23.06.01 A History of Ochre by Tammy Hodgskiss

The history of human evolution is closely tied to the use of ochre, a colourful and iron-rich rock rock known to most of us for its use as a pigment in the creative stirrings of our ancestors in Africa, who used it for rock art and paintings.

But according to Tammy Hodgkiss, curator of the Origins Centre in Johannesburg, this humble rock should receive far more recognition, not just as a creative material but for its central role in the evolution of human behaviour and cognition, as well as its medicinal properties.

Ochre is an effective sunscreen and mosquito repellant, with both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties - during the Middle Ages in Europe people put it on their beds to protect against fever and rash.

Even animals have used it intuitively - the elephants in Kenya and bearded vultures of Africa and Arabia bathe in ochre rich mud for a protevtive body paste. The use of an ochre body paste is believed to be the reason that the Himba people of Namibia have such low rates of skin cancer.

Ochre is still used in many countries of the world as an artisan pigment at funerals and weddings as well as healing and coming of age ceremonies. And of course, ochre engravings provide the earliest evidence of art in the world, dating back 77,000 years to early humans in South Africa.

"Part of my job as an academic and curator is bring the past to life and make it meaningful", Tammy said in a recent TED talk. "I feel that these little iron pieces of the earth link us to each other, to our ancestors, to communities around the world and to the original inhabitants of our continent."