An international team of scientists, led by researcher Brandi L. MacDonald from the University of Missouri, has confirmed the discovery of the oldest ochre mine in the world, located in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), a small country in southern Africa.
Ochre, an iron-rich clay, has been used by humans for thousands of years as a pigment for painting cave walls, decorating symbolic objects, and even for personal ornamentation. Its cultural and spiritual significance has endured over time, and its use can be considered a reflection of the evolution of human thought.
To confirm the age and origin of the ochre found in the Lion Cavern of Eswatini and surroundings, MacDonald’s team relied on advanced technology available on the University of Missouri campus, specifically at the Mizzou Research Reactor (MURR), the Institute for Material Science and Engineering (MSEI), and the Electron Microscopy Core (EMC). These facilities allowed scientists to analyze ochre samples with unprecedented precision, creating a sort of “geological fingerprint” of the pigment.
At the MURR archaeometry lab, MacDonald and her team used a method called neutron activation to analyze the chemical composition of the ochre. By exposing small samples to neutrons in the reactor core, the material temporarily becomes radioactive, emitting energies in the form of radioisotopes. This process allows scientists to detect the ochre’s unique chemical signature and compare it with existing databases to confirm its origin.
With this technique, we can identify where the ochre comes from and establish a geological connection with the Eswatini mine, explained MacDonald. The technology at MURR offers us exceptional precision to study these ancient materials and understand how they were processed and used thousands of years ago.
The research was not limited to analyses at MURR; the team also used tools at MSEI and EMC that expanded the understanding of how ochre was extracted and used. The scientists applied advanced Raman spectroscopy techniques, which use lasers to vibrate the molecules in the sample. This method allows specific minerals within the ochre to be identified, revealing details about its composition.
Additionally, at the EMC, scientists examined the ochre samples with a scanning electron microscope, enabling microscopic analysis that details the material’s chemical structure. These detailed studies revealed how the ochre was processed, and through these findings, it is possible to connect this material with the practices of the society that used it.
MacDonald plans to expand her research to other regions, including northern Australia, where she will seek comparisons between ochre extraction sites and the communities that used it between 2,000 and 40,000 years ago. The study of these ochre sources and their distribution gives us an idea of how ancient people selected and shared their resources, MacDonald points out. This allows us to observe the development of social networks and the evolution of symbolic and creative thinking in these cultures.
This pioneering work, published in Nature Communications, has benefited from the collaboration of researchers from prestigious international institutions, including the University of Bergen in Norway, the German Archaeological Institute, and the University of Tübingen. Together, these scientists are unraveling the history of one of humanity’s oldest materials, with findings that bring us closer to a better understanding of the roots of our own creativity and capacity for symbolic expression.
SOURCES
MacDonald, B.L., Velliky, E.C., Forrester, B. et al. Ochre communities of practice in Stone Age Eswatini. Nat Commun 15, 9201 (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53050-6
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