Sourcing Used Red Ochre in the Late Middle Palaeolithic Context at Torajunga, Bargarh Uplands, Odisha, India: Results of Preliminary Investigation Volume 2 - Issue 4

Pradeep K Behera¹*, M Sudershan² and Neena Thakur¹

• ¹Department of History, Sambalpur University, Jyoti Vihar Burla, Odisha, India
• ²Senior Scientist, UGC-DAE CSR Centre, Kolkata, India

Received: July 20, 2020   Published: September 08, 2020

Corresponding author: Pradeep K Behera, Post-Graduate Department of History, Sambalpur University, Jyoti Vihar Burla, Odisha, India

DOI: 10.32474/JAAS.2020.02.00014

 

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Abstract

Red ochre or hydrated iron oxide widely used by the H. sapience since the Middle Palaeolithic/Middle Stone Age times or even earlier, is often considered as one of the most significant proxies of early/modern human behavior, emergence of symbolic behavior and advanced cognitive abilities in the prehistoric material records. In the present paper we tried to explain the geo-archaeological contexts of the occurrence of red ochre milling stone with pestles and made a preliminary attempt to trace the source area of this material. Results of our analysis clearly shows that red ochre blocks/pebbles were imported from distant sources from fro about 60-70 kilometers away from the open-air site of Torajunga for manufacturing powders, purpose of which is still little understood. However, ethnographic and archaeological sources have been used to possible use of this material at the site.

Keywords: Late middle Palaeolithic; Red Ochre; Provenance Study; Torajunga; Bargarh uplands; Odisha

Abstract| Introduction| The Area and its Physical Settings| Materials and Methods| Ed-XRF Technique and Multivariate Analysis| Discussion and Conclusion| Acknowledgements| References|