Pictograph Painting Methods
The artist in her studio experimenting with red earth pigment and binder
Prehistoric Native American Art
Some prehistoric pictograph painting in North America was done by using a single color. This is called monochrome painting. Depending on where you look in North America, Native peoples used different types of materials as pigments.
Among the most common types of material used to create pictographs in North America, hematite or heated limonite was regularly used. Some small bags, found in pre-contact Native medicine bundles have been shown to contain powders believed to have been used for painting. These included dust from red pipestone (Catlinite), dried Cochineal bugs, different colors of ochre, charcoal, and red earth.
Interestingly, Cochineal bugs, used to dye fabrics and hides, were often found on Prickly Pear cactus, and the use of the sap as a binder may have been a natural evolutionary progression in pictograph painting.
Other binders, used to affix pigments to stone or hides were made from a variety of ingredients including animal fat, marrow, yucca plants, Prickly Pear cactus, and hide glue. There is also evidence that certain food by-products with a high acid content may have been used to help etch images into rock surfaces when mixed with binders.
Brushes or painting sticks were made out of whatever materials were at hand; sticks, bones, plant fibers, dried plant parts, and even feathers.
Some prehistoric images were applied by spraying the pigment out of the mouth against a hand or other form of primitive ‘stencil.’
NOTE: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD ANYONE PLACE ANY PIGMENTS IN THE MOUTH OR APPLY ANY PIGMENTS IN THE ABOVE DESCRIBED MANNER.
In the 1700’s, Traders began showing up with Vermilion, a poisonous compound derived from Cinnabar ore, containing mercuric sulfide. Vermilion had been used for a long time by European painters (with disastrous results to their health).
During this period, Vermilion became a favored trade item for Native Americans and they soon began applying the substance to their faces, bodies, and robes. Over time, this had a tragic effect on health. Once it was discovered that Vermilion was toxic, its use was discontinued by Native peoples.