Identification of pyroxene minerals used as black pigments in painted human bones excavated in Northern Patagonia by Raman spectroscopy and XRD

The skeletal remains of seven individuals were excavated in a secondary burial context in the site of Cima de los Huesos, in the San Matías Gulf (Río Negro, Argentina). AMS dating of two samples for this site to 1173±45 and 1225±47yearsBP make it one of the earliest burials of its kind uncovered so...

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Autores principales: Tomasini, E.P., Favier Dubois, C.M., Little, N.C., Centeno, S.A., Maier, M.S.
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Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_0026265X_v121_n_p157_Tomasini
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spelling todo:paper_0026265X_v121_n_p157_Tomasini2023-10-03T14:36:55Z Identification of pyroxene minerals used as black pigments in painted human bones excavated in Northern Patagonia by Raman spectroscopy and XRD Tomasini, E.P. Favier Dubois, C.M. Little, N.C. Centeno, S.A. Maier, M.S. Iron oxides Micro-X-ray diffraction Painted bones Pyroxenes Raman microspectroscopy The skeletal remains of seven individuals were excavated in a secondary burial context in the site of Cima de los Huesos, in the San Matías Gulf (Río Negro, Argentina). AMS dating of two samples for this site to 1173±45 and 1225±47yearsBP make it one of the earliest burials of its kind uncovered so far in the Patagonian region. Among the findings, the skeleton of a male painted with parallel lines alternating red and black colors was uncovered. SEM-EDS elemental analysis of microsamples removed from the red and the black pigments showed the presence of Mn and Fe as the main components, respectively. Raman microspectroscopy combined with micro-X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the red pigment contains hematite and that the black pigment is composed of members of the pyroxene mineral group, ferrosilite (FeSiO3) and enstatite (MgSiO3) along with kanoite (MnMgSi2O6). This is, to our knowledge, the first report on the use of pyroxenes as black pigments to decorate human remains or archeological artifacts in South America. No organic compounds that could have been used as binders for the paints were detected by FTIR-ATR. Contamination due to quartz and aluminosilicates, mainly microcline and albite, from the burial environment did not allow determining whether clay minerals were used in the paints as binders and/or extenders. The multitechnique approach used was crucial to overcome the limitations of the individual techniques to firmly identify Mn-containing black pigments. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. Fil:Tomasini, E.P. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Favier Dubois, C.M. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil:Maier, M.S. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. JOUR info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ar http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_0026265X_v121_n_p157_Tomasini
institution Universidad de Buenos Aires
institution_str I-28
repository_str R-134
collection Biblioteca Digital - Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
topic Iron oxides
Micro-X-ray diffraction
Painted bones
Pyroxenes
Raman microspectroscopy
spellingShingle Iron oxides
Micro-X-ray diffraction
Painted bones
Pyroxenes
Raman microspectroscopy
Tomasini, E.P.
Favier Dubois, C.M.
Little, N.C.
Centeno, S.A.
Maier, M.S.
Identification of pyroxene minerals used as black pigments in painted human bones excavated in Northern Patagonia by Raman spectroscopy and XRD
topic_facet Iron oxides
Micro-X-ray diffraction
Painted bones
Pyroxenes
Raman microspectroscopy
description The skeletal remains of seven individuals were excavated in a secondary burial context in the site of Cima de los Huesos, in the San Matías Gulf (Río Negro, Argentina). AMS dating of two samples for this site to 1173±45 and 1225±47yearsBP make it one of the earliest burials of its kind uncovered so far in the Patagonian region. Among the findings, the skeleton of a male painted with parallel lines alternating red and black colors was uncovered. SEM-EDS elemental analysis of microsamples removed from the red and the black pigments showed the presence of Mn and Fe as the main components, respectively. Raman microspectroscopy combined with micro-X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the red pigment contains hematite and that the black pigment is composed of members of the pyroxene mineral group, ferrosilite (FeSiO3) and enstatite (MgSiO3) along with kanoite (MnMgSi2O6). This is, to our knowledge, the first report on the use of pyroxenes as black pigments to decorate human remains or archeological artifacts in South America. No organic compounds that could have been used as binders for the paints were detected by FTIR-ATR. Contamination due to quartz and aluminosilicates, mainly microcline and albite, from the burial environment did not allow determining whether clay minerals were used in the paints as binders and/or extenders. The multitechnique approach used was crucial to overcome the limitations of the individual techniques to firmly identify Mn-containing black pigments. © 2015 Elsevier B.V.
format JOUR
author Tomasini, E.P.
Favier Dubois, C.M.
Little, N.C.
Centeno, S.A.
Maier, M.S.
author_facet Tomasini, E.P.
Favier Dubois, C.M.
Little, N.C.
Centeno, S.A.
Maier, M.S.
author_sort Tomasini, E.P.
title Identification of pyroxene minerals used as black pigments in painted human bones excavated in Northern Patagonia by Raman spectroscopy and XRD
title_short Identification of pyroxene minerals used as black pigments in painted human bones excavated in Northern Patagonia by Raman spectroscopy and XRD
title_full Identification of pyroxene minerals used as black pigments in painted human bones excavated in Northern Patagonia by Raman spectroscopy and XRD
title_fullStr Identification of pyroxene minerals used as black pigments in painted human bones excavated in Northern Patagonia by Raman spectroscopy and XRD
title_full_unstemmed Identification of pyroxene minerals used as black pigments in painted human bones excavated in Northern Patagonia by Raman spectroscopy and XRD
title_sort identification of pyroxene minerals used as black pigments in painted human bones excavated in northern patagonia by raman spectroscopy and xrd
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_0026265X_v121_n_p157_Tomasini
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