A new study in Nature Communications sheds light on the ancient use of ocher in southern Africa, revealing that the earth mineral has been used as a dye and ritual item for nearly 50,000 years. The researchers analyzed 173 samples from 15 Stone Age sites to reconstruct how ocher was extracted, used and transported. The findings indicate that knowledge of ocher processing was passed down from generation to generation, supported by social exchange and technical learning. The study also found that the "Lion's Cave" in Eswatini is the oldest known ocher mining site in the world, dating back to about 48,000 years ago.
Ocher’s Ancient Roots and Global Impact
"From prehistoric hunting scenes in France's Lascaux caves to Aboriginal body-painting traditions and medieval artwork, ocher has always been an integral part of human expression." Gregor-Ocher, senior author of the study and a researcher at the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment at the University of Tübingen Dr D-Baeder said: "We can say that ocher is the earliest known pigment used by humans to paint our world. "Our species and other great apes have been using this red, yellow or sometimes purple earth mineral for at least 500,000 years and probably longer," he added. "
Investigating the use of ocher across Africa
In the most comprehensive study to date of ocher use in Africa, Bader and an international team of researchers investigated how this earth mineral is used across the sub-Saharan region. Based on 173 samples from 15 Stone Age sites, the researchers reconstructed regional networks of mineral selection, extraction, transport and use of ocher.
"We are interested in the entire ocher processing chain: from the selection of the ore from different geological formations, its extraction, the incorporation of other substances such as milk, fat, blood and plant resins as binders, to the transport of the ore to the archaeological site," explains the scientist from Tübingen: "How is the knowledge of ocher extraction passed on? Was there communication between different hunter-gatherer groups? Are there regional or temporal differences? "
Insights into Ocher’s social and technological networks
In recent research, scientists from Eswatini, the United States and Europe have discovered both local strategies for sourcing ocher and ways of transporting this important mineral over long distances through a network of different deposits. Archaeological investigations at 15 archaeological sites have shown that there is long-term cultural continuity in the intergenerational transmission of knowledge about the extraction and use of ocher, including the geological conditions or required physicochemical properties of the mineral pigment. The study claims that these communities of practice did not develop in isolation but were part of a wider system of relationships influenced and mediated by social interactions such as technological learning, seasonal migration, material cultural exchange and symbolic expression.
The role of ocher in contemporary and ancient societies
"Our data support the hypothesis that hunter-gatherers were highly mobile in Eswatini during the Stone Age, sometimes transporting ocher pigments over long distances," said Bader. "Remarkably, this tradition continues today. For example, from ethnographic studies Plant healers are known to travel to collect mineral earth pigments for use in painting and healing rituals. Ocher is also considered an important part of wedding rituals - the bride is painted with red ocher and animal fat on the morning of her wedding to signify her new status in the community."
Breakthrough discovery about ocher mining history
"Our current work impressively shows that researchers in Eswatini are at the forefront of studying the sources of Stone Age ocher and that the country has huge wealth of this important pigment. As well as breaking the ocher exchange chain, this research also uses light Stimulated luminescence dating confirms that Nguinya's "Lion's Cave" is the oldest known evidence of intensive ocher mining in the world, dating back to about 48,000 years ago. "In addition, we can see here some of the oldest evidence of humans actively changing the shape of their environment."
Compiled from /ScitechDaily