On Methods for Describing "Controversal" Paintings (Based on Rock Art Sites in Minusinsk Basin)

Field studies of the rock art sites in the Minusinsk basin (Kavkazskaya Pisanitsa, Bugaev Log (Oglakhty VI), Potroshilovskaya Pisanitsa), which were conducted in 2016–2017, revealed a series of “controversial” painted figures on the rocks. We aimed at identifying them in terms of archaeology and considered some methods of searching for such figures. The figures can be identified in the course of microscopic observations and digital filtering applied to the photos with rock art figures (a pigment map) in Adobe Photoshop and Figure J (plugin DStretch). A combination of these methods seems to be the most effective. A debatable issue is how to see the difference between artificial and natural pigmentation. Applying physicochemical analysis, we can identify both natural ferritization of the material and rock painting made by human.

Keywords: Minusinsk basin, rock art, paintings, painted figures, pigment, search for figures, pigment map, ferritization.