Technical advantages bridging the preservation limits of painted decoration of Neolithic ceramic figurines

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14210%2F25%3A00144362" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14210/25:00144362 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/var/article/view/22755/17473" target="_blank" >https://polipapers.upv.es/index.php/var/article/view/22755/17473</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/var.2024.22755" target="_blank" >10.4995/var.2024.22755</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Technical advantages bridging the preservation limits of painted decoration of Neolithic ceramic figurines

Original language description

Painting on ceramic objects is one of the most outstanding features of visual narration of the Neolithic material culture in Southeastern and partly in Central Europe. Unfortunately, post-firing painting is usually poorly preserved due to deposition conditions. Moreover, it may have been damaged or contaminated during post-excavation and conservation processes in the past. New methods of visual detection of pigment traces bring about a higher success rate in the identification of pigment traces and the reconstruction of motifs, leading to both more targeted protection without contaminants and a broader understanding of the motifs preferred by Neolithic societies in their narrative expression. Decorrelation algorithms have been widely used to analyse rock art and wall paintings, but their application to fragile pigments on mobile artefacts remains limited. DStretch, a key tool in this process, enhances colour contrasts in digital images to detect faint pigment traces, which are often overlooked in standard macroscopic analysis. By applying DStretch to high-resolution photographs or 3D model textures, we can identify pigment residues without damaging the object. The algorithm's versatility extends to different colour channels, making it possible to detect subtle traces across different pigments, improving overall data preservation and analysis.378 fragments of Neolithic ceramic figurines from the Lengyel culture site Těšetice-Kyjovice - Sutny, the largest known collection in central Europe, have been analysed. The DStretch results were verified using reflected-light microscopy, and samples of the most commonly used pigments were analysed by Raman spectroscopy. Previously, painting the figurines was considered a minor practice, amounting to 25 % of the collection at most. Using our methods, it is revealed that almost 60 % of figurines were painted, despite the intensive removal of pigments during post-excavation surface cleaning. New data on the structure and origin of pigments were collected as well as data concerning the nature of the motifs.

Czech name

—

Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

60102 - Archaeology

Project

<a href="/en/project/GA22-28334S" target="_blank" >GA22-28334S: Neolithic figurines in the light of analytical data. Manufacturing technology, traces of the use, patterns of the fragmentation and deposition.</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

VIRTUAL ARCHAEOLOGY REVIEW

ISSN

1989-9947

e-ISSN

1989-9947

Volume of the periodical

16

Issue of the periodical within the volume

33

Country of publishing house

ES - SPAIN

Number of pages

23

Pages from-to

127-149

UT code for WoS article

001544979300009

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105011867714