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This book is the first to focus on the African origins of human language. It explores the origins of language and culture 250,000-150,000 years ago when modern humans evolved in Africa. Scholars from around the world address the fossil, genetic, and archaeological evidence and critically examine the ways it has been interpreted. The book also consi...
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En este artículo se hace una descripción detallada de los motivos del Manto Blanco perteneciente a la colección textil del Museo de Arqueología y Antropología de la Universidad Mayor de San Marcos. Planteamos que el análisis de la indumentaria permite distinguir con claridad la identidad de género de los personajes antropomorfos representados y, po...
This article corresponds to a section of the Master's Thesis entitled "The evolution of the Roman funerary world (III-VIII AD) in the region of the Vega the Granada through the anthropological study of Barrichuelo nº16". That work included a reconstruction of ritual knowledge and ideology of the death of this late ancient necropolis; and also a pro...
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... In archaeology, any geomaterial containing iron oxide and producing a reddish or yellowish streak is called 'ochre' (Hodgskiss, 2010;Watts, 2009). In several cases, the association of ochre with any subsistence, domestic or symbolic activities before the emergence of rock art remains challenging (d 'Errico, 2003;d'Errico and Stringer, 2011;Dayet et al., 2013;Henshilwood et al., 2011;Hodgskiss, 2014;Wadley, 2006Wadley, , 2005Watts, 2010Watts, , 2009Watts, , 1998 although the most remarkable remains are the use of ochre in the production of graphic expressions (Henshilwood et al., 2002(Henshilwood et al., , 2009(Henshilwood et al., , 2018McBrearty and Brooks, 2000). ...
... In archaeology, any geomaterial containing iron oxide and producing a reddish or yellowish streak is called 'ochre' (Hodgskiss, 2010;Watts, 2009). In several cases, the association of ochre with any subsistence, domestic or symbolic activities before the emergence of rock art remains challenging (d 'Errico, 2003;d'Errico and Stringer, 2011;Dayet et al., 2013;Henshilwood et al., 2011;Hodgskiss, 2014;Wadley, 2006Wadley, , 2005Watts, 2010Watts, , 2009Watts, , 1998 although the most remarkable remains are the use of ochre in the production of graphic expressions (Henshilwood et al., 2002(Henshilwood et al., , 2009(Henshilwood et al., , 2018McBrearty and Brooks, 2000). Extensive studies on the provenience, procurement, treatment and use of ochre have been conducted mainly on MSA assemblages from southern Africa (Bernatchez, 2008;d'Errico et al., 2012a;Dayet et al., 2013;Dayet-Bouillot et al., 2017;Henshilwood et al., 2002Henshilwood et al., , 2009Henshilwood et al., , 2011Hodgskiss, 2010Hodgskiss, , 2012Hodgskiss, , 2013Hodgskiss and Wadley, 2017;McGrath et al., 2022;Rifkin, 2012a;Wadley, 2005;Watts, 2009Watts, , 2010Watts et al., 2016) and East Africa (Barham, 2002;Brooks et al., 2018;Rosso et al., 2014Rosso et al., , 2016Rosso et al., , 2017. ...
... In several cases, the association of ochre with any subsistence, domestic or symbolic activities before the emergence of rock art remains challenging (d 'Errico, 2003;d'Errico and Stringer, 2011;Dayet et al., 2013;Henshilwood et al., 2011;Hodgskiss, 2014;Wadley, 2006Wadley, , 2005Watts, 2010Watts, , 2009Watts, , 1998 although the most remarkable remains are the use of ochre in the production of graphic expressions (Henshilwood et al., 2002(Henshilwood et al., , 2009(Henshilwood et al., , 2018McBrearty and Brooks, 2000). Extensive studies on the provenience, procurement, treatment and use of ochre have been conducted mainly on MSA assemblages from southern Africa (Bernatchez, 2008;d'Errico et al., 2012a;Dayet et al., 2013;Dayet-Bouillot et al., 2017;Henshilwood et al., 2002Henshilwood et al., , 2009Henshilwood et al., , 2011Hodgskiss, 2010Hodgskiss, , 2012Hodgskiss, , 2013Hodgskiss and Wadley, 2017;McGrath et al., 2022;Rifkin, 2012a;Wadley, 2005;Watts, 2009Watts, , 2010Watts et al., 2016) and East Africa (Barham, 2002;Brooks et al., 2018;Rosso et al., 2014Rosso et al., , 2016Rosso et al., , 2017. Use-wear studies, residue analyses and functional approaches (Hodgskiss, 2010;Lombard, 2006Lombard, , 2007Rifkin, 2012b;Rifkin et al., 2015;Villa et al., 2015;Wadley et al., 2004;Wojcieszak and Wadley, 2018) have allowed identifying behavioural patterns of ochre use, including its use as loading agent or as UV skin protection. ...
