Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2025

Technical Traditions and Cultural Mosaic in the Neolithization of Mediterranean Iberia: Contributions from the chaîne operatoire of Spanish Levantine rock art pigments

Résumé

The chronological framework of Spanish Levantine rock art has primarily been constructed through the typological analysis of human figures, which exhibit greater variability than animal motifs. This variability appears to stem from both temporal changes and regional influences. The resulting sequence is highly complex, with notable formal variations within each stylistic horizon. However, in the absence of absolute dating, establishing connections between these horizons and defining their chronological and territorial relationships remains challenging. Until now, research has focused exclusively on parameters related to figure design, associating the concept of style strictly with formal attributes. The technical dimension—encompassing the entire operational sequence from the acquisition of raw coloring materials to the processing and application of pigments—has been entirely overlooked, despite its potential to provide valuable insights. Operational sequences serve as a crucial link between material culture and the societies that produced these paintings. The artificial separation of form and technique raises important questions about the definition of technical traditions in Levantine rock art, their temporal and spatial dynamics, and their connection to the complex cultural mosaic that emerged with the spread of Neolithic societies across the Iberian Mediterranean basin from the 6th millennium cal BCE. Building on this perspective, we have implemented new analytical protocols that comprehensively address all stages of the painting process. These protocols encompass the study of coloring material provenance and composition through a physicochemical and mineralogical characterization approach (SEM-EDS, Raman, and PIXE), alongside the examination of processing and application techniques by analyzing the morphology of pigment crystals and the structure of the pictorial layer. The statistical analysis of data collected at each stage and across different analytical perspectives allows us to explore key aspects of the Levantine rock art stylistic sequence. Specifically, we investigate the potential correlation between formal variability and operational sequences, as well as their temporal dynamics. This approach enables us to identify distinct technical traditions within the Levantine sequence and to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the transmission of technical knowledge.

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Dates et versions

hal-05096012 , version 1 (03-06-2025)

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  • HAL Id : hal-05096012 , version 1

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Esther López-Montalvo, Guilhem Mauran. Technical Traditions and Cultural Mosaic in the Neolithization of Mediterranean Iberia: Contributions from the chaîne operatoire of Spanish Levantine rock art pigments. ENE -2nd Conference on the Emergence of the Neolithic in Europe, University of Zadar; Archaeological Museum of Zadar; Croatian Archaeological Society; Austrian Archaeological Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, May 2025, Zadar, Croatia. ⟨hal-05096012⟩
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