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Examines geochemical data derived from particle-induced-x-ray emission (PIXE) analysis of red ochre sources from western North America. Description of the red ochre samples; Sampling, extraction and preliminary processing of samples; Results of PIXE analysis; Conclusions.

A range of wetland plant species (44) was screened in solution culture experiments for sensitivity to large concentrations of supplied Fe. Two distinct root precipitates were observed (see 'Appendix' for a tabulated summary of symptoms). Energy dispersive spectroscopy showed that an ochreous precipitate was probably a hydrated ferric oxide whilst a pale yellow or yellow-grey one was an Fe P solid, possibly a ferric phosphate. Ochre precipitates were found almost exclusively on the roots of Fe-tolerant species and were particularly intense on the most tolerant ones. Monocotyledonous species (generally more Fe-tolerant than dicotyledonous species and with higher root porosities), tended to produce ochre most freely. The Fe-P precipitate was frequently found on roots of the less tolerant species and was particularly abundant on the most sensitive ones. Blackening of roots (with flaccidity), another common response of roots of Fe-sensitive plants exposed to large Fe concentrations, was not a result of any obvious external precipitate. There was no evidence that differential pH changes induced by roots helped to determine either Fe tolerance or the nature of the root precipitate observed. Roots of all species tested caused the pH of an agar medium to rise. Elevated Fe supply resulted in greater external acid phosphatase activity in roots of two test species. The increase corresponded with the species mean relative growth rate (RGR) (and presumed P requirement), and with the fertility of sites in which it grows. Chemical analyses of shoots and roots of four species of differing Fe tolerance showed that, with increasing Fe supply. mean shoot Fe concentrations increased significantly whereas for most other elements (except Na and Zn) a significant reduction in concentrations in th shoot was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pigments used on the Skard copy of the Icelandic Jónsbók law code (Skarðsbók c. 1360) have been analyzed non-destructively, in situ, by Raman microscopy and reflectance spectroscopy. In all, three historiated initials and c. 15 illuminated initials with associated background painting and embellishments have been examined. Six pigments have been identified by Raman microscopy on the folios studied: vermilion, orpiment, realgar, red ochre, azurite and bone white. The pigment(s) responsible for various other green and blue colours have not been identified unambiguously, although the diffuse reflectance spectra of the lighter green and blue pigments appear to derive from verdigris or variants thereof. The darker green colours are based on verdigris, possibly mixed with green earth. Neither red lead nor lead white was identified on the manuscript; it is not clear whether this is due to stylistic preferences on the part of the illuminator or to the unavailability of these pigments at the time of production of the manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was made of a number of rock art sites in California to determine which pigments had been used by the Chumash Indians. The study was based on pigment microsamples and rock art fragments excavated from site debris. The techniques of examination employed in the study were polarized light microscopy, environmental scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis, colour recording on site and X-ray powder diffraction. The pigments identified by this study include yellow ochre, red ochre, wood charcoal, halloysite (a white clay) and a white which is probably shell white. The mineral crusts associated with the rock art surface were also studied and gypsum was found to be a common component, together with the calcium oxalate, whewellite. The potential alteration of carbonate pigments to gypsum is inferred from the study. The paper is illustrated with examples of deteriorated rock art and with cross-sections from the sites discussed, particularly Carneros Rock and Painted Rock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two red dyes from 21st dynasty Egypt and one from the 12th dynasty were analyzed. The first two were essentially madder, in one case mixed with small amounts of tannins. The third contained pure haematite (red ochre), thus representing one of the earliest known uses of this pigment for the dyeing of linen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By treatment of Bacillus subtilis MO-101-P spoA- met thr- su- with ethyl methanesulfonate, a strong suppressor strain of nonsense mutations, B. subtilis MO-101-P spoA- [met-]+ thr- su+44, was isolated. This strain does not suppress phage Φ29 mutant susB47, selected on a B. subtilis strain containing the su+3 suppressor isolated by Georgopoulos. A revertant from this mutant, susB610, was isolated, being suppressed by both the su+3 and su+44 suppressor strains. The efficiency of suppression by strain su+44 is about 50%. The experiments shown in this paper suggest that strain su+44 contains an amber and strain su+3 an ochre suppressor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that Kenyan archaeologist and skilled local diggers unearthed the remains of the boy and indicated by jewelry and the use of ochre pigment, appeared in Africa as published in journal "Nature" on May 6, 2021.

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The conducted studies have proven the possibility of the directed control of operational properties of epoxy composites, due to the addition of finely-ground ocher into their composition, and the use of microwave modification of the epoxy composition. The rational content of ocher as a modifying additive (0.5 parts by mass) and a filler (75 parts by mass) of the epoxy composition has been selected, which ensures the improvement of the studied complex of physical-mechanical properties. It has been proven that ocher affects the structure formation processes and the structure of the epoxy composite, thus increasing its thermal, heat and fire resistance. During the research, the application efficiency has been proven, and the optimal parameters of the microwave modification (power—350 W; duration—30 s) of epoxy compositions filled with ocher, which increase physical-mechanical characteristics of composites, have been selected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the research paper "An Early Case of Color Symbolism: Ochre Use by Modern Human in Qafzeh Cave," by Erella Hovers. Important archaeological and geological proof about the use of ochre during the late Middle Paleolithic age at Qafzeh Cave in Israel have been discussed in the paper. However, there is no proof that ochre was produced anywhere in Middle Europe during the late Middle Paleolithic age.

