Red Balloon rock shelter Middle Stone Age ochre assemblage and population's adaption to local resources in the Waterberg (Limpopo, South Africa).

ABSTRACT: Ochre has been found at many Middle Stone Age sites throughout southern Africa. Much work has been done to document these iron-rich raw materials, their modifications and their implications for past communities' behaviours, skills and cognition. However, until recently few works focused on the Middle Stone Age Waterberg ochre assemblages. The paper presents the ochre assemblage recovered at Red Balloon rock shelter, a new Middle Stone Age site on the Waterberg Plateau. The site preserves Middle Stone Age occupations dated around 95,000 years ago. Scanning electron microscopy observations, portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy characterization document the presence of four ochre types. The MSA ochre assemblage recovered is mainly composed of specularite and spec

SUBMITTER: Mauran G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10175935 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature