ORGANIC RESIDUE (FTIR) AND ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION (pXRF) ANALYSIS OF ROCK ART PIGMENT FROM SENTINEL BLUFF ROCKSHELTER, TEHAMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

Sentinel Bluff Rockshelter is situated along the western edge of Turtle Creek in Tehama County, California. On an interior wall of the rockshelter are two negative hand pictographs created with a maroon-colored pigment that appears to have been “sprayed” around the hands. A small sample of the pigment was collected for elemental composition (pXRF) and organic residue (FTIR) analysis to determine whether the paint was made using organic compounds, mineral compounds, or a combination of the two. A small sample also was collected 1.35 m south of the handprints on a portion of the wall not exposed to the pigment to act as a control for the analysis.