Ocher, a red pigment made from hematite, seems to have captivated the imagination of numerous prehistoric groups throughout the world. Its prevalence across millennia of the archaeological record indicates its significance in early cultures, especially in the context of prehistoric mortuary customs.
Worldwide Use of Ocher
Derived from iron oxide ore, ocher has been found in association with prehistoric peoples on every continent except Antarctica. In Europe, ocher appears in burials as early as the Middle Paleolithic period. These early evidences were found on Neanderthal skeletons at Le Moustier and La Chapelle-aux-Saints, though its ritual use by this group remains a disputed hypothesis. With the appearance of Homo sapiens sapiens in Europe, the practice of using ocher in burials significantly expanded, both in the number of burials incorporating ocher and the areas in which these burials were found. Dozens of Upper Paleolithic burials with ocher have been excavated in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe and even more sites have been found containing caches of ochre as well as the tools necessary for ocher preparation. Ocher usage in mortuary contexts continued into the Mesolithic, expanding into the region of what is now Denmark and Sweden.
Though the archaeological record of prehistoric man in Asia is still rather sketchy, recent excavations have revealed that ocher use was extensive in Asia as well. Ocher was recently found in burial mounds in Kazakhstan and the Ural Mountains, indicating that it was used in mortuary rituals there at least 2600 years ago. In Thailand, burials sprinkled with red ocher were dated about 4000 B. P. In Siberia, China, and Russia, there are records of ochre-covered skeletons that date back to the Upper Paleolithic.
Australian aborigines may have been using ocher in mortuary practices as early as 30,000 B.P. In New South Wales, a male skeleton, dubbed Mungo III, was found in a shallow grave and stained red with ocher. Numerous burials in northern Victoria, dated between 15,000 and 9000 years ago, have been discovered which contain ocher as well as other grave goods.
In South America, the use of ocher in mortuary contexts has been found in association with some Mayan burials in Guatemala and Belize and ocher is thought to have been used as a pigment for ritual purposes throughout Mesoamerica. An excavation on the Brazilian coast near Rio de Janeiro uncovered nearly fifty burials believed to be more than 6000 years old which were covered with a thin layer of ocher.
The practice of using ocher in burials in North America seems to have arrived along with the first inhabitants of the continent and quickly became a common feature of burials, especially in the northern part of the continent. Burials containing ocher have been found in nearly every U.S. state, in most of Canada, and in northern Mexico. These sites reach back from the earliest indications of human occupation in the New World and continue all the way into historic times. For at least one prehistoric tribe, the abundance of ocher associated with burials among this group earned it the name, the Red-Paint People.
Ocher’s Symbolism
It seems apparent that the use of ocher in burials had symbolic significance to prehistoric peoples. Research on symbolism and color has determined that humans have a cultural preference for red that goes beyond individual preference. This cultural inclination may explain the global popularity of ocher usage. The color’s association with blood may also be a factor in its popularity among aboriginals. It is likely that ocher became symbolic of blood for some groups. This link between ocher and blood is further supported by the fact that hematite gets its name from the Greek word for blood, haema. In addition, ocher may also have been attributed with supernatural abilities. Ocher’s red coloring intensifies under high temperatures, a transformation which may have seemed magical to prehistoric groups.
Sources:
Bruising the Red Earth:Ochre Mining and Ritual in Aboriginal Tasmania, edited by A. Sagona (1994).
Colouring the Past: The Significance of Colour in Archaeological Research, edited by Jones and MacGregor (2002).
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