The Emergence of Habitual Ochre Use in Africa and its Significance for The Development of Ritual Behavior During The Middle Stone Age

Rimtautas Dapschauskas; Matthias B. Göden; Christian Sommer; Andrew W. Kandel

doi:10.1007/s10963-022-09170-2

journal article Open Access Dec 01, 2022

The Emergence of Habitual Ochre Use in Africa and its Significance for The Development of Ritual Behavior During The Middle Stone Age

Rimtautas Dapschauskas Matthias B. Göden Christian Sommer

Andrew W. Kandel

Journal of World Prehistory Vol. 35 No. 3-4 pp. 233-319 · Springer Science and Business Media LLC

View at Publisher Save 10.1007/s10963-022-09170-2

Abstract

AbstractOver the last two decades, red ochre has played a pivotal role in discussions about the cognitive and cultural evolution of early modern humans during the African Middle Stone Age. Given the importance of ochre for the scholarly debate about the emergence of ‘behavioral modernity’, the lack of long-term spatio-temporal analyses spanning large geographical areas represents a significant gap in knowledge. Here we take a continent-wide approach, rather than focusing on specific sites, regions or technocomplexes. We report the most comprehensive meta-analysis of ochre use to date, spanning Africa between 500 and 40 thousand years ago, to examine data from more than a hundred archaeological sites. Using methods based on time averaging, we identified three distinct phases of ochre use: the initial phase occurred from 500,000 to 330,000; the emergent phase from 330,000 to 160,000; and the habitual phase from 160,000 to 40,000 years ago. The number of sites with ochre increased with each subsequent phase. More importantly, the ratio of sites with ochre compared to those with only stone artifacts also followed this trend, indicating the increasing intensity of ochre use during the Middle Stone Age. While the geographical distribution expanded with time, the absolute number of ochre finds grew significantly as well, underlining the intensification of ochre use. We determine that ochre use established itself as a habitual cultural practice in southern, eastern and northern Africa starting about 160,000 years ago, when a third of archaeological sites contain ochre. We argue that this pattern is a likely material manifestation of intensifying ritual activity in early populations ofHomo sapiens. Such ritual behavior may have facilitated the demographic expansion of early modern humans, first within and eventually beyond the African continent. We discuss the implications of our findings on two models of ritual evolution, theFemale Cosmetic Coalitions Hypothesisand theEcological Stress Hypothesis,as well as a model about the emergence of complex cultural capacities, theEight-Grade Model for the Evolution and Expansion of Cultural Capacities.

Topics

No keywords indexed for this article. Browse by subject →

References

508

[1]

Ambrose, S. H. (1998). Chronology of the Later Stone Age and food production in East Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science, 25, 377–392. 10.1006/jasc.1997.0277

[2]

Anderson, H. (2012). Crossing the line: The early expression of pattern in Middle Stone Age Africa. Journal of World Prehistory, 25, 183–204. 10.1007/s10963-012-9061-2

[3]

Anderson, J. R. (2011). A primatological perspective on death. American Journal of Primatology, 73(5), 410–414. 10.1002/ajp.20922

[4]

Anderson, J. R., Gillies, A., & Lock, L. C. (2010). Pan thanatology. Current Biology, 20(8), R349–R351. 10.1016/j.cub.2010.02.010

[5]

Arcadi, A. C., Robert, D., & Boesch, C. (1998). Buttress drumming by wild chimpanzees: Temporal patterning, phrase integration into loud calls, and preliminary evidence for individual distinctiveness. Primates, 39(4), 505–518. 10.1007/bf02557572

[6]

Armstrong, A. L. (1931). Rhodesian archaeological expedition (1929): Excavations in Bambata Cave and researches on prehistoric sites in Southern Rhodesia. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 61, 239–276. 10.2307/2843833

[7]

Assefa, Z., Asrat, A., Hovers, E., Lam, Y., Pearson, O., & Pleurdeau, D. (2018). Engraved ostrich eggshell from the Middle Stone Age contexts of Goda Buticha, Ethiopia. Journal of Archaeological Science Reports, 17, 723–729. 10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.12.035

[8]

Atkinson, Q. D., & Whitehouse, H. (2011). The cultural morphospace of ritual form. Evolution and Human Behavior, 32(1) 50–62, S1090513810001029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.09.002. 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2010.09.002

[9]

Avery, G., Cruz-Uribe, K., Goldberg, P., Grine, F. E., Klein, R. G., Lenardi, M. J., Marean, C. W., Rink, W. J., Schwarcz, H. P., Thackeray, A. I., & Wilson, M. L. (1997). The 1992–1993 excavations at the Die Kelders Middle and Later Stone Age cave site South Africa. ournal of Field Archaeology, 24(3), 263–291.

