Broken painting in the prehistoric cave and chemical content of paint used in Maros Regency, South Sulawesi

Abstract

Abstract An examination have been done of the cause of damage to the prehistoric paintings in Maros South Sulawesi. The cause of the damage is besides human factors, natural factors are the main cause. A total of 4 prehistoric caves as samples where four painting colors (red, black, brown and white) were taken. After being observed, it can be seen that the form of damage consists of peeling painting paint, weathering the rock where the painting is, and erosion. The method used is by gouging out damaged paintings as samples and analyzing these samples using X-Ray Fluoroscence (XRF) and X-Ray Difraction (XRD) instruments. Based on XRF and XRD data analysis, these colors contain compounds CaO, SO 3 , Cl, P 2 O 5 , V 2 O 5 , Nb 2 O 5 , MoO 3 , SiO 3 , Fe 2 O 3 , TiO 2 , Nb 2 O 5 , dan Sb 2 O 3 . The results of the analysis show that in general the main content of all paint paintings from different locations is CaO and SO 3 . This indicates that the measured paint contains a lot of lime. Other chemical components contained are reddish brown Fe2O3. This compound contributes to the color of red, brown and one black painting. Based on the results of elution absorption and color reactions, paints of red and black are not derived from human or animal blood. The results of this study provide useful information about the composition of the compounds used to produce prehistoric painting paints, which can later be reproduced and utilized in the context of conservation and restoration of damaged paintings.

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