Abstract
The paper investigates the microstructure and chemical composition of ten pigment samples from the surface of six stone vessels of early nomads of the Southern Urals. Additionally, five pigment specimens from various burial complexes were analyzed. They were found as detached concentrations of lump pigments in graves; in one case, a leather belt was colored with paint. Contexts of finds are different. This work analyzes and summarizes all data about pigments used by the Southern Urals nomads in the Early Iron Age. This research likewise clarifies the origin of pigments when possible. The colorful residues were used for integrated investigations using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, microprobe analyses, and electron microscopy. The integrated analyses allowed the identification of preliminarily ground natural minerals such as pyrolusite, hematite, goethite, azurite, crocoite (?), gypsum, quartz, clay, realgar, jarosite, limonite, and cinnabar (Table 1). Realgar and cinnabar are not found in the local Southern Urals deposits.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by RSF, project No. 22-28-20253. Thanks are due to V.E. Tregubov, O.E. Khmelevskaya, N.L. Morgunova, L.A. Krayeva, D.N. Maslyuzhenko, I.K. Novikov, I.P. Alaeva for assistance in working with materials stored in the funds of the Orenburg Gubernatorial Local History Museum, the Archaeological Museum of the Orenburg State Pedagogical University, the archaeological laboratory of the Kurgan State University, and the scientific and research laboratory of archaeological studies of the South Ural State Humanitarian Pedagogical University.
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Margaryan, K.G., Yuminov, A.M. (2023). The Mineral Composition of Pigments from the Archaeological Sites of the Early Iron Age Nomads of the Southern Urals. In: Ankusheva, N.N., Chechushkov, I.V., Epimakhov, A.V., Ankushev, M.N., Ankusheva, P.S. (eds) Geoarchaeology and Archaeological Mineralogy—2021. Springer Proceedings in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16544-3_13
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