a smooth, reflective surface, offering a unique opportunity to explore prehistoric rock art production. We adapted non-invasive, digital microscopy methods from the Shumla Archaeological Research & Education Center to apply stratigraphic analysis within a 1m x 1m section of this superimposed, monochromatic panel. The reflective host rock preserves observable characteristics of prehistoric painting techniques, from brush strokes to finger whorls. By mapping the stratigraphy of these painting techniques, we hope to distinguish painting episodes within a relative layered sequence. If effective during the pilot study, we can apply these methods to the entire rock art panel and develop new questions about ancestral rock art production at Honda Ridge.

Cite this Record

The Honda Ridge Pilot Project: Microscopy and Stratigraphy at the Honda Ridge Rock Art Site, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Audrey Lindsay, Timothy Murphy. Presented at The 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Washington, DC. 2018 ( tDAR id: 444690)

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Spatial Coverage

min long: -124.189; min lat: 31.803 ; max long: -105.469; max lat: 43.58 ;

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22334