Patterns of change and continuity in ochre use during the late Middle Stone Age of the Horn of Africa: The Porc-Epic Cave record

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dc.citation.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0177298en_ZA
dc.citation.issue5en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorRosso, D. E.
dc.contributor.authorD'Errico, F.
dc.contributor.authorQueffelec, A.
dc.date.accessioned2017-10-25T10:18:25Z
dc.date.available2017-10-25T10:18:25Z
dc.date.issued2017-05
dc.description.abstractOchre is found at numerous Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites and plays a key role in early modern human archaeology. Here we analyse the largest known East African MSA ochre assemblage, comprising 40 kg of ochre, found at Porc-Epic Cave, Ethiopia, spanning a period of at least 4,500 years. Visual characterisation of ochre types, microscopic identification of traces of modification, morphological and morphometric analysis of ochre pieces and modified areas, experimental reproduction of grinding processes, surface texture analysis of archaeological and experimentally ground ochre facets, laser granulometry of ochre powder produced experimentally on different grindstones and by Hamar and Ovahimba women from Ethiopia and Namibia respectively, were, for the first time, combined to explore diachronic shifts in ochre processing technology. Our results identify patterns of continuity in ochre acquisition, treatment and use reflecting both persistent use of the same geological resources and similar uses of iron-rich rocks by late MSA Porc-Epic inhabitants. Considering the large amount of ochre processed at the site, this continuity can be interpreted as the expression of a cohesive cultural adaptation, largely shared by all community members and consistently transmitted through time. A gradual shift in preferred processing techniques and motions is interpreted as reflecting cultural drift within this practice. Evidence for the grinding of ochre to produce small quantities of powder throughout the sequence is consistent with a use in symbolic activities for at least part of the ochre assemblage from Porc-Epic Cave.en_ZA
dc.description.librarianEM2017en_ZA
dc.funderResearch by DR was funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Ajuts per a la contractacio de personal investigado r novell, FI-DGR), the Doctoral Research scholarship Programme of the Martine Aublet Foundation, and the Eiffel Excellence Scholarship Programme of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Internationa l Development.en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationRosso, D. E., D'Errico, F. and Queffelec, A. 2017. Patterns of change and continuity in ochre use during the late Middle Stone Age of the Horn of Africa: The Porc-Epic Cave record. PLOS ONE 12(5), Article number e0177298.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203 (Online)
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10539/23328
dc.journal.titlePLOS ONEen_ZA
dc.journal.volume12en_ZA
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.rights© 2017 Rosso et al.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.en_ZA
dc.subjectColoring agenten_ZA
dc.subjectPowderen_ZA
dc.subjectSoilen_ZA
dc.subjectArcheologyen_ZA
dc.subjectCaveen_ZA
dc.subjectColoren_ZA
dc.subjectEthiopiaen_ZA
dc.subjectHistoryen_ZA
dc.subjectNamibiaen_ZA
dc.subjectparticle sizeen_ZA
dc.subjectsurface propertyen_ZA
dc.subjecttechnologyen_ZA
dc.subjecttrendsen_ZA
dc.titlePatterns of change and continuity in ochre use during the late Middle Stone Age of the Horn of Africa: The Porc-Epic Cave recorden_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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