A Comparative Analysis of Paints on the Karakol Burial Slabs
A Comparative Analysis of Paints on the Karakol Burial Slabs
DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2017.45.3.056-068
A.S. Pakhunov1, 2, E.G. Devlet1, 2, V.I. Molodin2, 3, B.V. Lazin4, I.A. Karateev5, P.V. Dorovatovsky5, A.A. Kaloyan5, K.M. Podurets5, R.A. Senin5, A.E. Blagov5, and E.B. Yatsishina5 1Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Dm. Ulyanova 19, Moscow, 117036, Russia 2Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova 1, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia 3Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pr. Akademika Lavrentieva 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia 4Educational and Scientific Museum, Far Eastern Federal University, Pr. Okeansky 37, Vladivostok, Russia, 690091 5National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, Pl. Akademika Kurchatova 1, Moscow, 123182, Russia
We have analyzed paintings on six stone slabs from Bronze Age burial sites of the Karakol culture in the Altai, Karakol, and Ozernoye. Most represent anthropomorphic figures, depicted in a mixed technique including pecking, engraving, abrasion, and painting in various combinations. Paintings are superimposed on previously made petroglyphs, which had not initially been painted. Samples of paint were analyzed using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with X-ray spectrometry, and synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction. Results make it possible to differentiate, using the instrumental analysis, intentional painting from natural coloration. The composition of pigments suggests that both the images and the contouring lines were made with one and the same red paint. However, while the pigment’s composition is homogeneous in each burial, it differs between the burials. Paint was found not only on slabs but on human bones as well, with its color varying from light red to black. Further analysis will hopefully shed light on the Karakol burial rite.
