Blombos Cave, S. Africa (~100 ka): two abalone shells held an ochre-rich compound (ground ochre, bone, charcoal + liquid)—a stored pigment mix and early chemistry. #PaleoPost #HumanOrigins #Blombos #MiddleStoneAge
Paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Blombos Cave (~73 ka): silcrete flake L13 bears nine red-ochre lines (3 parallel, crossed by 6)—the oldest known drawing by Homo sapiens. #PaleoPost #HumanOrigins #Blombos #MiddleStoneAge
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Exciting new article here on the uses of #Blombos #MiddleStoneAge #ochre:
'ochre tools from Blombos Cave, South Africa, found in Still Bay to pre–Still Bay layers dated 90 to 70,000 years ago. Seven ochre pieces were deliberately modified into lithic retouchers, showing clear use-wear patterns […]
