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Cited by 157Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologyArchaeology and Rock Art StudiesLanguage and cultural evolution

Early Evidence for Brilliant Ritualized Display: Specularite Use in the Northern Cape (South Africa) between ∼500 and ∼300 Ka

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Watts, Ian, Chazan, Michael, Wilkins, Jayne·2016·Current Anthropology
DOI 10.1086/686484
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Abstract

Earth pigments figure prominently in debates about signal evolution among later Homo. Most archaeologists consider such behavior to postdate ~300 Ka. To evaluate claims for Fauresmith and Acheulean pigments in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province, extending back 1.1 Ma (Beaumont and Bednarik 2013), we reexamined collections from Kathu Pan 1, Wonderwerk Cave, and Canteen Kopje. We report and describe materials where we are confident as to a pigment status. We found (i) compelling evidence of absence in all but the youngest Acheulean contexts, (ii) definite but irregular use in Fauresmith contexts from at least 500 Ka, (iii) widespread and regular use within this limited area by ~300 Ka, coeval with circumstantial evidence for pigment transport over considerable distances and use in fire-lit environments. These findings are used to evaluate predictions derived from two competing hypotheses addressing the evolution of group ritual, the “female cosmetic coalitions” hypothesis (Power 2009) and the “cheap-but-honest signals” hypothesis (Kuhn 2014), finding that the former accounts for a greater range of the observations. The findings underscore the wider behavioral significance of the Fauresmith as an industry transitional between the Acheulean and the Middle Stone Age.

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  • The oldest evidence for ritual consists of colored pigments in the MSA around 300,000 BP, with bright colors, found in large concentrations, oldest from Wonderwerk cave, accumulation began 300,000 years ago.

    “The oldest evidence consists of colored pigments in the MSA around 300,000 BP. These pigments have bright, radiant colors, including red, purple, and yellow. Stones containing such pigments, such as hematite and ochre, are found in large concentrations in archaeological sites, brought together from distant sources. The oldest finds come from Wonderwerk cave (South Africa), a cavern of about 100”

    From The Challenge of Evolution to Religion (2019) · cites this paper as Watts et al., 2016

    The Abstract reports regular pigment use in the Northern Cape by about 300 ka and circumstantial evidence of long-distance transport; the Supplementary Material links glittery specularite to possible ritualized display. But the paper dates definite pigment use to at least 500 ka, not its beginning at 300 ka. The Results identify only seven confident pigment pieces in the examined Wonderwerk collection, while the Supplementary Material says yellow pigment was scarcely used in this period; these passages do not support large concentrations or a bright red, purple, and yellow palette at Wonderwerk. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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References 118 · Cited by 157

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Authors
Watts, I., Chazan, M., & Wilkins, J.
ORCID
Venue
Current Anthropology
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Published
2016-06-02
Volume
57
Issue
3
Pages
287-310
ISSN
  • 0011-3204 (ISSN-L)
  • 1537-5382
DOI
10.1086/686484
OpenAlex
W2334001887
Cited by
157
References
118
Citations by year
2026: 21 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 1
FWCI
62.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
  • Current Anthropology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
  • Social Sciences › Archeology › Archaeology and Rock Art Studies
  • Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Language and cultural evolution
Keywords
specularite, earth pigments, signal evolution, Acheulean, Middle Stone Age, pigment transport, Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape, hominin behavior

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