Karen L Steelman
Biographic Data
| ID | 233144 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Karen L Steelman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Karen L |
| FAMILY NAME | Steelman |
| SIGNATURE | STEELMAN K L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Central Arkansas |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3418-3645 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 87 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Picture Cave (23WN79)
To determine the chronology of the imagery and iconography at Picture Cave in the Missouri River Valley, we radiocarbon dated 16 additional pictographs using plasma oxidation and accelerator mass spectrometry. Bayesian chronological modeling estimates that pictograph production began between cal AD 85 and 530 and ended in cal AD 1325–1630 , with a duration of 905–1480 years (95.4% probability). Although the majority of pictographs were produced d…
From artists to miners
The Archer and the Shield-Bearing Warrior
At the Painted Coulee site (24JT86), pictographs depicting both atlatl and bow technology are present. We utilized plasma oxidation followed by accelerator mass spectrometry to directly radiocarbon date the organic material in two paint samples. A red painting of an anthropomorph with a shield and a possible atlatl in conflict with a fleeing person holding a bow was dated to 1790 ± 50 RCYBP (cal AD 120-390). Another red anthropomorph wearing snow…
Lead and Zinc Pigmented Mural Paint
At Lowry Pueblo, small fragments of painted plaster are all that remain of a bold white step pattern mural that once decorated Kivas A and B. We used the following analytical techniques to study these fragments: visual microscopic analysis, portable X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, powder X-ray diffraction, and radiocarbon dating. We identified zinc oxide and lead sulfate pigment miner…
Serpentine bends site #1
Two independent methods for dating rock art
Portable X-ray fluorescence of Lower Pecos painted pebbles
Strategies for 14 C Dating the Oxtotitlán Cave Paintings, Guerrero, Mexico
Oxtotitlán Cave paintings have been considered among the earliest in Mesoamerica on stylistic grounds, but confirmation of this hypothesis through absolute dating has not been attempted until now. We describe the application of advanced radiocarbon strategies developed for situations such as caves with high carbon backgrounds. Using a low-temperature plasma oxidation system, we dated both the ancient paint and the biogenic rock coatings that cove…
Cova Eirós
At Cova Eirós, we discovered 13 panels with paintings and engravings that stylistically point to the final moments of the Upper Paleolithic. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy were used to identify charcoal as black pigment. Although contamination from medieval fires inside the cave complicates the dating of these pictographs, analyses of unpainted rock backgrounds allow…
A Black Deer at Black Cave
A Pecos River style painting of a black deer from Black Cave Annex (41VV76a) in southwest Texas was radiocarbon dated. Using plasma oxidation and accelerator mass spectrometry, we obtained an age of 1465 ± 40 RCYBP (2 sigma calibrated age range of A.D. 470-660). This age is younger than the accepted age range for Pecos River style paintings, which is approximately 4000-3000 years B.P. This new measurement in association with other younger dates p…
Results from the first intensive dating program for pigment art in the Australian arid zone
Portable X ‐Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Pictographs
We evaluate the effectiveness of non‐destructive portable X ‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy ( pXRF ) for elemental analysis of pictographs at 10 sites in the L ower P ecos C anyonlands of T exas. Considerations and limitations of pXRF analysis are discussed to inform future research. We found that manganese and iron minerals were the main constituents of black and red paints, respectively. However, 40 pXRF measurements from 31 images tested at 41V…
Radiocarbon Dating of Rock Paintings
This chapter contains sections titled: Abstract Paint on a Rock Canvas Radiocarbon Dating Dating Rock Art Our Work Using Plasma Oxidation Conclusions and Future Work Acknowledgments References
Lower Pecos and Coahuila peyote
AMS Dates from Four Late Prehistoric Period Rock Art Sites in West Central Montana
