The flint pebble from Maschio dell’Artemisio, a peak of the Artemisio mountain range (South-East of Rome), represents one of the first complex artefacts from the Upper Palaeolithic of the Alban Hills possibly displaying a symbolic/artistic value (Altamura & Mussi, 2014). It has been used as a hammer stone and retoucher, to create or modify lithic implements. It shows a diffuse and intense ochraceous colour on almost half of its surface. In the present work we discuss the results of an innovative colorimetric approach to define the use of pigments in the Palaeolithic community of the area and eventually compare the raw materials with local supplies. Second-derivative diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a data treatment on colorimetric data used from the ‘80s in the characterization of soil (Scheinost et al., 1998). More recently, it has been applied on iron oxide and hydroxide minerals, to investigate their colour and crystal properties (Torrent & Barrón, 2003). Here it was used directly on an archaeological artefact, to determine the presence of yellow and red ochres, but also to quantify the amount of each pigment present in mixture on the surface. Data were acquired using either a colorimeter and fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) and then compared to test the efficiency of both techniques. Altamura F., Mussi M., Arte mobiliare paleolitica dalla Catena del Tuscolano-Artemisio, Lazio e Sabina 10 (2014), Atti del Convegno Decimo Incontro di Studi sul Lazio e la Sabina, Roma, 4-6 Giugno 2013, pp. 119-125 Scheinost A. C., Chavernas A., Barrón V., Torrent J., Use and limitations of second-derivative diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in the visible to near-infrared range to identify and quantify Fe oxide minerals in soils, Clays and Clay Minerals, 46(1998), 528-536 Torrent J., Barrón V., The visible diffuse reflectance spectrum in relation to the color and crystal properties of hematite,Clays and Clay Minerals, 51(2003), 309-317
Colorimetric characterization of ochres in a Palaeolithic flint pebble from Maschio dell’Artemisio, Latium, Italy / Botticelli, Michela; Altamura, Flavio; Catelli, Eliana; Medeghini, Laura; Mussi, Margherita; Maras, Adriana. - (2021). (Intervento presentato al convegno XI Congresso Nazionale AIAr (Associazione Italiana Archeometria) tenutosi a Centro Congressi Partenope / Università Federico II, Napoli).
Colorimetric characterization of ochres in a Palaeolithic flint pebble from Maschio dell’Artemisio, Latium, Italy
Michela Botticelli
;Flavio Altamura;Eliana Catelli;Laura Medeghini;Margherita Mussi;Adriana Maras
2021
Abstract
The flint pebble from Maschio dell’Artemisio, a peak of the Artemisio mountain range (South-East of Rome), represents one of the first complex artefacts from the Upper Palaeolithic of the Alban Hills possibly displaying a symbolic/artistic value (Altamura & Mussi, 2014). It has been used as a hammer stone and retoucher, to create or modify lithic implements. It shows a diffuse and intense ochraceous colour on almost half of its surface. In the present work we discuss the results of an innovative colorimetric approach to define the use of pigments in the Palaeolithic community of the area and eventually compare the raw materials with local supplies. Second-derivative diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a data treatment on colorimetric data used from the ‘80s in the characterization of soil (Scheinost et al., 1998). More recently, it has been applied on iron oxide and hydroxide minerals, to investigate their colour and crystal properties (Torrent & Barrón, 2003). Here it was used directly on an archaeological artefact, to determine the presence of yellow and red ochres, but also to quantify the amount of each pigment present in mixture on the surface. Data were acquired using either a colorimeter and fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) and then compared to test the efficiency of both techniques. Altamura F., Mussi M., Arte mobiliare paleolitica dalla Catena del Tuscolano-Artemisio, Lazio e Sabina 10 (2014), Atti del Convegno Decimo Incontro di Studi sul Lazio e la Sabina, Roma, 4-6 Giugno 2013, pp. 119-125 Scheinost A. C., Chavernas A., Barrón V., Torrent J., Use and limitations of second-derivative diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in the visible to near-infrared range to identify and quantify Fe oxide minerals in soils, Clays and Clay Minerals, 46(1998), 528-536 Torrent J., Barrón V., The visible diffuse reflectance spectrum in relation to the color and crystal properties of hematite,Clays and Clay Minerals, 51(2003), 309-317I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
