Long-distance transport of red ocher by Clovis foragers

Abstract

Red ocher (hematite) is a ferrous iron oxide mineral commonly used by Paleoindians in a variety of contexts, but its significance in mobile toolkits is not well understood. Here we demonstrate the importance of ocher to Paleoindians by determining the distance they were willing to carry it. The La Prele Mammoth site (48CO1401) is an approximately 13,000-year-old mammoth processing site with an associated campsite that contains scattered ocher nodules and a prominent ocher stain. The geochemical signature of La Prele ocher was established and compared to four natural ocher sources in Wyoming using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Ocher from La Prele was sourced to the Powars II ocher quarry approximately 100 km away. Paleoindians were willing to carry ocher for long distances, suggesting that red ocher was an important constituent of the Clovis mobile toolkit, while supporting the notion that Clovis maintained large territories. This geochemical analytical technique has potential for establishing geologic sources of ocher from other regions and time periods.