In 2002, eight pigment samples were collected from three rock art sites in the Big Belt Mountains of west central Montana. Samples from Hellgate Gulch (24BW9), Avalanche Mouth (24BW19), and the Gates of the Mountains (24LC27) were dated using plasma-chemical extraction and accelerator mass spectrometry. The dates were statistically indistinguishable with ages of 11701 ± 45, 1225 ± 50, and 1280 1 ± 50 B.P. When calibrated, these ages range from 65…
Direct radiocarbon dating of megalithic paints from north-west Iberia
Using plasma chemistry, carbon was extracted from charcoal paint samples collected from megalithic monuments in north-west Iberia. Nine accelerator mass spectrometric radiocarbon dates on these paints establish their age to be within 1000 14C years of each other, centred at approximately 5000 BP. These radiocarbon ages for megalithic paintings fall within the proposed time period for north-west Iberian megalithic culture. Multiple layers of paint…
Nondestructive Radiocarbon Dating
Plasma oxidation was used to obtain radiocarbon dates on six different materials from a naturally mummified baby bundle from the Lower Pecos River region of southwest Texas. This bundle was selected because it was thought to represent a single event and would illustrate the accuracy and precision of the plasma oxidation method. Five of the materials were clearly components of the original bundle with 13 dates combined to yield a weighted average …
Comment on “some evidence of a date of first humans to arrive in Brazil”
Stable Isotope and Radiocarbon Analyses of a Black Deposit Associated with Pictographs at Little Lost River Cave, Idaho
Radiocarbon dates for pictographs in Ignatievskaya Cave, Russia
Samples from three charcoal pictographs at Ignatievskaya Cave, in the southern Ural Mountains of Russia, have been radiocarbon dated. An advanced antiquity was expected, with some paintings thought to be more than 10,000 years old, as suggested by the imagery. One charcoal painting, for example, resembles a mammoth. The radiocarbon date of that motif, however, dates only to 7370±50 BP. If that motif actually represents a live mammoth, it places m…
Results from the first intensive dating program for pigment art in the Australian arid zone
Radiocarbon dates for pictographs in Ignatievskaya Cave, Russia
Samples from three charcoal pictographs at Ignatievskaya Cave, in the southern Ural Mountains of Russia, have been radiocarbon dated. An advanced antiquity was expected, with some paintings thought to be more than 10,000 years old, as suggested by the imagery. One charcoal painting, for example, resembles a mammoth. The radiocarbon date of that motif, however, dates only to 7370±50 BP. If that motif actually represents a live mammoth, it places m…
Lower Pecos and Coahuila peyote
Direct radiocarbon dating of megalithic paints from north-west Iberia
Using plasma chemistry, carbon was extracted from charcoal paint samples collected from megalithic monuments in north-west Iberia. Nine accelerator mass spectrometric radiocarbon dates on these paints establish their age to be within 1000 14C years of each other, centred at approximately 5000 BP. These radiocarbon ages for megalithic paintings fall within the proposed time period for north-west Iberian megalithic culture. Multiple layers of paint…
Two independent methods for dating rock art
AMS Dates from Four Late Prehistoric Period Rock Art Sites in West Central Montana
In 2002, eight pigment samples were collected from three rock art sites in the Big Belt Mountains of west central Montana. Samples from Hellgate Gulch (24BW9), Avalanche Mouth (24BW19), and the Gates of the Mountains (24LC27) were dated using plasma-chemical extraction and accelerator mass spectrometry. The dates were statistically indistinguishable with ages of 11701 ± 45, 1225 ± 50, and 1280 1 ± 50 B.P. When calibrated, these ages range from 65…
Nondestructive Radiocarbon Dating
Plasma oxidation was used to obtain radiocarbon dates on six different materials from a naturally mummified baby bundle from the Lower Pecos River region of southwest Texas. This bundle was selected because it was thought to represent a single event and would illustrate the accuracy and precision of the plasma oxidation method. Five of the materials were clearly components of the original bundle with 13 dates combined to yield a weighted average …
Strategies for 14 C Dating the Oxtotitlán Cave Paintings, Guerrero, Mexico
