ROCK PAINTING WITHIN SOUTHERN PERU IN THE CONTEXT OF PHYSICOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF PIGMENTS

Abstract

The article pertains to rock paintings recorded during studies conducted in 2017 and 2019 by an international archaeological expedition at numerous sheltered sites in the Río Atico basin and Vilavilani region in the Río Caplina catchment area within southern Peru. During the research, archaeological sites with rock art were registered, the state of preservation of the paintings was documented, and it was determined what factors were causing their destruction/degradation. The form and thematic scope of the paintings were also determined while defining four styles/stylistic conventions (styles 1–4) of the rock painting in the area in question. New arrangements regarding the superposition of representations/paintings made it possible to define the time sequence of their creation (relative chronology). Multifaceted physicochemical analyses of colouring substances were also carried out, which allowed determining their chemical composition. The mineral origin of all colouring substances has been confirmed, i.e. they should be described as inorganic pigments. At the same time, conclusions regarding the source of origin of the raw material used for their acquisition were presented. During the research, changes in the colours of individual paintings were observed, which provides the basis for conclusions regarding the chemical processes that caused them.