Insights into Rock Art Pigment Provenance and Microenvironment at Ashlu Rockshelter, British Columbia, Canada

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Advances in microanalytical methodologies enable archaeologists to examine characteristics of rock art pigment and surrounding microenvironment to nanoscale resolution. The information gleaned through microanalysis is valuable for reconstructing archaeopigment preparation technologies and provenance, and to evaluate the condition and stability of rock art features. We present the results of a multi-method investigation of a mid-elevation, seasonally occupied rockshelter on the slopes of Nepti’il. The site dates to 1410-1460 cal BP with extensive rock art panels and is in the center of Squamish Nation Territory, British Columbia (Canada). Using a combination of techniques including SEM-EDS, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy, we have determined characteristics of paint preparation and stability, post-depositional alteration of pigment layers, and important micro-karstic features at the interface between rock substrate and panel. Moreover, we compare the elemental and mineralogical characteristics of the pigment to a database of previously analyzed local and non-local pigment sources and artifacts, and identify a probable candidate for the source of the raw materials used to make paint. We discuss the significance of our results in comparison to the other forms of material culture excavated from the site.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24079