Characteristics and Changes in Ochres from Late Middle Stone Age to Early Holocene Northern Malawi

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Ochre sensu lato is considered to be one of the earliest evidence of human cognition and culture due to its raw materials diversity, its significance in raw materials processing, and its large panel of uses. However, there are little data from central Africa on the use of ochre in cultural systems during the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene. As part of the Malawi Ancient Lifeways and Peoples Project (MALAPP), we characterize archaeological ochres collected from five northern Malawian sites to understand changes in ochre selection, processing, and usage across the last ~30 thousand years. We employ color analysis, semi-quantitative elemental analysis (pXRF), and qualitative analysis of physical traits and modification patterns in combination with innovative experiments in paleomagnetism and geological typology to investigate patterns of ochre sourcing and utilization. By connecting our studies with residual data from stone tools and potentially rock art, we aim to expand upon understandings of the role ochres played in local social networks and its meaning within these ancient communities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52715