Calcium oxalate AMS 14C dating and chronology of post-Palaeolithic rock paintings in the Iberian Peninsula. Two dates from Abrigo de los Oculados (Henarejos, Cuenca, Spain)

Minateda rock shelters (Albacete) and post-palaeolithic art of the Mediterranean Basin in Spain: pigments, surfaces and patinas

“…The Raman spectrum contains the general bands D1 at w1342 cm À1 and G at w1585 cm À1 (Fig. 10(e)) for amorphous carbon (Beyssac et al, 2003), a characteristic component of carbon black, bone black, ivory black, or charcoal, as described in previous rock art studies (Smith et al, 1999;Hernanz et al, 2006;Ospitali et al, 2006). A recent study demonstrates that the presence of black-coloured particles is not necessarily attributable to pigment use but could result from the metabolic activities of lichen, fungi, and other microorganisms (Darchuk et al, 2009).…”

An approximation to the study of black pigments in Cova Remigia (Castellón, Spain). Technical and cultural assessments of the use of carbon-based black pigments in Spanish Levantine Rock Art

“…In fact, spatial analyses have become a fundamental archaeological procedure that could compensate for the difficulty of obtaining direct dating of paintings that were mainly executed with mineral pigments. Some attempts to date oxalate layers covering Levantine paintings have been carried out Ruiz et al, 2006Ruiz et al, , 2009Ruiz et al, , 2011Ruiz et al, , 2012, but it is worth noting that these methods have certain limitations when applied to open-air panels.…”

μ‐Raman spectroscopy of prehistoric paintings from the Abrigo Remacha rock shelter (Villaseca, Segovia, Spain)

“…The Iberian Peninsula is home for a large number of archaeological sites (caves, open‐air rock shelters and megalithic monuments) with prehistoric paintings. Some significant sites have been studied previously by μ‐Raman spectroscopy helped by auxiliary spectroscopic techniques . Fairly well‐preserved schematic pictographs including an unusual bichrome figure were discovered in the Abrigo Remacha (Villaseca, Segovia, Spain) on the middle of the 1990s of the past century.…”