Portable X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of Rock Art Paintings in Southern Illinois
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11205367 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sierra M Bow (0000-0003-1361-4290, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, corresponding author), Jan F Simek (University of Tennessee at Knoxville), Mark J Wagner (0000-0003-1816-6407, Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale 62901) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 89-122 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0146-1109 • E-ISSN: 2327-4271 |
| Publisher | University of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.5406/23274271.50.2.01 |
| OpenAlex | W4412166960 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 36 |
Illinois contains a rich tradition of American Indian rock art dating to the precontact Mississippian and postcontact periods (AD 1000–1835). One long-standing question about this art involves the nature of the paints used to make it. Ethical concerns about the destructive removal of pigment samples, however, have limited compositional investigations. Here, we used portable X-ray fluorescence technology in situ to noninvasively examine the elemental composition of a selection of Illinois pictographs. This was done without any surface preparation or sampling. We analyzed pictographs from seven sites across southern Illinois to (1) determine the paint ingredients and (2) assess variability in the paint recipes. Elemental data revealed that paint recipes predominantly involved a single chromophore with few other additives. This suggests that motif designs and colors may have been more important to the Native creators of the rock art than were material components of paint recipes
Archaeology · Art · Art history · Fluorescence · Geography · Optics · Painting · Rock art · X-ray fluorescence · Archaeological Research and Protection · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · Geology · Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |