50 cm left of the Atlatl hunter/warrior is an abstract design that reminds me of a bundled object (medicine bundle or burial). Beneath it are two nested circles.
Analysis of the diagonal of the "abstract design": Reading 18 --- Niobium 0.575% +/- 0.176, Iron = 5.735% +/- 0.683, Silica = 29.012% +/- 2.413, and Magnesium = 64.523% +/- 3.14.
Reading 50 -- Antimony = 28.29 ppm +/- 11.53, Zirconium = 13.32 ppm +/- 7.01, Iron = 932.9 ppm +/- 54.4, Manganese = 56.24 ppm +/- 32.64, Barium = 278.52 ppm +/- 42.09, Strontium = 18.36 ppm +/- 2.68, and Rubidium = 3.36 +/- 1/63.
A very significant panel at the White Rock Site (23TE01) includes two atlatl hunters/warriors and an accompanying animal is situated several meters left (west) of the large Atlatl hunter/warrior. Handheld xrf analysis confirms that the pigment is mainly iron. The fainter pictograph has less Iron. There is a small amount of Iron (0.902%) naturally in the Roubidoux sandstone formation; the white color of the sandstone is probably because of the low natural Iron content..
Analysis of the "Upper Figure ": Reading 21 --- Zirconium = 0.104% +/- 0.047, Iron = 4.167% +/- 0.797, Silica = 79.335% +/- 5.993, and Magnesium = 16.087% +/- 6.363.
Reading 48 = Antimony = 41.97 ppm +/- 12.6, Tin = 24.29 ppm +/- 9.83, Cadmium = 14.1 ppm +/- 9.4, Silver = 10.46 +/- 6.52, Zirconium = 27.54 ppm +/- 7.76, Iron = 1194.62 ppm +/- 65.2, Manganese = 86.39 ppm +/- 37.66, Barium = 384.56 ppm +/- 46.12, Strontium = 15.32 ppm +/- 2.79, and Rubidium = 4.15 ppm +/- 5.54.
Analysis of the "Lower Figure: Reading 22 -- Zirconium = 0.119% +/- 0.046, Iron = 4.553% +/- 0.579, Silica = 84.401% +/- 3.501, Magnesium = 10.794% +/- 3.212.
Reading 47 -- Antimony = 41.27 ppm +/- 14.15, Tin = 18.54 ppm +/- 1096, Zirconium = 48.51 ppm +/- 9.03, Iron = 887.8 ppm +/- 64.55, Barium = 381 ppm +/- 51.78 Strontium = 11.74 ppm +/- 3.01, Rubidium = 498 ppm +/- 2.07.
Analysis of the background, unpainted rock below three pictographs: Reading 24 -- Niobium = 0.644% +/- 0.136, Zirconium = 0.116% +/- 0.045, Iron = 0.902% +/- 0.286, Silica = 63.914% +/- 3.643, Magnesium = 32.581% +/- 3.002.
Reading 45 --- Zirconium = 15.33 ppm +/- 7.89, Iron = 202.92 ppm +/- 35.68, Barium = 96.49 ppm +/- 45.84, Strontium = 17.35 ppm +/- 2.96,
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The "iconic" pictograph of the entire panel at the White Rock Site (23TE01) is a figure interpreted as a human using an atlatl. Scale is 20 cm. pXRF analysis confirms the pigment is mainly iron. C-14 samples no. 1 by Dr. Karen Steelman.
Analysis of pigment the "Head": Reading 9 --- Iron = 1.248 % +/- 0.315, Silica = 90.425% +/- 4.391, Magnesium = 8.271% +/- 3.914; Reading 53 --- Antimony = 67.12 ppm +/- 14.79, Tin = 34.57 +/- 11.46, Cadmium = 26.08 +/- 11, Silver = 19.61 +/- 7.7, Zirconium = 38.64 +/- 9.12, Iron = 593.71 +/- 56.55, Barium = 481.31 +/- 53.74, Strontium = 18.98 +/- 3.34, Rubidium = 3.72 +/- 2.05
Analysis of the "Center" of the pictograph: Reading 8 -- Niobium = 0.21 +/- 0.064, Iron = 1.571 +/- 0.237, Silica = 89.892 +/- 2.532, Mg Magnesium = 7.562 +/- 2.177; Reading 54 Silica = 95.216 ppm +/- 25.383
Analysis of the "Lower" portion of the pictograph: Reading 11-- Iron = 3.728% +/- 1.21, Silica = 96.168% +/- 10.07; Reading 55 -- Antimony = 74.4 ppm +/- 14.75, Tin = 47.28 ppm +/- 11.52, Cadmium = 28.13 ppm +/- 10.95, Silver = 14.17 +/- 7.52, Zirconium = 75.97 ppm +/-7.52, Iron = 651 ppm +/- 58.11, Barium = 456.95 ppm +/- 53.14, Strontium = 22.61 ppm +/- 3.44, Rubidium = 5.6 ppm +/- 2.15
Analysis of the background, unpainted rock below the pictograph: Reading 12 -- Niobium = 0.105% +/- 0.048, Zirconium = 0.042% +/- 0.018, Iron = 0.335% +/- 0.125, Silica = 94.428% +/- 2.057, Magnesium = 4.507% +/- 1.69; Reading 52 -- Antimony = 49.07 ppm +/- 12.11, Tin = 29.69 +/- 9.45, Cadmium = 19.05 +/- 9.04, Silver = 10.15 ppm +/- 6.22, Zirconium = 21.85 +/- 7.35, Iron = 338.25 ppm +/- 38.55, Manganese = 75.27 ppm +/- 35.33, Barium = 359.87 ppm +/- 43.87, Strontium = 19.85 ppm +/- 2.8, Rubidium = 4.02 ppm +/- 1.72
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Normal and dStretched imagery of the outlined pictograph.
A faint figure, possibly another atlatl hunter/warrior is situated further to the left (west).
Reading won't be posted until August
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Very faint figure enhanced with dStretch at the White Rock Bluff pictograph site (23TE01). Pictograph 50 meters right of the large Atlatl hunter/warrior.
Reading 56 -- Antimony = 63.41 ppm +/- 13.62, Tin = 39.17 ppm +/- 10.64, Cadmium = 24.63 ppm +/- 10.14, Silver = 18.24 ppm +/- 7.08, Zirconium = 45 ppm +/- 8.52, Iron = 1119.19 +/- 67.33, Manganese = 59.82 ppm +/- 38.21, Barium = 457.65 +/- 49.47, Strontium = 21.52 +/- 3.16, and Rubidium = 4.06 +/- 1.92.
Reading 60 -- Iron = 7.352% +/- 1.78, Silica = 91.777% +/- 8.383.
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Michael Fuller
Alan Westfall makes a digital image of the large pictograph of the Atlatl hunter/warrior. Thomas Mercer makes a digital image of the dog pictograph. These pictographs are very, very faint. That is not unexpected with they date to the Archaic Period (6000 - 1000 BC) or Woodland Period (1000 BC - AD 900).
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Background above the abstract object
Reading 19 -- Niobium = 1.137% +/- 0.386, Iron = 3.419% +/- 0.807, Silica 28.977% +/- 4.354, and Magnesium = 65.854% +/- 5.247.
Reading 49 -- Zirconium = 41.13 ppm +/- 8.9, Iron = 193.52 ppm +/- 37.81, Barium = 142.17 ppm +/- 49.24, Strontium = 45.94 ppm +/- 4.02, Rubidium = 4.14 +/- 2.
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Mark Leach points (not touches) to a group of abstract pictographs that may represent a group of atlatl weights (bannerstones) positioned on the handheld throwing stick.
Reading -- won't be posted until August
An outlined pictograph is positioned beneath the dog pictograph. It may be from a later (Mississippian Period) because it does resemble some of the outline pictographs in Picture Cave.
Reading 25 --- Molybdenum = 0.604% +/- 0.219, Niobium = 1.667% +/- 0.305, Zirconium = 0.349% +/- 0.089, Iron = 2.667% +/- 0.521, Aluminum = 6.443% +/- 2.276, Silica = 44.353% +/- 3.929, Magnesium = 43.793% +/- 4.07.
Reading 44 -- Zirconium = 9.75 ppm +/- 6, Iron = 332.81 ppm +/- 31.64, Titanium = 1440.25 ppm +/- 559.84, Strontium = 13.99 ppm +/- 2.2, Rubidium = 2.18 ppm +/- 1.35.
The surprising amount of Titanium can not be easily explained. There are commercial Titanium deposits in Madison and Iron Counties, MO.
Faint red pigment pictograph and DStretch (filter YWE) situated approximately 13 meters right (west) of the Atlatl Hunter pictograph. In terms of proportion - it is in a correction ratio for a mule deer to the hunter. The prominent ears suggest a mule deer in contrast to the common white tail deer found today in Missouri. Douglas Porter, a colleague in rock art research, identified this pictograph during his trip to the site. It was not recognized in my previous visits, so it does not have a pXRF chemical composition. The faint nature of the pigment make it a poor candidate for pXRF analysis. Frank Magre recorded the mule deer in a sketch that he made in 1961; Carol Diaz-Granados (1993:514 - 5, Illustration 70.6.7) discussed the pictograph in her dissertation and characterized it as "a deer with long ears."
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White Rock Bluffs Pictograph Site (23TE01)
A pictograph (painted rock art) site called White Rock Bluff has been known since the 1930s. The site is situated on private property and is not open to the public. The pictographs are painted at approximately eye level along 250 feet of a white sandstone bluff. The White Rock Bluff site was reported to the Archaeological Survey of Missouri by Mr. Thomas R. Brown. A report on the site was prepared by Frank Magre that included the local tradition that the last Native Americans living in Texas County told the pioneers that the pictographs were ancient, before them. Magre noted that Gene Diesling visited the site several times between 1937 and 1939. I first visited the site on 1 June 2012 and returned on 9 June 2021; here are the results of that fieldwork. I returned on 13 January 2023 (yes, Friday) with Dr. Karen Steelman to assist her in taking a C-14 sample to test the theory that the Atlatl Hunter pictograph was painted during the Archaic Period (7000 to 1000 BC).