Oxtotitlán Cave paintings have been considered among the earliest in Mesoamerica on stylistic grounds, but confirmation of this hypothesis through absolute dating has not been attempted until now. We describe the application of advanced radiocarbon strategies developed for situations such as caves with high carbon backgrounds. Using a low-temperature plasma oxidation system, we dated both the ancient paint and the biogenic rock coatings that cove…
Portable X ‐Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Pictographs
We evaluate the effectiveness of non‐destructive portable X ‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy ( pXRF ) for elemental analysis of pictographs at 10 sites in the L ower P ecos C anyonlands of T exas. Considerations and limitations of pXRF analysis are discussed to inform future research. We found that manganese and iron minerals were the main constituents of black and red paints, respectively. However, 40 pXRF measurements from 31 images tested at 41V…
A Black Deer at Black Cave
A Pecos River style painting of a black deer from Black Cave Annex (41VV76a) in southwest Texas was radiocarbon dated. Using plasma oxidation and accelerator mass spectrometry, we obtained an age of 1465 ± 40 RCYBP (2 sigma calibrated age range of A.D. 470-660). This age is younger than the accepted age range for Pecos River style paintings, which is approximately 4000-3000 years B.P. This new measurement in association with other younger dates p…
Stable Isotope and Radiocarbon Analyses of a Black Deposit Associated with Pictographs at Little Lost River Cave, Idaho
Lead and Zinc Pigmented Mural Paint
At Lowry Pueblo, small fragments of painted plaster are all that remain of a bold white step pattern mural that once decorated Kivas A and B. We used the following analytical techniques to study these fragments: visual microscopic analysis, portable X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, powder X-ray diffraction, and radiocarbon dating. We identified zinc oxide and lead sulfate pigment miner…
Serpentine bends site #1
Portable X-ray fluorescence of Lower Pecos painted pebbles
Cova Eirós
At Cova Eirós, we discovered 13 panels with paintings and engravings that stylistically point to the final moments of the Upper Paleolithic. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy were used to identify charcoal as black pigment. Although contamination from medieval fires inside the cave complicates the dating of these pictographs, analyses of unpainted rock backgrounds allow…
Stable Isotope and Radiocarbon Analyses of a Black Deposit Associated with Pictographs at Little Lost River Cave, Idaho
Radiocarbon dates for pictographs in Ignatievskaya Cave, Russia
Samples from three charcoal pictographs at Ignatievskaya Cave, in the southern Ural Mountains of Russia, have been radiocarbon dated. An advanced antiquity was expected, with some paintings thought to be more than 10,000 years old, as suggested by the imagery. One charcoal painting, for example, resembles a mammoth. The radiocarbon date of that motif, however, dates only to 7370±50 BP. If that motif actually represents a live mammoth, it places m…
Comment on “some evidence of a date of first humans to arrive in Brazil”
Nondestructive Radiocarbon Dating
Plasma oxidation was used to obtain radiocarbon dates on six different materials from a naturally mummified baby bundle from the Lower Pecos River region of southwest Texas. This bundle was selected because it was thought to represent a single event and would illustrate the accuracy and precision of the plasma oxidation method. Five of the materials were clearly components of the original bundle with 13 dates combined to yield a weighted average …
AMS Dates from Four Late Prehistoric Period Rock Art Sites in West Central Montana
In 2002, eight pigment samples were collected from three rock art sites in the Big Belt Mountains of west central Montana. Samples from Hellgate Gulch (24BW9), Avalanche Mouth (24BW19), and the Gates of the Mountains (24LC27) were dated using plasma-chemical extraction and accelerator mass spectrometry. The dates were statistically indistinguishable with ages of 11701 ± 45, 1225 ± 50, and 1280 1 ± 50 B.P. When calibrated, these ages range from 65…
Direct radiocarbon dating of megalithic paints from north-west Iberia
