Ochre and pigment use at Hohle Fels cave: Results of the first systematic review of ochre and ochre-related artefacts from the Upper Palaeolithic in Germany

Though many European Upper Palaeolithic sites document early examples of symbolic material expressions (e.g., cave art, personal ornaments, figurines), there exist few reports on the use of earth pigments outside of cave art–and occasionally Neanderthal–contexts. Here, we present the first in-depth study of the diachronic changes in ochre use throughout an entire Upper Palaeolithic sequence at Hohle Fels cave, Germany, spanning from ca. 44,000–14,500 cal. yr. BP. A reassessment of the assemblage has yielded 869 individual ochre artefacts, of which 27 show traces of anthropogenic modification. The ochre artefacts are from all Upper Palaeolithic layers, stemming from the earliest Aurignacian horizons to the Holocene. This wide temporal spread demonstrates the long-term presence and continuity of ochre use in a part of Europe where it has not been systematically reported before. The anthropogenic modifications present on the ochre artefacts from the Gravettian and Magdalenian are consistent with pigment powder production, whereas the only modified piece from the Aurignacian displays a possible engraved motif. The non-modified artefacts show that more hematite-rich specular ochres as well as fine-grained deep red iron oxide clays were preferred during the Gravettian and Magdalenian, while the Aurignacian layers contain a broader array of colours and textures. Furthermore, numerous other artefacts such as faunal elements, personal ornaments, shells, and an ochre grindstone further strengthen the conclusion that ochre behaviours were well established during the onset of the Aurignacian and subsequently flourished throughout the Upper Palaeolithic at Hohle Fels cave.

尽管诸多欧洲旧石器时代晚期（Upper Palaeolithic）遗址均已记录下早期象征性物质表达的典型实例，诸如洞穴壁画、个人饰品与陶塑雕像，但除洞穴壁画及偶尔关联尼安德特人（Neanderthal）的场景外，针对土颜料使用的系统性研究报道仍极为匮乏。本研究针对德国霍赫勒·菲尔斯（Hohle Fels）洞穴完整的旧石器时代晚期地层序列，开展了赭石（ochre）使用历时性变化的首次深度研究，该序列的年代跨度约为距今44000至14500校准年BP（cal. yr. BP）。经对出土组合的重新梳理与评估，本次研究共获取869件独立赭石制品，其中27件留存有人类改造痕迹。这批赭石制品出自全部旧石器时代晚期地层，年代覆盖从最早的奥瑞纳文化（Aurignacian）层位直至全新世。如此宽泛的年代分布范围，证实了赭石使用行为在这片此前未被系统性报道过的欧洲区域内长期存在且延续不断。来自格拉维特文化（Gravettian）与马格德林文化（Magdalenian）层位的赭石制品上的人类改造痕迹，与颜料粉末的制作工艺高度吻合；而奥瑞纳文化层位中仅有的一件经改造的制品，则带有疑似雕刻纹饰的痕迹。未经过改造的赭石制品显示，格拉维特文化与马格德林文化时期更偏好富含赤铁矿（hematite）的镜面赭石以及细粒深红色氧化铁黏土；而奥瑞纳文化层位的赭石样本则涵盖了更为丰富的色彩与质地类型。此外，诸多其他出土遗存——包括动物骨骼、个人装饰品、贝壳以及一件赭石磨盘——进一步强化了这一结论：在霍赫勒·菲尔斯洞穴，奥瑞纳文化起源阶段赭石使用行为便已成型，并在此后整个旧石器时代晚期持续繁荣发展。