Red ochre

Red ochre and yellow ochre (pronounced OAK-ur, from the Greek ochros, yellow) are pigments made from naturally tinted clay. It has been used worldwide since prehistoric times. Chemically, it is anhydrous iron (III) oxide.

History

Ochre was one of the first pigments to be used by human beings. Pieces of hematite, worn down as though they had been used as crayons, have been found at 300,000 year old Homo heidelbergensis sites in France and Czechoslovakia. Neandertal burial sites sometimes include ochre as a grave good. The oldest evidence of mining activity, at the "Lion Cave" in Swaziland, is a 43,000 year old ochre mine. In Germanic rune lore, red ochre was often used in place of blood to redden, or tint, the runes and thereby instilling the spirit of life into the rune, enabling it to be used for magical purposes.

Related Topics:
Crayon - Homo heidelbergensis - France - Czechoslovakia - Neandertal - Grave good - Mining - Swaziland

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Ochre was a popular coloring in France during the time of the French Empire, and many French citizens in living in foreign colonies would import a great deal of ochre clay from France to make their new lands feel like home. As a result, after the period of French colonization ended, ochre became associated with repression and fell out of favor. With the advent of synthetic dyes, ochre mining nearly stopped altogether. Recently, however, natural ochre paint has seen something of a comeback as an upscale housepaint option.

Related Topics:
French Empire - Synthetic dye

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Ochre was commonly used as a pigment by many native peoples. In Newfoundland its use is most often associated with the Beothuk whereby they were referred to as the Red Indians by the first Europeans to Newfoundland. It was also used by the Maritime Archaic as evidenced by its discovery of ochre found in the graves of over 100 individuals during an archeological excavation at Port au Choix.

Related Topics:
Newfoundland - Beothuk - Newfoundland - Maritime Archaic - Port au Choix

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