Despite new impetus for Late Pleistocene research in West Africa, little is known about the range of Middle Stone Age behaviours in this region. Yet, the multiplicity of Middle Stone Age lithic technologies testifies to significant behavioural and demographic dynamics, marked by innovation and adaptability. Here, we present the first in-depth analysis of ochre remains in West Africa. New data from Toumboura III site, eastern Senegal, dated between 40 ± 3 and 30 ± 3 ka, point towards the use of ochre pieces as part of an occasional and specialized ochre crushing activity, probably dedicated to the production of powders, as well as the use of ochre sticks. Ochre pieces were studied at both macro and microscopic levels and while some of this iron-rich material likely accumulated in the deposits without anthropogenic intervention, another significant set of ochre pieces was found that was likely processed in situ. The impact scars on the pieces are not as striking as grinding traces for evidencing human exploitation. Nonetheless, they cannot be explained by natural phenomena. These remains could represent the earliest known evidence of ochre exploitation in Senegal. They potentially open new perspectives on symbolic behaviours in the Middle Stone Age of West Africa. They show that the full range of human behaviours in this region is yet far from being captured.
... The colour focus of early group ritual performance is readily accounted for, with preferential use of the reddest, most saturated, and eye-catching materials (e.g. Watts 1999Watts , 2002Watts , 2009Watts , 2010Barham 2002;Hodgskiss 2012;Salomon et al. 2012;Watts et al. 2016;Culey et al. 2023). It also predicts the world's ritually expressed first metaphorestablishing a relationship between women's blood and the blood of the hunt. ...
... Since ancient times, decorative cosmetics have been used in virtually all existing cultures around the globe. From the prehistoric mineral-based pigments [Wat09] to modern sophisticated chemical makeup, cosmetics have been used for enhancing appearance and hiding imperfections, for ritual painting, theatrical purposes, or most recently, visual effects. However, despite their ubiquity, cosmetics have not been explored much in graphics, most likely because they are generally baked into the look-development process for virtual humans. ...
Cosmetic products have found their place in various aspects of human life, yet their digital appearance reproduction has received little attention. We present an appearance model for cosmetics, in particular for foundation layers, that reproduces a range of existing appearances of foundation cosmetics: from a glossy to a matte to an almost velvety look. Our model is a multilayered BSDF that reproduces the stacking of multiple layers of cosmetics. Inspired by the microscopic particulates used in cosmetics, we model each individual layer as a stochastic participating medium with two types of scatterers that mimic the most prominent visual features of cosmetics: spherical diffusers, resulting in a uniform distribution of radiance; and platelets, responsible for the glossy look of certain cosmetics. We implement our model on top of the position‐free Monte Carlo framework, that allows us to include multiple scattering. We validate our model against measured reflectance data, and demonstrate the versatility and expressiveness of our model by thoroughly exploring the range of appearances that it can produce.
... There are two complementary diachronic observations that can potentially be operationalized as testable hypotheses following the predictions of our model: i) when ochre pigment is applied as a colorant to an increasingly diverse set of artifacts (stones, shells, beads, osseous materials, and lithics), it is due to the discovery that the color enhances the natural perceptual saliency of these items. We might infer that it has been desirable for the function of these items to strengthen their impact on the human perceptual system by applying the strong hue of ochre (Hodgskiss, 2013;Watts, 1998Watts, , 2009 ...
