Over recent 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.

In Africa, evidence for the processing and use of red ochre pigments has been dated by archaeologists to around 300,000 years ago, the climax of the practice coinciding broadly with the emergence of Homo sapiens.

[12] A re-examination of artifacts uncovered in 1908 at Le Moustier rock shelters in France has identified Mousterian stone tools that were attached to grips made of ochre and bitumen.

The grips were formulated with 55% ground goethite ochre and 45% cooked liquid bitumen to create a mouldable putty that hardened into handles.

Earlier excavations at Le Moustier prevent conclusive identification of the archaeological culture and age, but the European Mousterian style of these tools suggests they are associated with Neanderthals during the late Middle Paleolithic, between 60,000 and 35,000 years before present.

Pieces of ochre engraved with abstract designs have been found at the site of the Blombos Cave in South Africa, dated to around 75,000 years ago.

Paintings of animals made with red and yellow ochre pigments have been found in paleolithic sites at Pech Merle in France (ca.

[15] The use of ochre is particularly intensive: it is not unusual to find a layer of the cave floor impregnated with a purplish red to a depth of eight inches.

One can imagine that the Aurignacians regularly painted their bodies red, dyed their animal skins, coated their weapons, and sprinkled the ground of their dwellings, and that a paste of ochre was used for decorative purposes in every phase of their domestic life.

We must assume no less, if we are to account for the veritable mines of ochre on which some of them lived...The Ancient Picts were said to paint themselves "Iron Red" according to the Gothic historian Jordanes.

Frequent references in Irish myth to "red men" (Gaelic: Fer Dearg) make it likely that such a practice was common to the Celts of the British Isles, bog iron being particularly abundant in the midlands of Ireland.

[17] Women of the Himba ethnic group in Namibia use a mix of ochre and animal fat for body decoration, to achieve a reddish skin colour.

[20] Ochre-coloured lines were also discovered on the Unfinished obelisk at the northern region of the Aswan Stone Quarry, marking work sites.

In order to honor the deceased and get them ready for their passage to the afterlife, these pigments, particularly red ochre, were most likely applied to their body or other grave goods as part of the burial rites.

The discovery of red paint traces on bones and skulls suggests that these practices were common among the Phoenicians as for other populations.”[21][22] Greater-quality pigments and more intricate applications would typically indicate people of greater rank or particular significance within the community.

In addition to acting as offerings to the gods and protective symbols, pigments were employed to adorn grave goods including pottery, amulets, and other objects, so elevating the spiritual purity of the interment.

The visual impact of red ochre could also have been intended to preserve the appearance of the body or make it presentable for mourning ceremonies, ensuring that the deceased was honored appropriately.

In England, red ochre was also known as "raddle", "reddle", or "ruddle"[23] and was used to mark sheep and can also be used as a waxy waterproof coating on structures.

[24] In Classical antiquity, the finest red ochre came from a Greek colony on the Black Sea where the modern city of Sinop in Turkey is located.

Ochre pigments are plentiful across Australia, especially the Western Desert, Kimberley and Arnhem Land regions, and occur in many archaeological sites.

At Lake Mungo, in Western New South Wales, burial sites have been excavated and burial materials, including ochre-painted bones, have been dated to the arrival of people in Australia;[30] "Mungo Man" (LM3) was buried sprinkled with red ochre at least 30,000 BP, and possibly as early as 60,000 BP.

Ochre prevented the drying out of the wood in canoes and the carvings of meeting houses; later missionaries estimated that it would last for 30 years.

[39] Researchers diving into dark submerged caves on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula have found evidence of an ambitious mining operation starting 12,000 years ago and lasting two millennia for red ochre.

It became an important product for the British fishing industry, where it was combined with oil and used to coat sails to protect them from seawater, giving them a reddish colour.

Ochre from Vaucluse was an important French export until the mid-20th century, when major markets were lost due to the Russian Revolution and the Spanish Civil War.

Today, the last quarry in activity is in Gargas (Vaucluse) and belongs to the Société des Ocres de France.

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