Innovative ochre processing and tool-use in China 40,000 years ago

These data were generated to determine the anthropogenic hematite grains resulted from ochre processing at the Xiamabei site in the Nihewan Basin, northern China. Four samples were selected for sediment analyses, including Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-temperature magnetic susceptibilities, and/or magnetic component analysis of coercivity distributions. Two sediment samples (X1 and X2) come from the red stained area on which the ochre fragments OP1 and OP2, stone slab LS and quartzite cobble QC were found; two samples (X3 and X6) were retrieved in the same layer but at ~2 m distance from the stained area. All of the samples consist of flood plain silts.
The Raman spectra unambiguously identify hematite in red particles abundantly present in samples X1 and X2. The XRD measurements clearly show that hematite is abundant in samples X1 and X2. However, hematite is not detectable in samples X3 and X6. The volume percent for hematite is 0.9% in sample X1 and 1.7% in sample...