A 100,000-Year-Old Ochre-Processing Workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa

Christopher S. Henshilwood; Francesco d’Errico; Karen L. van Niekerk; Yvan Coquinot; Zenobia Jacobs; Stein-Erik Lauritzen; Michel Menu; Renata García-Moreno

doi:10.1126/science.1211535

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A 100,000-Year-Old Ochre-Processing Workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa

Christopher S. Henshilwood¹,²,*,
Francesco d’Errico³,¹,
Karen L. van Niekerk¹,
Yvan Coquinot⁴,
Zenobia Jacobs⁵,
Stein-Erik Lauritzen⁶,
Michel Menu⁴,
Renata García-Moreno³

¹Institute for Archaeology, History, Culture and Religion, University of Bergen, Øysteinsgate 3, 5007 Bergen, Norway.
²Institute for Human Evolution, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
³Université de Bordeaux, UMR 5199 CNRS, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence, France.
⁴Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, UMR 171 CNRS, Palais du Louvre, 14 Quai François Mitterrand, 75001 Paris, France.
⁵Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong 2522, Australia.
⁶Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Allégaten 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway.

↵*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: christopher.henshilwood{at}ahkr.uib.no

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Science 14 Oct 2011:
Vol. 334, Issue 6053, pp. 219-222
DOI: 10.1126/science.1211535

Christopher S. Henshilwood

Institute for Archaeology, History, Culture and Religion, University of Bergen, Øysteinsgate 3, 5007 Bergen, Norway.Institute for Human Evolution, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

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Francesco d’Errico

Université de Bordeaux, UMR 5199 CNRS, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence, France.Institute for Archaeology, History, Culture and Religion, University of Bergen, Øysteinsgate 3, 5007 Bergen, Norway.

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Karen L. van Niekerk

Institute for Archaeology, History, Culture and Religion, University of Bergen, Øysteinsgate 3, 5007 Bergen, Norway.

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Yvan Coquinot

Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, UMR 171 CNRS, Palais du Louvre, 14 Quai François Mitterrand, 75001 Paris, France.

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Zenobia Jacobs

Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong 2522, Australia.

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Stein-Erik Lauritzen

Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Allégaten 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway.

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Michel Menu

Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, UMR 171 CNRS, Palais du Louvre, 14 Quai François Mitterrand, 75001 Paris, France.

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Renata García-Moreno

Université de Bordeaux, UMR 5199 CNRS, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence, France.

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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.

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A 100,000-Year-Old Ochre-Processing Workshop at Blombos Cave, South Africa

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