For the first prison term , researchers have found grounds that masses were usingred ochrein West Africa during the Middle Stone Age . Dated to between 30,000 and 40,000 geezerhood ago , the rust fungus - colorise artifact appear to have been crushed into powder and used as “ crayons ” .
allot to the study authors , the presence or absence of ochre at an archaeological site serves as a proxy for the cultural and behavioral complexity of ancient humans . A lifelike pigment containing branding iron oxide and clay , the blood-red material was used by prehistorical tribe for a variety of ingenious intent , including as a sunscreen and loading agent forglue - like adhesives .
Ochre was also the material of choice for the world ’s earliest artists , who used the vulgar paint to create cave painting and decorate scale , bones , and other artifacts . Many prehistoric ritual are also thought to have call for the habit of ochre as a soundbox paint , all of which suggests that the essence wreak an built-in role in the development of abstract human thought and symbolic demeanor .
A selection of ochre pieces found at Toumboura III.Image credit: Dayet et al., Journal of Archaeological Science (2025);CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
To date , most of the oldest grounds for ocher enjoyment come up from southern , eastern , and northerly Africa , where the rouge hue became a fixture in the archaeological record around 160,000 geezerhood ago . Last month , investigator harbinger the discovery of theworld ’s oldest ochre minein South Africa , which is think to be around 48,000 years old .
In West Africa , however , the picture is somewhat different . Prior to the new field , there had been no major research conducted on Middle Stone Age ochre remain in the region , make it hard to reconstruct the tempo of behavioral evolution in this part of Africa .
Adding some much - want vividness to this archaeological black hole , the study author account the discovery of 46 ochre small-arm from the Toumboura III site in Senegal . free-base on the slant and work stoppage marks left on these sherd , the researchers reason out that many of them look to have been ground into powders , although just what this scarlet dust was used for clay a mystery .
After analyzing the various branding iron - rich raw fabric find at the site , the author reason out that these powders belike were n’t used assun auspices , as this demand pure iron oxide while the aggregation at Toumboura III comprise variable iron content .
In addition to these crushed pigments , the site also yielded four ocher sticks that do n’t appear to have been made into gunpowder . Noting that two of these sticks expose a “ grinded face and a battered end ” , the subject field writer intimate that “ they may have do as ocher wax crayon and may also have a map of pigment . ”
Overall , it ’s impossible to say incisively what the prehistoric indweller of Toumboura IIIgot up to with their colored clay , although the very fact that ochre has been discovered here transforms our understanding of human demeanor in the area 35,000 class ago .
“ These remains could represent the earliest get it on grounds of ochre using in Senegal , ” publish the study authors . “ They potentially unfold new perspectives on symbolic behaviours in the Middle Stone Age of West Africa , ” they add .
The study is published in theJournal of Archaeological Science .
