Pigment composition of prehistoric pictographs of Gatecliff Shelter, central Nevada. American Museum novitates ; no. 2521

Abstract

"X-ray diffraction and electron microprobe analysis reveals the minerals used as base and pigments in prehistoric paints from Gatecliff Shelter, an archeological site in central Nevada. Goethite, hematite, and lepidocrocite were mixed in varying proportions to obtain red, orange, and yellow paint. The combination of aragonite, gypsum, and halotrichite-pickeringite (an alum) formed both the white paint and also the base used to bind the other colors. This mineral assemblage is probably from a local hot-spring deposit. Not only is the paint composition a potential indicator of prehistoric interaction networks and an aid for rock-art classification, but pictograph paint may even prove significant as a cultural and/or temporal index in certain regions"--P. [1].