Rock art technology, Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) and experimental archaeology: recent research on Iberian Late Bronze Age warrior stelae

Abstract

This paper proposes a methodological approach for the study of rock art technology that combines the application of digital imaging techniques (in particular Reflectance Transformation Imaging, RTI) with rock art replication experiments. It is argued that this kind of combined bottom-up approach has the potential to offer valuable insights into the communities of practice involved in the creation of rock art. The paper uses Iberian Late Bronze Age warrior stelae as a case study, and presents the results of the recent technological analysis of four stelae from the Guadalquivir river basin, as well as a replication experiment. Added to offering some preliminary new insights into the social dimension of stelae-making, the paper also underlines the significance of tools collected through fieldwork at stelae find-spots as an additional line of evidence.