Dating and Raman spectroscopy of rock art paintings in Ebo, Angola
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6041571 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Pierluigi Rosina (0000-0001-6722-2722, Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, Estrada da Serra Tomar, 2300-313, Tomar, Portugal, corresponding author), Luiz Oosterbeek (0000-0003-3303-5958, Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, Estrada da Serra Tomar, 2300-313, Tomar, Portugal), Cristina Pombares Martins (Instituto Terra e Memória), Hugo Gomes (0000-0001-6832-8457, Instituto Terra e Memória) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 83-97 |
| Publication date | 2018-01-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Azania Archaeological Research in Africa (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0067-270X • E-ISSN: 1945-5534 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0067270x.2018.1423758 |
| OpenAlex | W2789925025 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 9 |
The Ndalambiri rock shelter in the Ebo region of Angola is a key site for assessing human occupation there given its potential association between stratigraphic contexts and rock art panels. Focusing on the Iron Age and European contact periods, this study characterised the site’s rock paintings using Raman spectroscopy, while also obtaining AMS radiocarbon dates from paint residues and charcoal collected in stratigraphic context during a trial excavation below one of the painted panels. Raman spectroscopy results revealed the use of a carbon-based pigment (charcoal?), haematite and calcite to prepare black, red and white paints respectively. AMS dating of a black paint sample showed that it was produced between the seventeenth and the twentieth centuries, corresponding to the last known phase of rock art production in the area, as further indicated by its stratigraphic position and the depiction of firearms at the site. Earlier occupation of the site associated with metallurgical activity was dated to the mid-first millennium AD and may suggest that the oldest rock art at Ndalambiri corresponds to the arrival of metal-using populations in the region
Archaeology · Art · Calcite · Charcoal · Context (archaeology) · Excavation · Geography · Metallurgy · Mineralogy · Painting · Radiocarbon dating · Rock art · Rock shelter · Visual arts · White (mutation) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Chemistry · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · Geology · Materials Science
A new archaeological chrono-cultural sequence for the rock art site of Ndalambiri, Cuanza Sul, Angola
West-Central African Diversity from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, Continuities and Transitions during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene
The Middle Stone Age of Atlantic Africa
The rock art of Caraculo, Namibe province, Angola
A multi-technique characterization and provenance study of the pigments used in San rock art, South Africa
SHCal13 Southern Hemisphere Calibration, 0–50,000 Years cal BP
An Improved Pretreatment Protocol for Radiocarbon Dating Black Pigments in San Rock Art
Successfully Dating Rock Art in Southern Africa Using Improved Sampling Methods and New Characterization and Pretreatment Protocols
Expressions of fertility in the rock art of Bantu-speaking agriculturists
The earliest directly dated rock paintings from southern Africa
| Citations per year | 0.8 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |