VAFB-2018-05: The Honda Ridge Pilot Project: Digital Microscopy and Stratigraphic Analysis of Paint Layer Sequences Within the Honda Ridge Main Panel, Volumes I & II, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Contract No. XUMU OS 100316, USACE-Omaha Task Order 14

Summary

This document is a report that details the stratigraphic findings of the Honda Ridge Pilot Project, beginning with a background on the Honda Ridge rock art site and three proposed site use interpretations proposed by researchers. Recent stratigraphic analysis applications in rock art research are discussed, followed by an explanation of the Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center’s digital microscopy methods and stratigraphic analysis process, and how these methods were adapted to the Honda Ridge rock art site. The results of the digital microscopy and stratigraphic analysis are presented, and these results are divided based on the two separate analyses: the Paint Application Method analysis and the Overall Motif analysis. The subsequent discussion section addresses the three research questions in turn, outlining the lessons learned from this pilot study, and analyzing the stratigraphic findings from the paint Application Method and Overall Motif analyses. Site-specific and methodological challenges to the pilot project are also outlined in this section, as well as recommendations for future stratigraphic analysis within the Honda Ridge main panel and at other pictograph sites on Vandenberg Air Force Base.

The Honda Ridge Pilot Project applied non-destructive digital microscopy and stratigraphic analysis to a 2 m2 panel section within the highly-stratified, monochromatic Honda Ridge main pictograph panel. The primary goals of this pilot project aimed to provide documentation of stratigraphic patterns, if any, within the main panel section with regards to paint application method and overall motif, as well as examine how any identified stratigraphic relationships and sequences may relate to three proposed site use and activity interpretations proposed by researchers. The Honda Ridge Pilot Project also completed microscopic analysis of 2016 wildfire effects to a 1.5 m2 panel section within the heavily-affected northeastern main panel (Appendix D), and produced a high-resolution three-dimensional model of the entire main panel.

The Honda Ridge Pilot Project and resulting deliverables assist Vandenberg Air Force Base in fulfilling its responsibility to identify, protect, and manage cultural resources under Federal laws such as Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (1966), Section 5 of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (1974), and AF Instruction 32-7065, among other governmental regulations. This analysis also adds to the growing body of stratigraphic research on pictograph panels, and provides useful archaeological data to the Vandenberg Air Force Base Cultural Resources team.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) - Cultural Resource Report

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Vandenberg Air Force Base; Roscoe Loetzerich

Landowner(s): Vandenberg Air Force Base

Repository(s): 30 CES/CEVPC Vandenberg Air Force Base

Record Identifiers

Project ID(s): 2017-R

VAFB Number(s): VAFB-2018-05

Contract No. (s): XUMU OS 100316, USACE-Omaha Task Order 14

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