[10]

Avery, G., Halkett, D., Orton, J., Steele, T. E., Tusenius, M., & Klein, R. (2008). The Ysterfontein 1 Middle Stone Age rock shelter and the evolution of coastal foraging. South African Archaeological Society Goodwin Series, 10, 66–89.

[11]

Backwell, L. R., McCarthy, T. S., Wadley, L., Henderson, Z., Steininger, C. M., deKlerk, B., Barré, M., Lamothe, M., Chase, B. M., Woodborne, S., Susino, G. J., Bamford, M. K., Sievers, C., Brink, J. S., Rossouw, L., Pollarolo, L., Trower, G., Scott, L., & d’Errico, F. (2014). Multiproxy record of late quaternary climate change and Middle Stone Age human occupation at Wonderkrater, South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews, 99(6), 42–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.06.017 10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.06.017

[12]

Barham, L. S. (1995). The Mumbwa Caves project, Zambia, 1993–94. Nyame Akuma, 43, 66–72.

[13]

Barham, L. S. (1998). Possible early pigment use in south-central Africa. Current Anthropology, 39(5), 703–710. 10.1086/204793

[14]

Barham, L. S. (2002). Systematic pigment use in the Middle Pleistocene of South-Central Africa. Current Anthropology, 43(1), 181–190. 10.1086/338292

[15]

Barham, L. S., & Mitchell, P. D. (2008). The first Africans: African archaeology from the earliest toolmakers to most recent foragers. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/cbo9780511817830

[16]

Barham, L. S., Pinto, A. C., & Andrews, P. (2000a). The Mumbwa Caves behavioural record. In L. S. Barham (Ed.), The Middle Stone Age of Zambia, South Central Africa (pp. 81–148). Western Academic & Specialist Press.

[17]

Barham, L. S., Simms, M. J., Gilmour, M., & Debenhan, N. (2000b). Twin Rivers, excavation and behavioural record. In L. S. Barham (Ed.), The Middle Stone Age of Zambia, South Central Africa (pp. 165–216). Western Academic & Specialist Press.

[18]

Barham, L. S., Tooth, S., Duller, G. A. T., Plater, A. J., & Turner, S. (2015). Excavations at site C north, Kalambo Falls, Zambia: New insights into the mode 2/3 transition in South-Central Africa. Journal of African Archaeology, 13(2), 10. 10.3213/2191-5784-10270

[19]

Basedow, H. (1925). The Australian aboriginal. F. W. Preece.

[20]

Baxter, R. A. (2017). Mixture model. In C. Sammut & G. I. Webb (Eds.), Encyclopedia of machine learning and data mining (2nd ed., pp. 841–844). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7687-1 10.1007/978-1-4899-7687-1

[21]

Beall, A. T., & Tracy, J. L. (2013). Women are more likely to wear red or pink at peak fertility. Psychological Science, 24(9), 1837–1841. 10.1177/0956797613476045

[22]

Beaumont, P. B. (1973). The ancient pigment mines of southern Africa. South African Journal of Science, 69, 140–146.

[23]

Beaumont, P. B. (1990a). Nooitgedacht 2 and Roseberry Plain 1. In P. B. Beaumont & D. Morris, (Eds.), Guide to archaeological sites in the Northern Cape. Prepared for the Southern African association of archaeologists post-conference excursion, 9th–13th September 1990a (pp. 4–6).

[24]

Beaumont, P. B. (1990b). Kathu Pan. In P. B. Beaumont & D. Morris (Eds.), Guide to archaeological sites in the Northern Cape. Prepared for the Southern African association of archaeologists post-conference excursion, 9th–13th September 1990b (pp. 75–100).

