Color of Small Ochre Fragments from the Upper Paleolithic Sites Kapova Cave and Kamennaya Balka II (Russia): Combining Visual Color Identification and Cluster Analysis

Abstract

A technique for characterizing the color of small ochre samples was proposed. The technique includes visual color determination with the aid of a stereomicroscope and a Munsell Soil Color Chart, conversion of Munsell values to CIE L*a*b* coordinates, cluster analysis, and principle component analysis (PCA). The technique was applied to ochre samples from the Kapova Cave and Kamennaya Balka II Upper Paleolithic sites. Characterization of the color of a statistically significant number of pigment samples makes it possible to identify the relationships between different structural features of the cultural layer and reliably identify a wide range of artistic practices in parietal caves in addition to the actual creation of drawings, and it also possibly serves as a chronological marker at multi-layered sites.

Keywords

• ochre
• Upper Paleolithic
• mineral pigments
• color characterization
• Munsell color system
• parietal cave