Hyperspectral Imaging Techniques for the Study, Conservation and Management of Rock Art

Paleolithic rock art is one of the most important cultural phenomena in the history of mankind. It was made by making incisions and/or applying natural pigments mixed with water or organic elements on a rock surface, which for millennia has been subjected to different factors of natural and anthropogenic alteration that have caused its deterioration and/or disappearance. The present paper shows a methodology that employs hyperspectral technology in the range of visible light and the near infrared spectrum, providing a scientific and non-destructive way to study, conserve and manage such a valuable cultural heritage. Recognition of coloring matter, formal recognition of the figures, superposition of forms and documentation of the state of conservation are relevant topics in rock art, and hyperspectral imaging technology is an efficient way to study them. The aim is to establish a method of creating pigment cartography and enhancing the visualization of rock art panels. Illumination sources, spectroradiometry measurements and camera adjustments must be taken into account to generate accurate results that later will be pre-processed to derive reflectance data, and then pigment analysis and enhanced visualization methods are applied. This methodology has allowed us to obtain 76% more figures than using traditional techniques throughout the case study area.