Studies on the materials and manufacturing technology of the murals unearthed at Shimao Site in Shenmu County, Shaanxi

This paper presents preliminary scientific analytical results and discussion on the murals unearthed at the Shimao Site in Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province. The murals were composed of pigment layer, plaster base layer and daub layer. The pigments used include hematite, goethite, glauconite and carbon black. Same with the floor plaster layer of the house foundations in the site, the plaster layer of murals is made of calcium carbonate. For the painting procedure, a draft had firstly been designed by engraved lines, and then the murals were painted with various pigments. A tentative comparative study shows that the manufacturing technology and painting techniques of the Shimao mural are similar to that of the murals of the Han and Tang Dynasties. It indicates that the fundamental manufacturing technology of mural had probably been established in the Erlitou Period at latest, which was just followed and enriched over the Han and Tang Dynasties.