Using plasma chemistry, carbon was extracted from charcoal paint samples collected from megalithic monuments in north-west Iberia. Nine accelerator mass spectrometric radiocarbon dates on these paints establish their age to be within 1000 14C years of each other, centred at approximately 5000 BP. These radiocarbon ages for megalithic paintings fall within the proposed time period for north-west Iberian megalithic culture. Multiple layers of paint…
Lower Pecos and Coahuila peyote
Radiocarbon Dating of Rock Paintings
This chapter contains sections titled: Abstract Paint on a Rock Canvas Radiocarbon Dating Dating Rock Art Our Work Using Plasma Oxidation Conclusions and Future Work Acknowledgments References
Results from the first intensive dating program for pigment art in the Australian arid zone
Portable X ‐Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Pictographs
We evaluate the effectiveness of non‐destructive portable X ‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy ( pXRF ) for elemental analysis of pictographs at 10 sites in the L ower P ecos C anyonlands of T exas. Considerations and limitations of pXRF analysis are discussed to inform future research. We found that manganese and iron minerals were the main constituents of black and red paints, respectively. However, 40 pXRF measurements from 31 images tested at 41V…
A Black Deer at Black Cave
A Pecos River style painting of a black deer from Black Cave Annex (41VV76a) in southwest Texas was radiocarbon dated. Using plasma oxidation and accelerator mass spectrometry, we obtained an age of 1465 ± 40 RCYBP (2 sigma calibrated age range of A.D. 470-660). This age is younger than the accepted age range for Pecos River style paintings, which is approximately 4000-3000 years B.P. This new measurement in association with other younger dates p…
Strategies for 14 C Dating the Oxtotitlán Cave Paintings, Guerrero, Mexico
Oxtotitlán Cave paintings have been considered among the earliest in Mesoamerica on stylistic grounds, but confirmation of this hypothesis through absolute dating has not been attempted until now. We describe the application of advanced radiocarbon strategies developed for situations such as caves with high carbon backgrounds. Using a low-temperature plasma oxidation system, we dated both the ancient paint and the biogenic rock coatings that cove…
Cova Eirós
At Cova Eirós, we discovered 13 panels with paintings and engravings that stylistically point to the final moments of the Upper Paleolithic. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy were used to identify charcoal as black pigment. Although contamination from medieval fires inside the cave complicates the dating of these pictographs, analyses of unpainted rock backgrounds allow…
Portable X-ray fluorescence of Lower Pecos painted pebbles
Serpentine bends site #1
Two independent methods for dating rock art
Lead and Zinc Pigmented Mural Paint
At Lowry Pueblo, small fragments of painted plaster are all that remain of a bold white step pattern mural that once decorated Kivas A and B. We used the following analytical techniques to study these fragments: visual microscopic analysis, portable X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, powder X-ray diffraction, and radiocarbon dating. We identified zinc oxide and lead sulfate pigment miner…
The Archer and the Shield-Bearing Warrior
At the Painted Coulee site (24JT86), pictographs depicting both atlatl and bow technology are present. We utilized plasma oxidation followed by accelerator mass spectrometry to directly radiocarbon date the organic material in two paint samples. A red painting of an anthropomorph with a shield and a possible atlatl in conflict with a fleeing person holding a bow was dated to 1790 ± 50 RCYBP (cal AD 120-390). Another red anthropomorph wearing snow…
From artists to miners
Picture Cave (23WN79)
To determine the chronology of the imagery and iconography at Picture Cave in the Missouri River Valley, we radiocarbon dated 16 additional pictographs using plasma oxidation and accelerator mass spectrometry. Bayesian chronological modeling estimates that pictograph production began between cal AD 85 and 530 and ended in cal AD 1325–1630 , with a duration of 905–1480 years (95.4% probability). Although the majority of pictographs were produced d…
Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (19 works) · Archaeology (18 works) · Geography (17 works) · Radiocarbon dating (16 works) · Geology (14 works) · Art (11 works) · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies (9 works) · Cave (9 works) · Geology (8 works) · Chemistry (7 works)