Australian Indigenous Ochres: Use, Sourcing, and Exchange

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Accepted Manuscript (AM)
Author(s)
Huntley, Jillian
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2021
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Aboriginal Australians use ochre in varied cultural practices. It is found in the earliest to most recent archaeological sites and geographically across the wide-ranging geological and climatic contexts of the continent. Ochre’s importance in Aboriginal societies, coupled with its availability across Australia and its long-term durability, has led to a ubiquitous archaeological presence with considerable potential to study past cultural landscapes and intergroup interactions, including long-distance trade and exchange. Concentrating on scientific sourcing analyses, this article highlights the benefits of archaeopigment ...
View more >Aboriginal Australians use ochre in varied cultural practices. It is found in the earliest to most recent archaeological sites and geographically across the wide-ranging geological and climatic contexts of the continent. Ochre’s importance in Aboriginal societies, coupled with its availability across Australia and its long-term durability, has led to a ubiquitous archaeological presence with considerable potential to study past cultural landscapes and intergroup interactions, including long-distance trade and exchange. Concentrating on scientific sourcing analyses, this article highlights the benefits of archaeopigment research, defining key terms (ochre, provenience, and provenance) and the technicalities of sourcing studies before discussing theoretical frameworks used in interpretations of ochre distribution patterns. The article argues that as we move away from novel studies on ethnographically well-known source locations into applied research, exceptional Australian records are well placed to investigate territoriality, mobility, intergroup and human–landscape interactions, and to explore the catalysts driving cultural diversity.
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View more >Aboriginal Australians use ochre in varied cultural practices. It is found in the earliest to most recent archaeological sites and geographically across the wide-ranging geological and climatic contexts of the continent. Ochre’s importance in Aboriginal societies, coupled with its availability across Australia and its long-term durability, has led to a ubiquitous archaeological presence with considerable potential to study past cultural landscapes and intergroup interactions, including long-distance trade and exchange. Concentrating on scientific sourcing analyses, this article highlights the benefits of archaeopigment research, defining key terms (ochre, provenience, and provenance) and the technicalities of sourcing studies before discussing theoretical frameworks used in interpretations of ochre distribution patterns. The article argues that as we move away from novel studies on ethnographically well-known source locations into applied research, exceptional Australian records are well placed to investigate territoriality, mobility, intergroup and human–landscape interactions, and to explore the catalysts driving cultural diversity.
View less >
Book Title
The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Indigenous Australia and New Guinea
Copyright Statement
© 2021 OUP. This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter, published in The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Indigenous Australia and New Guinea edited by McNiven, I; David, B, 9 June 2021, reproduced by permission of Oxford University Press, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190095611.013.21
Subject
Archaeological science
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander archaeology
2101 - Archaeology
210101 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Archaeology
210102 - Archaeological Science