Semi-micro methods have been devised for the identification of the metallic components comprising the pigments used in mesoamerican mural paintings. These methods are based upon samples of 10-15 mgfor each of the colors to be studied and include the reds, greens, blues, blacks and browns. The analyses are performed on individual samples for each color, thereby eliminating the need for long and tedious analytical procedures which are difficult to apply to the small amounts of material often available.