A 100,000-Year-Old Ochre-Processing Workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa
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.
- Publication:
-
Science
- Pub Date:
- October 2011
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.1211535
- Bibcode:
- 2011Sci...334..219H
- Keywords:
-
- ANTHRO