Some Western Europe megaliths are well known for their paintings. Despite their diffusion throughout Europe, they are most common in Northwest Iberia, predominantly in the Galicia and centre-north and north of Portugal. The rock-art paintings motifs have been interpreted as part as the funeral practices. However, archaeologists are often unaware on both the colorants composition and the technical solutions used on their production, which, also have a symbolic importance.
In that context, the colorant composition of three northern Portugal megalithic barrows decorated with rock-art motifs (Leandro 5, Maia; Leira das Mamas, Braga and Eireira, Viana do Castelo) was studied using a multi-analytical approach. The use of XRD, SEM-EDS and FTIR combined with GC-MS allowed the characterization of the painting techniques, pigments, and the organic compounds used as binders.
The analytical results obtained allowed the recovery of important data about North-western prehistoric communities, namely the way they exploited existing resources and their ability to transform them.
Acknowledgements: This work was financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through COMPETE – Operational Competitiveness Programme and national funds provided by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology under the project UID/QUI/50006/2013. César Oliveira acknowledges Instituto de Ciências e Tecnologias Agrárias e Agro-Alimentares - Porto (ICETA) for his contract under project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000011. This work was also developed under the project “Funerary and ceremonial practices between the Neolithic to the Bronze Age by Archaeometry approached (ARQUEOM/Project-Sept2014).
| Subject : | : | Poster |
| Language of text | : | English |
| Date of production, writing | : | 2020-07-03 |
| Topics | : | X-2. Rock-Art Paintings – Binders & Recipes |
| Keywords | : | Megalithic barrows ; Pigments ; Binders ; Chemical analysis ; Gas Chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) |
| PDF version | : |  PDF version |
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