The emergence of symbolic behavior is often considered a hallmark development in hominin evolution, ultimately giving rise to the complex communicative practices, abstract reasoning patterns, aesthetic discourses and religious institutions surrounding us today. In recent years, archaeologists have provided substantial evidence for the remarkable time-depth of symbolic artifact utilization and have made groundbreaking methodological advances (e.g, with respect to dating techniques, microscopy and 3d modeling). However, a systematic and rigorous framework for the investigation of the symbolic function of past artifacts is still lacking, that is, what kind of purpose these tools may have served and what kind of symbolic work they were designed or co-opted to do. This paper responds to this lacuna and outlines a new conceptual framework for the investigation of early symbolic artifacts. Symbolic artifacts are special in the sense of being mind-directed as they do their work primarily in the social and cognitive domain. That is, they support their function only to the extent that their structural properties affect relevant cognitive processes related to symbolic cognition (including e.g., attention, memory, and discrimination). To inform our understanding of past symbolic behavior, we therefore introduce the concept of cognitive affordances, defined as the capacity of symbolic forms to support such relevant cognitive processes. The cognitive affordances constitute a mediating layer of analysis between the observable, structural traits of symbolic artifacts and their hypothesized role in past social and pragmatic behaviors of hominins, related to, for instance, aesthetic, communicative, or ritual/cosmological practices. We show that by studying the cognitive implications of variation 2 and change in the structural properties of symbolic artifacts recovered from the archaeological record, we can inform inferences and test new hypotheses about what pragmatic functions they may have served in past Paleolithic society.
... Durkheim regarded the origin of language and culture to be placed in shared ritual [9]. The earliest documented rituals are known to us based on the artifacts involved; for example, the use of red ochre as body paint [38]. In today's culture, many rituals are technologically mediated. ...
... Some of the well-researched Late Pleistocene MSA sites (most of which are in South Africa) that have large ochre assemblages are as follows: Pinnacle Point Cave 13B with over 500 pieces, c. 164-92 ka (Watts, 2010); Klasies River with 314 analyzed pieces, c. 110-60 ka (d' Errico et al., 2012); Diepkloof Rock Shelter with over 558 pieces, c. 110-51 ka (Dayet et al., 2013); Blombos Cave with over 8000 pieces, c. 100-70 ka (Henshilwood et al., 2009;Watts, 2009); Rose Cottage Cave with over 600 pieces, c. 96-27 ka ; Klein Kliphuis with over 919 pieces, c. 80-50 ka (Mackay & Welz, 2008); Sibudu Cave with over 9000 pieces, c. 77-37 ka (Hodgskiss, 2013); and Porc Epic Cave, in Ethiopia, with 4213 pieces, c. 41-33 ka (Rosso et al., 2016). ...
... Most ochre found at archaeological sites was collected elsewhere, sometimes from sources over 80 km away (Watts, 2009;Dayet et al., 2013;Watts et al., 2016). Ochre pieces can be collected as nodules lying on the ground, from exposed deposits, or through active mining. ...
The regular use of ochre appears in the archaeological record during the Pleistocene – a time of significant behavioral and cognitive advances for Homo sapiens. The many potential uses of ochre complicates interpretations of how it was used and applied in the past. Understanding past ochre use has proven valuable in shedding light on technological advancements, behavioral innovations, and cognitive abilities of the earlier users. A range of analytical and theoretical methods have been used to understand how ochre was used in the past, why it was collected, why the brightly colored rock and powder was desired, and why geometric engravings were made on this material.
... In archaeology, ochre is a catch-all term that refers to ferruginous material with strong colouring and covering powers (Wadley 2005a, b;Hodgskiss 2012Hodgskiss , 2013Hodgskiss , 2014Roebroeks et al. 2012;Dayet et al. 2013Dayet et al. , 2016Dayet et al. , 2017Mauran et al. 2020Mauran et al. , 2021Popelka-Filcoff and Zipkin 2022). Their symbolical use has long been debated (Dart 1975;McBrearty and Brooks 2000;Watts 2002Watts , 2009d'Errico 2003d'Errico , 2008Henshilwood and Marean 2003;Wadley 2005a, b;Soriano et al. 2009;Rifkin et al. 2015, Rifkin 2015Dapschauskas et al. 2022). It is nowadays established that such material could have been used for many other purposes than mere pigments or symbolical purposes such as adhesive charge (Wadley 2005b;Lombard 2006Lombard , 2007, abrasive agent (Audouin and Plisson 1982), mosquito repellent (Rifkin 2015), hide tanning agent (Rifkin 2011), sun protection agent Havenga et al. 2022), antibacterial agent (Havenga et al. 2022) and potentially as knapping hammers (Soriano et al. 2009). ...
