Anderson Emma, Almond Matthew J, Matthews Wendy, Cinque Gianfelice, Frogley Mark D
Department of Chemistry, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AD, UK.
Department of Chemistry, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AD, UK.
Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2014 Oct 15;131:373-83. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2014.03.126. Epub 2014 Apr 16.
Samples containing red pigment have been collected from two different archaeological sites dating to the Neolithic (Çatalhöyük in Turkey and Sheikh-e Abad in Iran) and have been analysed by a range of techniques. Sub-samples were examined by IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, whilst thin sections were studied using optical polarising microscopy, synchrotron based IR microscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Thin layers of red paint in a wall painting from Çatalhöyük were found to contain ochre (hematite and clay) as well as an unexpected component, grains of red and colourless obsidian, which have not been identified in any previous studies of the wall paintings at Çatalhöyük. These small grains of obsidian may have improved the reflective properties of the paint and made the artwork more vivid in the darkness of the buildings. Analysis of a roughly shaped ball of red sediment found on a possible working surface at Sheikh-e Abad revealed that the cause of the red colouring was the mineral hematite, which was probably from a source of terra rossa sediment in the local area. The results of this work suggest it is unlikely that this had been altered by the Neolithic people through mixing with other minerals.
已从两个可追溯至新石器时代的不同考古遗址（土耳其的恰塔尔霍裕克和伊朗的谢赫阿巴德）采集了含有红色颜料的样本，并采用了一系列技术对其进行分析。对亚样本进行了红外光谱分析和X射线衍射分析，同时利用光学偏光显微镜、基于同步加速器的红外显微镜以及配备能谱仪的环境扫描电子显微镜对薄片进行了研究。在恰塔尔霍裕克的一幅壁画中，发现红色颜料薄层含有赭石（赤铁矿和黏土）以及一种意想不到的成分——红色和无色黑曜石颗粒，在之前对恰塔尔霍裕克壁画的任何研究中都未发现过这些颗粒。这些小的黑曜石颗粒可能改善了颜料的反射特性，使艺术品在建筑物的黑暗环境中更加生动。对在谢赫阿巴德一个可能的工作面上发现的一个大致呈球形的红色沉积物进行分析后发现，红色的成因是矿物赤铁矿，它可能来自当地的红土沉积物源。这项工作的结果表明，新石器时代的人们不太可能通过与其他矿物混合来改变它。
