Patterns of change and continuity in ochre use during the late Middle Stone Age of the Horn of Africa: The Porc-Epic Cave record

Abstract

Ochre is found at numerous Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites and plays a key role in early modern human archaeology. Here we analyse the largest known East African MSA ochre assemblage, comprising 40 kg of ochre, found at Porc-Epic Cave, Ethiopia, spanning a period of at least 4,500 years. Visual characterisation of ochre types, microscopic identification of traces of modification, morphological and morphometric analysis of ochre pieces and modified areas, experimental reproduction of grinding processes, surface texture analysis of archaeological and experimentally ground ochre facets, laser granulometry of ochre powder produced experimentally on different grindstones and by Hamar and Ovahimba women from Ethiopia and Namibia respectively, were, for the first time, combined to explore diachronic shifts in ochre processing technology. Our results identify patterns of continuity in ochre acquisition, treatment and use reflecting both persistent use of the same geological resources and similar uses of iron-rich rocks by late MSA Porc-Epic inhabitants. Considering the large amount of ochre processed at the site, this continuity can be interpreted as the expression of a cohesive cultural adaptation, largely shared by all community members and consistently transmitted through time. A gradual shift in preferred processing techniques and motions is interpreted as reflecting cultural drift within this practice. Evidence for the grinding of ochre to produce small quantities of powder throughout the sequence is consistent with a use in symbolic activities for at least part of the ochre assemblage from Porc-Epic Cave.

Time wears on: Assessing how bone wears using 3D surface texture analysis

“…These approaches and others that utilize confocal microscopy and 3D surface texture analysis [ 39 ] have appreciably reduced intra-observer error. 3D surface texture analysis was originally developed in the field of surface metrology [ 40 ], but it has been adapted for anthropological, biological, and archaeological applications in wear studies on teeth [ 41 – 46 ] and lithics [ 47 – 55 ], and less frequently on ochre [ 56 ] and bone tools [ 57 – 59 ].…”

Ochre and pigment use at Hohle Fels cave: Results of the first systematic review of ochre and ochre-related artefacts from the Upper Palaeolithic in Germany

“…Our classification of ochre modifications builds on protocols established in previous ochre studies in order to maintain consistency within the research field and to allow for future cross-comparisons between sites and ochre assemblages [23, 31, 119–121]. Qualitative characteristics such as texture, colour, rock type, and size of the ochre artefacts are described based on a system created by Hodgskiss (119); however, these traits are common descriptive variables used for more qualitative ochre analyses elsewhere [27, 31–33, 120, 122–124]. Our HF protocol (for details see Table 2) allows us to characterise grinding, rubbing, scoring or more specifically incisions or engraving striations, micro-striations, rounding and faceting.…”

“…Our examination and description of the HF ochre assemblage are inspired by and adapted from methodologies employed by researchers investigating Middle Stone Age (MSA) ochre from South Africa [31, 113, 120, 123], with some alterations made by the primary author. Since the HF ochre artefacts vary considerably from MSA assemblages, several categorical descriptions were altered to accommodate local characteristics of the HF assemblage.…”

Cross-Modality Information Transfer: A Hypothesis about the Relationship among Prehistoric Cave Paintings, Symbolic Thinking, and the Emergence of Language

“…Ochre is an iron-rich mineral that served several roles, including body decoration, along with more utilitarian roles ( Watts, 2009 ; Hansen, 2011 ). In Blombos Cave, more than 8,000 pieces of ochre-like material have been found ( Rosso et al, 2017 ). Some, like those in Figure 1 , have geometric engravings and incisions.…”