VAFB-2018-05: The Honda Ridge Pilot Project: Digital Microscopy and Stratigraphic Analysis of Paint Layer Sequences Within the Honda Ridge Main Panel, Volumes I &amp; II, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, Contract No. XUMU OS 100316, USACE-Omaha Task Order 14
Creators: name: Lindsay, Audrey
name: Center For The Environmental Management Of Military Lands (CEMML)
Publisher: name: Center for the Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML)
Year: 2018
Subjects: subject: Santa Barbara (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/3486/santa-barbara-county
subject: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/77005/vandenberg-air-force-base-california
subject: California (State / Territory)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/1484/california-state-territory
subject: Historic Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/29/historic-period
subject: Early Period
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/5359/early-period
subject: Preshistoric
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/temporal-keyword/801/preshistoric
subject: Chumash
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/2001/chumash
subject: CA-SBA-503
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/16638/ca-sba-503
subject: CA-SBA-552
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/92909/ca-sba-552
subject: Nocto
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118068/nocto
subject: Swordfish Cave
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/4772/swordfish-cave
subject: Honda Ridge rock art site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/118067/honda-ridge-rock-art-site
subject: CA-SBA-550
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/93030/ca-sba-550
subject: CA-SBA-210
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-name/92904/ca-sba-210
subject: winter solstice observation site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3926/winter-solstice-observation-site
subject: ceremonial site
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/3927/ceremonial-site
subject: Rock Art
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/361/rock-art
subject: Pictograph
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/364/pictograph
subject: Red Ochre
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/629/red-ochre
subject: red paint
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/3205/red-paint
subject: finely-ground red hematite
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/3206/finely-ground-red-hematite
subject: Red Pigment
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/87/red-pigment
subject: Mineral
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/material-type/12/mineral
subject: Type B painted monochrome subclass
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/165791/type-b-painted-monochrome-subclass
subject: Stratigraphic Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/70224/stratigraphic-analysis
subject: monochromatic pictograph
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/165789/monochromatic-pictograph
subject: Santa Barbara painted style
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/165790/santa-barbara-painted-style
subject: Microscopic Analysis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/157659/microscopic-analysis
subject: digital microscopy
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/165788/digital-microscopy
subject: Archaeological Overview
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/1/archaeological-overview
subject: Site Stewardship Monitoring
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/19/site-stewardship-monitoring
subject: Methodology, Theory, or Synthesis
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/6/methodology-theory-or-synthesis
subject: Research Design / Data Recovery Plan
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/9/research-design-data-recovery-plan

description: This document is a report that details the stratigraphic findings of the Honda Ridge Pilot Project, beginning with a background on the Honda Ridge rock art site and three proposed site use interpretations proposed by researchers. Recent stratigraphic analysis applications in rock art research are discussed, followed by an explanation of the Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center’s digital microscopy methods and stratigraphic analysis process, and how these methods were adapted to the Honda Ridge rock art site. The results of the digital microscopy and stratigraphic analysis are presented, and these results are divided based on the two separate analyses: the Paint Application Method analysis and the Overall Motif analysis. The subsequent discussion section addresses the three research questions in turn, outlining the lessons learned from this pilot study, and analyzing the stratigraphic findings from the paint Application Method and Overall Motif analyses. Site-specific and methodological challenges to the pilot project are also outlined in this section, as well as recommendations for future stratigraphic analysis within the Honda Ridge main panel and at other pictograph sites on Vandenberg Air Force Base. The Honda Ridge Pilot Project applied non-destructive digital microscopy and stratigraphic analysis to a 2 m2 panel section within the highly-stratified, monochromatic Honda Ridge main pictograph panel. The primary goals of this pilot project aimed to provide documentation of stratigraphic patterns, if any, within the main panel section with regards to paint application method and overall motif, as well as examine how any identified stratigraphic relationships and sequences may relate to three proposed site use and activity interpretations proposed by researchers. The Honda Ridge Pilot Project also completed microscopic analysis of 2016 wildfire effects to a 1.5 m2 panel section within the heavily-affected northeastern main panel (Appendix D), and produced a high-resolution three-dimensional model of the entire main panel. The Honda Ridge Pilot Project and resulting deliverables assist Vandenberg Air Force Base in fulfilling its responsibility to identify, protect, and manage cultural resources under Federal laws such as Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (1966), Section 5 of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (1974), and AF Instruction 32-7065, among other governmental regulations. This analysis also adds to the growing body of stratigraphic research on pictograph panels, and provides useful archaeological data to the Vandenberg Air Force Base Cultural Resources team.