The earliest evidence of coloured ornaments in China: The ochred ostrich eggshell beads from Shuidonggou Locality 2

Martí, Àfrica Pitarch; Wei, Yi; Gao, Xing; Chen, Fuyou; d’Errico, Francesco

doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2017.07.002

Cited by 26 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…These people brought with them a knowledge of the technology of ochre processing and we see a blooming of sophisticated artistry from 40 to 30 ka. In the Far East, Pitarch-Martí et al [27] have analysed red-stained, ostrich shell beads from the 31 ka Shuidonggou Locality 2 site and found them to be coated with a red ochre composed of hematite with impurities of feldspars, micas and clays. An important site in the Northern Territories of Australia is the Puritjarra rock shelter where there is evidence of processing of both local and imported red ochres continually from 32 ka up until the present day [20].…”

Section: Red Ochrementioning

confidence: 99%

Mineral Pigments in Archaeology: Their Analysis and the Range of Available Materials

Siddall

2018

Minerals

119

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Naturally occurring minerals or their synthetic analogues have been important as pigments used in artistic and cosmetic contexts in global antiquity. The analysis and identification of mineral pigments, though routine to the petrologist or mineralogist, also requires specialist knowledge of the archaeological contexts and available technologies and trade. This paper attempts to present an analytical approach to the study of mineral pigments in archaeology and also introduces the range of mineral pigments encountered in works of art and painted objects on archaeological sites and in museums. It attempts to cover the range of mineral and synthetic inorganic pigments used in global cultures from to the early Medieval period.

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Section: Red Ochrementioning

confidence: 99%

Mineral Pigments in Archaeology: Their Analysis and the Range of Available Materials

Siddall

2018

Minerals

119

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“…On the other hand, the Lingjing case further highlights the inability of lithic technology to adequately describe the whole breath of behavioural variability for the humanities that preceded us. Careful consideration of the faunal assemblages, both from a taphonomic and a technological perspective, especially in East Asia, now allow us to perceive a level of technological complexity that is entirely comparable to penecontemporaneous evidence from other regions of the Old World (Wei et al, 2016;Zhang et al, 2016Zhang et al, , 2018Pitarch Martí et al, 2017;d'Errico et al, 2018;Li et al, 2020).We can only hope the recent discoveries from Lingjing and other sites will encourage a careful re-examination of faunal assemblages from these perspectives to further our understanding of the cultural trajectories of the technological systems before and after the dispersal of our species in the region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 115,000-year-old expedient bone technology at Lingjing, Henan, China

Doyon¹,

Li²,

Wang³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Activities attested since at least 2.6 Myr, such as stone knapping, marrow extraction, and woodworking may have allowed early hominins to recognize the technological potential of discarded skeletal remains and equipped them with a transferable skillset fit for the marginal modification and utilization of bone flakes. Identifying precisely when and where expedient bone tools were used in prehistory nonetheless remains a challenging task owing to the multiple natural and anthropogenic processes that can mimic deliberately knapped bones. Here, we compare a large sample of the faunal remains from Lingjing, a 115 ka-old site from China which has yielded important hominin remains and rich faunal and lithic assemblages, with bone fragments produced by experimentally fracturing Equus caballus long bones. Our results provide a set of qualitative and quantitative criteria that can help zooarchaeologists and bone technologists distinguish faunal remains with intentional flake removal scars from those resulting from carcass processing activities. Experimental data shows marrow extraction seldom generates diaphyseal fragments bearing more than six flake scars arranged contiguously or in interspersed series. Long bone fragments presenting such characteristics can, therefore, be interpreted as being purposefully knapped to be used as expediency tools. The identification, based on the above experimental criteria, of 56 bone tools in the Lingjing faunal assemblage is consistent with the smaller size of the lithics found in the same layer. The continuity gradient observed in the size of lithics and knapped bones suggest the latter were used for tasks in which the former were less or not effective.

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“…The use of ochre to modify the appearance of personal ornaments is attested at 80 ka BP from Middle Stone Age Moroccan sites, such as Taforalt, Rhafas and Ifri n'Ammar (d’Errico et al 2009). The earliest evidence for the use of ochre in China comes from Zhoukoudian Upper Cave and Shuidonggou localities 2 and 8, in the form of modified ochre lumps and ornaments coloured with ochre (Pitarch Martí et al 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%