Seafood and Makeup: My Kind of Life!
Filed under: Uncategorized — Giulianna Maria Lamanna @ 10:11 PM
This story is about a month old, so you may already have heard of it, but recent archaeological discoveries in South Africa show that humans were harvesting seafood and using makeup far earlier than previously thought. (Read the story here.) Specifically, 40,000 years earlier. Turns out that steady rise to Western perfection wasn’t quite so accurate. Who’da thunkit?
Marean also found 57 pieces of ground-up rock that would have been reddish- or pinkish-brown. That would be used for self-decoration and sending social signals to other people, much the way makeup is used now, he said.
There have been reports of earlier but sporadic pigment use in Africa.
Now if only the article had specified what kind of rock… I could have myself some nice blush right about now.
yep, this is another nail in the coffin for the upper paleolithic “creative revolution.” you know, all the fabulous rock art in france. i’m especially drawn to the implications of the “symbolic” cognition (the make up) so early on. i love it when paleoanthro gets flipped on its back like a stunned turtle!
Comment by Ryan — 10 November 2007 @ 10:38 PM
I dunno; any archaeological evidence means “it’s at least as old as this.” Doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not even older, and that’s always the direction new discoveries amend it. The Upper Paleolithic Revolution is certainly older and more gradual if you look at the African evidence (as in, clear evidence of migration), but I don’t think this has really overturned paleoanthropology.
Comment by Jason Godesky — 10 November 2007 @ 11:54 PM
Probably red ocre?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_ochre
Comment by Urban Scout — 11 November 2007 @ 4:50 PM
You should be able to find some in your area too. The iroquois used it:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2005/11/18/qc-indart20051118.html
Comment by Urban Scout — 11 November 2007 @ 4:54 PM
Red ochre is just clay with iron in it–the most abundant metal in the earth’s crust. Anywhere you see red soil, red rocks or red water, follow that and you’ll find red ochre.
Comment by Jason Godesky — 11 November 2007 @ 5:04 PM
I agree with yah Jason - it’ll take at least another dozen more Hobbits to flip it over for real. it’s more like a potential for paleoanthro to think about humanity more flexibly. i was focusing on how shocked the scientists are that “creativity” shows up this early (if these dates aren’t contested) and how this really reveals the dominant paradigm for nature, evolution, and what it means to be an early human.
i still haven’t gotten to the local university to read the article in Nature - i think it should shed some light on the actual context of the ochre and why they’re all a buzz about it. th AP press is a little lacking..
Comment by Ryan — 11 November 2007 @ 10:38 PM
[…] all the way back to three days ago when I posted a news article about recent archaeological discoveries showing that humans have been […]
Pingback by The Fabulous Forager » Seafood, Makeup, and Now: Chocolate — 12 November 2007 @ 7:26 PM