Ochre processing workshop at Blombos cave, South Africa.

Prehistoric Painters Planned Ahead
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/10/when-vincent-van-gogh-moved.htm...

100,000-Year-Old Ochre Toolkit and Workshop Discovered in South Africa
An ochre-rich mixture, possibly used for decoration, painting and skin protection 100,000 years ago, and stored in two abalone shells, was discovered at Blombos Cave in Cape Town, South Africa.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111013141807.htm

Reference
A 100,000-Year-Old Ochre-Processing Workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa
Science 14 October 2011: Vol. 334 no. 6053 pp. 219-222 DOI: 10.1126/science.1211535
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/334/6053/219

Abstract
The conceptual ability to source, combine, and store substances that enhance technology or social practices represents a benchmark in the evolution of complex human cognition. Excavations in 2008 at Blombos Cave, South Africa, revealed a processing workshop where a liquefied ochre-rich mixture was produced and stored in two Haliotis midae (abalone) shells 100,000 years ago. Ochre, bone, charcoal, grindstones, and hammerstones form a composite part of this production toolkit. The application of the mixture is unknown, but possibilities include decoration and skin protection.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• ochre
• processing
• workshop
• blombos
• cave
• south
• africa