... Though several sites attest the existence of ochre exploitation between 500 and 200 ka, their use became habitual around 160 ka (de Lumley 1966;de Lumley-Woodyear 1969;Yokoyama et al. 1986;Clark and Brown 2001;Barham 2002;Watts 2002;Roebroeks et al. 2012;de Lumley et al. 2016;Watts et al. 2016;Dapschauskas et al. 2022). From about 160 ka, South African Middle Stone Age ochre assemblages are more common ( Fig. 1; Watts 1999Watts , 2002Watts , 2009Watts , 2010Henshilwood et al. 2011Henshilwood et al. , 2018Hodgskiss 2012Hodgskiss , 2013Bernatchez 2013;Dayet et al. 2013Dayet et al. , 2016Dayet et al. , 2017Hodgskiss and Wadley 2017;Dapschauskas et al. 2022). The studies carried out on these assemblages have offered inferences about past population cognitive abilities (Hodgskiss 2014), procurement strategies (Dayet et al. 2016;McGrath et al. 2022) and their uses of these raw materials. ...
... Within these coastal and sub-coastal assemblages, grinding is well documented on around 10% of the ochre pieces, thanks to experimental works such as the one of Hodgskiss (2010). For long southern African archaeologists focused on identifying abrasion use-wear on ochre pieces and debated their relation to symbolic behaviours (Watts 1999(Watts , 2002(Watts , 2009Henshilwood and Marean 2003;Wadley 2005a). Thus, little is known about ochre percussion. ...
Unlabelled:
Ochre has been found at many Middle Stone Age sites throughout southern Africa. Much work has been done to document these iron-rich raw materials, their modifications and their implications for past communities' behaviours, skills and cognition. However, until recently few works focused on the Middle Stone Age Waterberg ochre assemblages. The paper presents the ochre assemblage recovered at Red Balloon rock shelter, a new Middle Stone Age site on the Waterberg Plateau. The site preserves Middle Stone Age occupations dated around 95,000 years ago. Scanning electron microscopy observations, portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy characterization document the presence of four ochre types. The MSA ochre assemblage recovered is mainly composed of specularite and specular hematite similar to the ones of Olieboomspoort and North Brabant. Microscopic observations and infrared analyses of soil sediment and of post-depositional deposits found on the ochre pieces show that this raw material specificity is of anthropic origin and not the result of post-depositional processes. Optical and digital observations of the archaeological assemblage and its comparison with a preliminary exploratory experimental one highlight the use of abrasion and bipolar percussion to process the ochre pieces at the site. The results point to the know-how and skills of the Middle Stone Age populations who inhabited the Waterberg region around 95,000 years ago. This raises the question of whether the specificities of the Waterberg ochre assemblages correspond to populations' adaptation to the local mountainous mineral resources and the existence of a regional ochre processing tradition.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12520-023-01778-5.
... Ochres contain various types of iron oxides such as hematite and goethite as well as white pigments (e.g., aluminosilicate, quartz, and calcium minerals) [98]. Red ochre has been one of the most used pigments worldwide throughout history and contains the mineral hematite, which gives it is characteristic reddish hue [99]. In general, clays have been used to treat dermatological diseases, clean the skin, provide moisturization, and provide UV protection [100,101]. ...
