Abstract
Although prehistoric sites frequently contain numerous fragments and traces of many different kinds of colouring matter, intensive study of this type of archaeological remains began only recently. Such studies, aimed at determining how raw materials formed and changed over time, and how they were transported by the groups of humans who used them, are extremely valuable as they reveal shared strategies, that is, cultural traditions and the spaces in which they developed. The scope of this paper focusses on the description of the main geological contexts in which ferruginous colouring materials form and are found. In the framework of a collective research program called Pigmentothèque (iron- and manganese-rich rocks and minerals library), geological surveys are conducted taking into consideration the geological settings in which colouring materials are present and using a common record and sampling methodology which is followed by petrophysical, mineralogical and chemical analyses based on a shared procedure and vocabulary. In order to go beyond descriptions based solely on colour and chemical composition, we describe the great variety of iron-rich materials that can be used to obtain colouring matter. This diversity in the formation and evolution of iron-rich materials must be taken into account when trying to understand past humans’ choices of raw materials, their provenance and the anthropogenic and natural modifications they have undergone. We also describe criteria for recognising cohesive remains of colouring matter during archaeological excavations, so these artefacts can take their place alongside other mineral resources in helping improve our understanding of past societies.
Highlights
Scholars have been interested in the utilisation of colouring matter since the earliest days of research into prehistoric cultures (e.g., Lartet & Christy 1875: 60-61, 94, 109, 297; Moissan 1902; 1903; de Mortillet & de Mortillet 1900: 555; Rivière 1887: 196), but studies of this category of archaeological remains from the perspective of chaînes opératoires began only about a decade ago
Colouring matter is often referred to as “ochre”, a term with a multitude of sometimes contrasting meanings that has been applied to everything from black pigments derived from manganese-rich materials to the reds, oranges and yellows obtained from iron-rich substances
The general analytical methodology developed by the Pigmentothèque for studying archaeological collections is based on the need to determine the transformations a material has undergone, whether before collection by its prehistoric user, during its use or after it was discarded
Summary
Scholars have been interested in the utilisation of colouring matter since the earliest days of research into prehistoric cultures (e.g., Lartet & Christy 1875: 60-61, 94, 109, 297; Moissan 1902; 1903; de Mortillet & de Mortillet 1900: 555; Rivière 1887: 196), but studies of this category of archaeological remains from the perspective of chaînes opératoires began only about a decade ago. Colouring matter is often referred to as “ochre”, a term with a multitude of sometimes contrasting meanings that has been applied to everything from black pigments derived from manganese-rich materials to the reds, oranges and yellows obtained from iron-rich substances. Perhaps more important, explanation for ochre’s widely divergent, almost antithetical meanings, is the fact that it has long been used interchangeably to refer to colour, colouring matter and raw material (Salomon 2009: 46, 51-52; Triat 2010: 16-17; Tromeur 1998: 5-9) This lexical vacillation is omnipresent, but it means the term ochre (ocher in US English) provides little information about either the colour or hue (yellow, orange, red, brown, light, dark, etc.) or the material (in its natural state or transformed by humans, pigmentaceous minerals, rocks rich in pigmentaceous minerals). As for siliceous matter and shells, studies of archaeological colouring matter can provide insights into the journeys undertaken by past humans and thereby throw light onto patterns of movement of human groups within a geographical area, and even patterns of land use
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