Towards a Global Understanding of Ochre Use: Methods, Definitions, and Applications

​The term "ochre" is one of the most poorly defined categories of material culture. Broadly speaking, archaeologists tend to identify any iron-containing rock, mineral, or soil capable of producing a colored streak as ochre. This is at best an incomplete definition and at worst is so imprecise that it may hinder meaningful research. Ochre has been reported in many examples of early human symbolic behavior. The use of ochre, however, is a widespread phenomenon represented in cultural heritage from all inhabited continents and spanning hundreds of thousands of years through present day. Some of the best known roles of ochre include rock art pigments, cosmetics and skin protectants, animal hide preservatives, and grave goods.

The dramatic growth of the archaeological sciences in the last twenty years has resulted in unprecedented opportunities for studying ochre in a quantitative manner. However, effectively applying these increasingly accessible techniques requires standardization of terminology and better sharing of methodological advances across disciplinary and national borders. This session will represent a first step towards achieving these goals by fostering communication among researchers with a keen interest in this unique form of material culture and by providing an opportunity to discuss an anthropological definition of ochre.