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Portable X ‐Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Pictographs: A Case Study From the L ower P ecos C anyonlands, T exas
Author(s) -
Koenig C. W.,
Castañeda A. M.,
Boyd C. E.,
Rowe M. W.,
Steelman K. L.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/arcm.12060
Subject(s) - charcoal , chemistry , manganese , mineralogy , organic chemistry
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 41VV75 and 41VV76 did not contain manganese, suggesting charcoal pigment—the first widespread documentation of charcoal figures in the area. The identification of charcoal‐based pigments is important for rock‐art and radiocarbon studies in the region.