Recent analysis of ocher fragments from several Neanderthal sites suggests that Neanderthals used ocher to draw and mark surfaces.
Neanderthals have long been thought to have used iron-rich pigments to decorate their bodies, clothing and surfaces. For example, many ancient civilizations used ocher to preserve animal skins and tan clothing. However, there isn’t much clear evidence of other uses for ocher by Neanderthals.
For this study, recently published in scientific progressFrancesco d’Errico, an archaeologist at the University of Bordeaux in France, and his colleagues studied 16 ochres, dating back 70,000 years, from Neanderthal sites in Crimea and Ukraine. The team analyzed the ocher’s composition and surface markings using electron microscopy and a portable X-ray scanner.
A piece of yellow ocher from the Mycoquian era (approximately 130,000 to 33,000 years ago) is one of the most important finds. The piece appears to have been scratched into a kind of pastel. According to analysis, the tip had been repeatedly resharpened for reuse. Experts believe its shape was intentionally used to make marks, meaning Neanderthals may have drawn in a manner similar to the way we do today.
The second fragment has a carved, polished surface with pronounced cracks also thought to have been used for marking, while the third fragment has microscopic traces of repeated grinding and sharpening consistent with the first.
“Evidence of deliberate shaping and reuse of crayons, carved patterns, and carefully designed tools collectively support the conclusion that at least some ocher materials were involved in symbolic activities,” the team wrote in the study.
These findings suggest that Neanderthals were using marking tools. Creativity is considered by scientists to be a hallmark of advanced civilizations, which means Neanderthals may have been less primitive and more focused on cultural practices than we previously knew, similar to other early humans.
