DARQ: Dating rock art in Quebec

Client

University of Quebec at Chicoutimi (UQAC)

Funding

Audace Program

Objective

Dating prehistoric art—one of the earliest forms of artistic expression by modern humans—has always been a challenge for archaeologists. Indeed, determining the age of these paintings is difficult because they rarely contain the elements needed to apply the standard dating techniques used in archaeology or geology.

The primary objective of our mandate is to use the non-destructive technique of VNIR-SWIR hyperspectral remote sensing to identify the mineralogical composition of the paintings.

The secondary objective is to produce a 3D model of the rock face of the paintings using mobile lidar.

Methodology

1. Acquire hyperspectral VNIR-SWIR data on the ground in winter, when the Nisula site is accessible from the frozen lake.
2. Perform post-processing and mineralogical analyses on the data.

Equipment

• VNIR-1800 hyperspectral camera
• SWIR-384, hyperspectral camera
• Remote sensing software
• NavVis VLX2

Field

Heritage enhancement