[25]

Beaumont, P. B. (2004a). Canteen Kopje. In D. Morris & P. B. Beaumont (Eds.), Archaeology in the Northern Cape: Some key sites. Paper prepared for the Southern African Association of Archaeologists conference (pp. 26–30). McGregor Museum.

[26]

Beaumont, P. B. (2004b). Kathu Pan and Kathu Townlands/Uitkoms. In D. Morris & P. B. Beaumont (Eds.), Archaeology in the Northern Cape: Some key sites. Paper prepared for the Southern African Association of Archaeologists conference (pp. 50–53). McGregor Museum.

[27]

Beaumont, P. B. (2004c). Pniel 6 (The Bend). In D. Morris & P. B. Beaumont (Eds.), Archaeology in the Northern Cape: Some key sites. Paper prepared for the Southern African Association of Archaeologists conference (pp. 61–63). McGregor Museum.

[28]

Beaumont, P. B., & Bednarik, R. G. (2013). Tracing the emergence of palaeoart in sub-Saharan Africa. Rock Art Research, 30(1), 33–54.

[29]

Beaumont, P. B., & Richardt, F. (2004). On the margins of Karee Vloer: Rooidam 1 & 2 and Biesiesput. In D. Morris & P. B. Beaumont (Eds.), Archaeology in the Northern Cape: Some key sites. Paper prepared for the Southern African Association of Archaeologists conference (pp. 22–25). McGregor Museum.

[30]

Beckwith, C., & Fisher, A. (1999). African ceremonies. Abrams.

[31]

Beckwith, C., & Fisher, A. (2012). Painted bodies: African body painting, tattoos and scarification. Rizzoli.

[32]

Bednarik, R. G. (1992). Palaeoart and archaeological myths. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2(1), 27–57. 10.1017/s0959774300000457

[33]

Belier, W. (1995). Ritual and identity in Aboriginal Australia. In J. Platvoet & K. van der Toorn (Eds.), Studies in the history of religions: Pluralism and identity: Studies in ritual behavior (Vol. 67, pp. 69–90). Brill. 10.1163/9789004378896_005

[34]

Berger, A. L. (1978). Long-term variations of daily insolation and quaternary climatic changes. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 35(12), 2362–2367. 10.1175/1520-0469(1978)035<2362:ltvodi>2.0.co;2

[35]

Berger, L. R., Hawks, J., de Ruiter, D. J., Churchill, S. E., Schmid, P., Delezene, L. K., Kivell, T. L., Garvin, H. M., Williams, S. A., DeSilva, J. M., Skinner, M. M., Musiba, C. M., Cameron, N., Holliday, T. W., Harcourt-Smith, W., Ackermann, R. R., Bastir, M., Bogin, B., Bolter, D. ... Zipfel, B. (2015). Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the dinaledi chamber South Africa. eLife, 4, e09560. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09560 10.7554/elife.09560

[36]

Bergman, T. J., Ho, L., & Beehner, J. C. (2009). Chest color and social status in male geladas (Theropithecus gelada). International Journal of Primatology, 30(6), 791–806. 10.1007/s10764-009-9374-x

[37]

Bergstrom, C. T. (2009). Dealing with deception in biology. In B. Harrington (Ed.), Deception: From ancient empires to internet dating (pp. 19–37). Stanford University Press. 10.1515/9781503626607-003

[38]

Bernatchez, J. (2008). Geochemical characterization of archaeological ochre at Nelson Bay Cave (Western Cape Province), South Africa. The South African Archaeological Bulletin, 63(187), 3–11.

[39]

Bernatchez, J. (2012). The role of ochre in the development of modern human behavior: A case study from South Africa. Doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University.

