The first use of portable Raman instrumentation for the in situ study of prehistoric rock paintings in North Patagonian sites

ROUSAKI ANASTASIA; BELLELI CRISTINA; PALACIOS OSCAR; ALDAZABAL VERÓNICA; HAJDUK ADAM; MOENS LUC; VÁZQUEZ CRISTINA; CARBALLIDO CALATAYUD MARIANA; VANDENABEELE PETER

Nobosibirsk

Congreso; XII International Conference Georaman 2016; 2016

Sobolev Institut of geology and mineralogy

Archaeometrical studies in North Patagonia (Argentina) reveals useful information about the materials used by the population that inhabited the area. This region has been considered as a transit zone between population groups from the mountains and others located in the Patagonian steppe. In the archaeological sites of North Patagonia lithic materials, pottery, rock art as well as paintings or engravings on rocks, leather, textiles, etc. are commonly found.In the current project, a measurement campaign was organized to study prehistoric rock paintings insitu, in order to investigate the materials and the sources of the materials from the hunter-gatherer populations, inside their own environment. Portable Raman instrumentation was used to identify components and pigments, as well as possible products of degradation on site. Recently, mobile Raman instrumentation was employed for the direct analysis of rock art in Spain, France, and South-Africa. Until now, portable Raman analysis for the investigation of North Patagonian rock painting sites, is not reported before.This research aims to identify the different materials used, and thus try to establish relationships over time. The distinction between clay like materials and natural rocks will provide valuable information for the manufacturing technique and production process of the inhabitants and will determine the local ?palette? of native population. Comparison with many archaeological sites within North Patagonia will be made. Finally, the study of the degradation processes of these materials will give valuable information for a better preservation of the remains in the archaeological sites.Acknowledgements:The authors thank FWO (project K204416N) and Ghent University (GOA programme) for their financial support, as well as, Emilio Eugenio (IMHICIHU, CONICET), Lisandro Lopez (UBA) and Emmanuel Vargas (IIDYPCA-CONICET) for their valuable help.