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pXRF elemental analysis of the upper half of the largest bannerstone – magnesium = 46.667% +/- 4.795, silicon = 37.725% +/- 3.491, iron = 11.397% +/- 1.422, Niobium = 2.318% +/- 0.48, Molybdenum = 1% +/- 0.354, and zirconium = 0.513% +/- 0.143. pXRF ppm analysis – zirconium = 27.92 ppm +/- 7.15, iron = 1604.09 ppm +/- 68.07, Manganese = 81.65 ppm +/- 32.86, strontium = 27.71 ppm +/- 2.89, and rubidium = 3.62 +/- 163.
pXRF elemental analysis of the lower half of the largest bannerstone – iron = 39.931% +/- 3.471, silicon = 36.082% +/- 4.498, niobium = 15.507% +/- 2.89, molybdenum = 4.503% +/- 1.828, and zirconium = 3.013% +/- 0.787. pXRF ppm analysis – zirconium = 16.15 ppm +/- 5.89, iron = 1848.05 ppm +/- 61.48, manganese = 64.26 ppm +/- 25.62, titantium = 2857.41 ppm +/- 514.27, strontium = 16.91 ppm +/- 2.2, and rubidium = 2.38 ppm +/- 1.32.
pXRF elemental analysis of the horizontal staff just right of the largest bannerstone – magnesium = 59.306 % +/- 3.677, silicon = 22.787% +/- 2.056, iron = 9.55 +/- 1.02, niobium = 3.622% +/- 0.548, molybdenum = 1.151% +/- 0.317, and zirconium = 0.732 +/- 0.144.
pXRF elemental analysis of the possible cloud blower pipe – magnesium = 37.517% +/- 7.936, silicon = 32.903% +/- 3.764, iron = 15.962% +/- 2.586, niobium = 4.06% +/- 0.97, molybdenum = 1.276% +/- 0.422, zirconium = 0.722% +/- 0.206 and cadmium = 0.37% +/- 0.167. pXRF ppm analysis – zirconium = 26.12 ppm +/- 6.73, zinc = 7.33 ppm +/- 4.61, iron = 1987 ppm +/- 71.17, manganese = 61.46 ppm +/- 28.52, titantium = 2963.62 ppm +/- 575.57, strontium = 21.23 ppm +/- 2.58, and rubidium = 2.38 ppm +/- 1.48.
pXRF elemental analysis of the unpainted bedrock above and to the left of the bannerstone – magnesium = 52.09% +/- 11.646, silicon = 45.152% +/- 10.456, iron = 1.203% +/- 0.588, niobium = 0.694% +/- 0.323, and zirconium = 0.281% +/- 0.131.
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The animal beneath the two atlatl hunters/warriors seems most likely to be a dog. A short red dash behind the animal may have been another hunter. If the dash behind the "dog" is a continuation of its tail, then it is more likely a panther which changes the whole reading of the panel. The dog interpretation seems most plausible.
Analysis of the "dog": Reading 23 --- Iron = 12.152% +/- 1.441, Silica = 53.77% +/- 6.76, [remaining % would be Magnesium but its % was not recorded]
Reading 46 = Zirconium = 19.9 ppm +/- 8.16, Iron = 581.82 ppm +/- 51.8, Barium = 210.78 ppm +/- 47.9, Strontium = 14.8 ppm +/- 2.96, Rubidium = 3.68 ppm +/- 1.9.
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Very faint figures enhanced with dStretch at the White Rock Bluff pictograph site (23TE01).
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Two faint figures, the lower one resembling an owl, are situated furthest to the right (east) of the site.
Reading 58 -- Niobium = 0.89% +/- 0.397, Zirconium = 0.364% +/- 0.158,Iron = 13.549% +/- 2.77, Silica = 41.517% +/- 5.762, and Magnesium = 34.716 +/- 9.179.
Reading 57 -- Antimony = 64.22 ppm +/- 13.58, Tin = 36.9 ppm +/- 10.55, Cadmium = 26.42 ppm +/- 10.12, Zirconium = 21.02 ppm +/- 8.19, Zinc = 30.61 ppm +/- 7.73, Iron = 2624.97 ppm +/- 98.25, Manganese = 114.49 ppm +/- 42.09, Barium = 481.41 ppm +/- 49.46, Strontium = 39.43 ppm +/- 3.66, and Rubidium = 4.49 +/- 1.94.
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Karen Steelman calculated a C-14 date of 420 to 120 BC for the red pictograph of the headdress, atlatl hunter.
Dr. Karen Steelman (SHUMLA) examines the red pigment pictograph on 13 January 2023.
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Bibliography
Diaz-Granados, Carol
1993 The Petroglyphs and Pictographs of Missouri: A Distributional, Stylistic, Contextual, Functional and Temporal Analysis of the State's Rock Graphics. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Washington University , St. Louis, Missouri.
Diaz-Granados, Carol and James R. Duncan
2000 The Petroglyphs and Pictographs of Missouri. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa.
Very faint figure enhanced with dStretch at the White Rock Bluff pictograph site (23TE01)
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