[40]

Bielert, C., Girolami, L., & Jowell, S. (1989). An experimental examination of the colour component in visually mediated sexual arousal of the male chacma baboon (Papio ursinus). Journal of Zoology, 219(4), 569–579. 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1989.tb02601.x

[41]

Blome, M. W., Cohen, A. S., Tryon, C. A., Brooks, A. S., & Russell, J. (2012). The environmental context for the origins of modern human diversity: A synthesis of regional variability in African climate 150,000–30,000 years ago. Journal of Human Evolution, 62(5), 563–592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.01.011 10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.01.011

[42]

Bluhm, L. E., & Surovell, T. A. (2019). Validation of a global model of taphonomic bias using geologic radiocarbon ages. Quaternary Research, 91(1), 325–328. 10.1017/qua.2018.78

[43]

Boesch, C. (2012). Wild cultures: A comparison between chimpanzee and human cultures. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/cbo9781139178532

[44]

Bolus, M. (2015). Dispersals of early humans: Adaptations, frontiers, and new territories. In W. Henke & I. Tattersall (Eds.), Handbook of paleoanthropology (2nd ed., pp. 2371–2400). Springer. 10.1007/978-3-642-39979-4_83

[45]

Bonnie, K. E., Horner, V., Whiten, A., & de Waal, F. B. M. (2007). Spread of arbitrary conventions among chimpanzees: A controlled experiment. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 274, 367–372. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2006.3733 10.1098/rspb.2006.3733

[46]

Boshier, A., & Beaumont, P. B. (1972). Mining in southern Africa and the emergence of modern man. Optima, 22, 2–12.

[47]

Botha, R., & Knight, C. (Eds.). (2009a). The cradle of language. Oxford University Press.

[48]

Botha, R., & Knight, C. (Eds.). (2009b). The prehistory of language. Oxford University Press.

[49]

Bouzouggar, A., Barton, N., Vanhaeren, M., d’Errico, F., Collcutt, S., Higham, T., Hodge, E., Parfitt, S., Rhodes, E., Schwenninger, J. L., Stringer, C., Turner, E., Ward, S., Moutmir, A., & Stambouli, A. (2007). 82,000-year-old shell beads from North Africa and implications for the origins of modern human behaviour. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 104(24), 9964–9969. 10.1073/pnas.0703877104

[50]

Bouzouggar, A., & Barton, R. N. E. (2012). The identity and timing of the Aterian in Morocco. In J.-J. Hublin & S. J. P. McPherron (Eds.), Modern origins: A North African perspective (pp. 93–105). Springer. 10.1007/978-94-007-2929-2_7

Showing 50 of 508 references

Cited By

53

Specialised and persistent raw material procurement by humans in the Middle Pleistocene

Manuel Will, Christian Sommer · 2026

Nature Communications

Actinomycete-Derived Pigments: A Path Toward Sustainable Industrial Colorants

Blanca Hey Díez, Cristiana A. V. Torres · 2025

Marine Drugs

Archaeometric Approaches to Red Ochre Exploitation in Neolithic Greece: From Kremasti-Kilada to Kitrini Limni and Beyond

Vasilios Melfos, Anna Stroulia · 2025

Advances in Archaeomaterials

Ochre communities of practice in Stone Age Eswatini

Brandi L. MacDonald, Elizabeth C. Velliky · 2024

Nature Communications

Red Balloon rock shelter Middle Stone Age ochre assemblage and population’s adaption to local resources in the Waterberg (Limpopo, South Africa)

Guilhem Mauran · 2023

Archaeological and Anthropological...

The ROCEEH Out of Africa Database (ROAD): A large-scale research database serves as an indispensable tool for human evolutionary studies

Andrew W. Kandel, Christian Sommer · 2023

PLoS ONE

The revolution that still isn't: The origins of behavioral complexity in Homo sapiens

Eleanor M.L. Scerri, Manuel Will · 2023

Journal of Human Evolution

Metrics

53

Citations

508

References

Details

Published: Dec 01, 2022
Vol/Issue: 35(3-4)
Pages: 233-319
License: View

Authors

R

Rimtautas Dapschauskas

Funding

Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

Cite This Article

Rimtautas Dapschauskas, Matthias B. Göden, Christian Sommer, et al. (2022). The Emergence of Habitual Ochre Use in Africa and its Significance for The Development of Ritual Behavior During The Middle Stone Age. Journal of World Prehistory, 35(3-4), 233-319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10963-022-09170-2

The Emergence of Habitual Ochre Use in Africa and its Significance for The Development of Ritual Behavior During The Middle Stone Age

You May Also Like