Rock Art Pigments and Paints

Some form of Rock Art has been practiced by nearly all cultures in the world. In rock painting and drawing, several mineral pigments were widely used, particularly hematite, goethite, lepidocrocite, limonite and pyrulosite. Charcoal from campfires is also a common black pigment. A variety of different minerals was used by different peoples to produce white. In this paper we discuss the chemistry and mineralogy of over a dozen common rock art pigments. The use of some of these pigments will be discussed in more detail with particular emphasis on the pigments and paints used by Australian Aboriginal peoples. Two student activities related to rock painting are provided to allow for the integration of this material into chemistry and the geology curricula.