Over at The Conversation:
"Namibie Himba 0717a" by Yves Picq http://veton.picq.fr - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.
The use of ochre dates to the Middle Stone Age and Middle Palaeolithic. The earliest evidence of its use in Africa dates 285 000 years.
In Africa, ochre is used for protection from the sun and as a barrier from insects such as mosquitos. It has also been scientifically proven to inhibit the effects of UV radiation. There are many other uses.
Ochre is an umbrella term for a range of earthy, iron-rich rocks composed of iron oxides or oxyhydroxides, such as shales, sandstones, mudstones and specularite...[more]