There has been interest in the history of cosmetics for the last several decades. In part, this renewed curiosity is probably due to the revolutionizing natural movement in the cosmetic industry. In this article, we provide an overview of the historical aspects of the use of natural ingredients in cosmetics, which mostly come from botanical and mineral sources. We begin with an introduction to the art and science of cosmetics in the ancient world, which includes accounts of Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek, and Roman cosmetics as well as Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine. These dermatological and cosmetic practices, which were advanced for the time, paved the way for the current revolution of natural ingredients in cosmetic products. Without providing a comprehensive historical account, we surveyed selected cultures during different periods of time to provide some perspective of our current understanding of natural ingredients in cosmetics. Attention is also given to the rich contributions of body art by tribal societies to our knowledge base, especially in the areas of dyes and pigments. Finally, we offer some perspective of natural ingredient cosmetics in the Information Age.
... The traits discussed above are united by requiring the combination of independent ideas. The earliest manifestations of such abstraction occur in the realm of personhood at the end of MIS5, such as the burials from the Levant, or the bead styles and body paint from southern Africa (Watts 2009;Vanhaeren et al. 2013). From MIS4 there is a more generalized emergence of abstraction across a broad range of human behaviors including compound tools, mechanical devices, notation, and group connectivity, with a unifying correlate of these being lithic miniaturization. ...
This article offers some hypotheses to explain Later Stone Age lithic miniaturization: the systematic creation of small stone flakes on the finest-grained materials. Fundamentally, this phenomenon appears to represent the prioritization of stone tool sharpness over longevity, and a disposable mode of using stone tools. Ethnographic evidence from Australasia, the Andaman Islands, and Africa is used to suggest some specific functions for miniaturized lithics, as well as their relationship to other aspects of Later Stone Age material culture, including ochre crayons, shell beads, and notched bones. Miniaturized lithic functions are hypothesized to have a common basis in the cognitive capacity for abstraction: having ideas about ideas. The technological and social affordances of abstraction may have given later Homo sapiens significant adaptive advantages over other members of our genus.
... The use of red and yellow ochre pigments for symbolic purposes is a widespread phenomenon and consistent with past human behavior (Roebroeks et al., 2012;Wreschner et al., 1980;Zipkin et al., 2017). The evidence for the use of ochre, symbolic or otherwise, extends back further than 250,000 years (Barham, 2002;Brooks et al., 2016;Burdukiewicz, 2014;Hovers et al., 2003;Marean et al., 2007;Watts, 2014Watts, , 2009Watts, , 1999Wolf et al., 2018;Zipkin et al., 2017). ...
Maltravieso cave (Estremadura, Spain) was recently the subject of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy of 8 figures (four hand stencils, a red horse figure, a black bull figure, a pair of black lines, and a pair of brown lines). These artistic representations are composed of different colors including red, brown, and black figures. The analyses showed that different naturally occurred material compounds in the cave (such as kaolinite) were used in the creation of the ochre to obtain different hues. Hand stencils are made of earth pigment that is naturally present in the cave which contained hematite, magnetite, and goethite as chromophores material. The red horse figure was made with kaolinite-based ochre. The black bull figure was made with charcoal (identified with Raman spectroscopy). The pigmental composition analyses show that they are composed of the same natural matter found inside the cave. Our results suggest that different paintings in the cave have been produced by different techniques and these techniques are linked to different chronological periods.
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Résumé
La grotte de Maltravieso (Estremadura, Espagne) a récemment fait l’objet d’une spectroscopie ATR-FTIR de 8 figures (quatre pochoirs de main, une figure de cheval rouge, une figure de taureau noir, une paire de lignes noires et une paire de lignes brunes). Ces représentations artistiques sont composées de différentes couleurs, dont des figures rouges, brunes et noires. Les analyses ont montré que différents composés matériels présents naturellement dans la grotte (comme la kaolinite) ont été utilisés dans la création de l’ocre pour obtenir différentes teintes. Les pochoirs de main sont faits de pigments naturellement présents dans la grotte et contenant de l’hématite, de la magnétite et de la goethite comme matériaux chromophores. La figure du cheval rouge a été réalisée avec de l’ocre à base de kaolinite. La figure du taureau noir a été réalisée avec du charbon de bois (identifié par spectroscopie Raman). Les analyses de la composition pigmentaire montrent que les pigments sont composés de la même matière naturelle que celle trouvée à l’intérieur de la grotte. Nos résultats suggèrent que les différentes peintures de la grotte ont été produites par différentes techniques et que ces techniques sont liées à des périodes chronologiques différentes.