The article presents the authors' reply to comments on their research paper "An Early Case of Color Symbolism: Ochre Use by Modern Human in Qafzeh Cave." The authors congratulate the commentators for their responses. They clarify point by point objections to their study. In response to the objections raised on the robusticity of the selection criterion based on red color, they clarified that color of ochre in the area of Qafzeh Cave in Israel was more often yellow than red.

In the Eurasian Upper Paleolithic after about 35,000 years ago, abstract or depictional images provide evidence for cognitive abilities considered integral to modern human behavior. Here we report on two abstract representations engraved on pieces of red ochre recovered from the Middle Stone Age layers at Blombos Cave in South Africa. A mean date of 77,000 years was obtained for the layers containing the engraved ochres by thermoluminescence dating of burnt lithics, and the stratigraphic integrity was confirmed by an optically stimulated luminescence age of 70,000 years on an overlying dune. These engravings support the emergence of modern human behavior in Africa at least 35,000 years before the start of the Upper Paleolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poem "Leavings" is presented. First Line: A series of little piles; Last Line: The only recognizable object.

An introduction is presented which provides information on topics discussed in the issue including the diets of early humans, ochre processing in Blombos Cave, South Africa, and slip rates in silicate rocks.

The article presents the author's views regarding the article "An Early Case of Color Symbolism: Ochre Use by Modern Humans in Qafzeh Cave," by Erella Hovers, which has been published within the issue of the periodical. Hovers' article focused on color symbolism and Paleolithic archaeology. Middle stone-age people inherited the act of using pigments from their ancestors. Inhabitants of Qafzeh Cave, Israel, collected natural pigments.

Schwertmannite is a poorly crystalline mineral that forms ochre rusts and precipitates in acid mine environments. Despite its ubiquity and its role as scavenger of important contaminants such as arsenic or selenium, its structure has not been yet determined. Here, a structure for schwertmannite is presented based on pair distribution function (PDF) data, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We propose a structure formed by a deformed frame of iron octahedra similar to that of akaganeite. Simulations of X-ray diffraction patterns unveil the presence of long-range order associated with the position of the sulfate molecules, providing a useful way to discern two types of sulfate complexes in the structure. The simulations suggest that two sulfate molecules per unit cell are present in the structure forming one outer sphere and one inner sphere complex inside the channels formed by iron octahedra. Knowledge of the positions of the sulfates in the structure will help to better understand exchange processes with oxyanions of trace contaminants, such as arsenate, chromate, or selenate, that strongly influence their biogeochemical cycling in mining ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the 2002 discovery of red ochre at Blombos Cave in South Africa which had been engraved with crosshatched patterns. The etchings were interpreted by experts as evidence of symbolic expression or art. Topics include an overview of a research by Christopher Henshilwood and colleagues which was presented at a meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, and published in the "Journal of Human Evolution (JHE)," and how the symbols may help understand early human behavior,

The article cites a study related to the functional and symbolic uses of ochre. Many researchers equate the appearance of symbolic behavior in hominid evolution with the onset of behavioral modernity. For these researchers, archaeological work in southern Africa continues to push the origins of modern behavior deeper into the Pleistocene past. However, recent evidence from KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa suggests that ochre may have played a functional rather than a symbolic role during the African Middle Stone Age. Examining usewear patterns and plant residues on lithics from Sibudu Cave, scientist Lyn Wadley and colleagues conclude that ochre was often part of the adhesive used for hafting stone tools. Initially informed by experimental replication and ethnographic observation, the researchers infer this function from the correlation of ochre and plant residues with use-wear patterns consistent with hafting. Though they do not reject the possibility that ochre had symbolic importance in other cases, they suggest that its use in this instance was strictly functional.

An abstract of the study "Assessing the Performance of Phosphorus-Saturated Ochre as a Fertilizer and Its Environmental Acceptability," by K. E. Dobbie, K. V. Heal and K. A. Smith, published in the June 2005 issue of "Soil Use and Management" is presented.

The article presents information on the discovery of forty one shell beads in sand layers at Blombos Cave which provides important new evidence for early symbolically organized behavior in Africa. The Blombos Cave beads presents entire evidence for the storage of information outside the human brain. Blombos excavators found chunks of inscribed shaped and ochre bone tools that challenged the dominant theory of behavioral evolution, which held that human beings were anatomically modern at least 160,000 years ago but did not develop critical modern behaviors until some punctuating event 40,000 or 50,000 years ago. Many researchers believe that the Blombos bone tools and ochre show that modern behavior like the use of external symbols developed gradually throughout the Middle Stone Age, not when the ancestors spread from Africa to Eurasia.

The article comments on the research paper "An Early Case of Color Symbolism: Ochre Use by Modern Human in Qafzeh Cave," by Erella Hovers. The author views that the paper by Hovers and colleagues provides observational evidences for manipulation of ochre in middle Paleolithic period. According to the author, the various evidences prove that the ochre was used for its color properties.

Focuses on the issues related to Middle Stone Age engravings in South Africa. Sequence of engraving; Symbolic content of engraved ochre; Facilitation of arts and science.

SynopsisNatural antique colorants include mainly red pigments such as cinnabar and ochre. These archeological pigments were used especially as funeral and cosmetic makeup and are a material proof of handicraft activities and exchanges. The identification and characterization of a group of punic colorants, corresponding to samples discovered during excavations at several Tunisian archeological sites (Cartage, Ksour Essef, Kerkouane, Bekalta, Makthar, Bou Arada), were conducted using the least destructive analysis techniques such us scanning electron microscopy coupled to X-ray fluorescence microprobe, direct current plasma emission spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and X-ray diffraction. Eleven natural red colorants from punic period were subject to this investigation and were compared to contemporary substances. Five colorants were cinnabar and the other six were ochre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]