100th century BCE
Swaziland
Lion Cavern in Swaziland preserves Middle Stone Age activity dated to about 44,000 BP over a cave floor mined for iron ore used as pigment. The site links mineral extraction with the widespread use of ochres, haematite, limonite, manganese, and other pigment-bearing materials in Middle Stone Age societies. Its evidence contributes to the study of early technological and symbolic practices in southern Africa.
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The Story
Lion Cavern contains Middle Stone Age occurrences lying above an area of cave floor that had been mined for iron ore. The ore was extracted for use as pigment, showing that mineral resources were deliberately sought and processed within a cave environment. The activity is dated in the passage to about 44,000 BP.
The mining evidence belongs to a wider pattern of pigment use in Middle Stone Age contexts. Cave sequences regarded as base camps contain pencils or crayons of rubbed haematite, limonite, manganese, ochres, and other mineral materials capable of yielding pigment. Such objects demonstrate repeated engagement with colored minerals, even though their precise uses cannot always be established.
Pigment may have been applied to bodies, weapons, or utensils, but the passage distinguishes these possibilities from wall painting, for which it finds no indication in the cited Middle Stone Age contexts. Lion Cavern is consequently important both as an early example of mineral extraction and as part of a broader archaeological record of material practices involving color.
100th century BCE
Swaziland
Lion Cavern in Swaziland preserves Middle Stone Age activity dated to about 44,000 BP over a cave floor mined for iron ore used as pigment. The site links mineral extraction with the widespread use of ochres, haematite, limonite, manganese, and other pigment-bearing materials in Middle Stone Age societies. Its evidence contributes to the study of early technological and symbolic practices in southern Africa.
Continue exploring
The Story
Lion Cavern contains Middle Stone Age occurrences lying above an area of cave floor that had been mined for iron ore. The ore was extracted for use as pigment, showing that mineral resources were deliberately sought and processed within a cave environment. The activity is dated in the passage to about 44,000 BP.
The mining evidence belongs to a wider pattern of pigment use in Middle Stone Age contexts. Cave sequences regarded as base camps contain pencils or crayons of rubbed haematite, limonite, manganese, ochres, and other mineral materials capable of yielding pigment. Such objects demonstrate repeated engagement with colored minerals, even though their precise uses cannot always be established.
Pigment may have been applied to bodies, weapons, or utensils, but the passage distinguishes these possibilities from wall painting, for which it finds no indication in the cited Middle Stone Age contexts. Lion Cavern is consequently important both as an early example of mineral extraction and as part of a broader archaeological record of material practices involving color.