Red ochre and yellow ochre (pronounced /'əʊk.ə/, from the Greek ochros, yellow) are pigments made from naturally tinted clay. It has been used worldwide since prehistoric times. Chemically, it is hydrated iron (III) oxide. In biology, pigment is any material resulting in color in plant or animal cells which is the result of selective absorption. ... The Gay Head cliffs in Marthas Vineyard are made almost entirely of natural clays. ... Iron(III) oxide - also known as ferric oxide, red iron oxide, synthetic maghemite, rouge,or rust - is one of several oxide compounds of iron, and is most notable for its ferromagnetic properties. ...

Ochres are non-toxic, and can be used to make an oil paint that dries quickly and covers surfaces thoroughly. Many people believe that the best ochre comes from the area of Roussillon, France. The venom of the black widow spider is a potent latrotoxin. ... Roussillon is a village and commune in the Vaucluse département of southern France. ...

To manufacture ground ochre, ochre clay is first mined from the ground. It is then washed in order to separate sand from ochre, which can be done by hand. The remaining ochre is then dried in the sun and sometimes burned to enhance the natural color.

History

Ochre was one of the first pigments to be used by human beings. Pieces of hematite, worn down as though they had been used as crayons, have been found at 300,000 year old Homo heidelbergensis sites in France and Czechoslovakia. Neandertal burial sites sometimes include ochre as a grave good. The oldest evidence of mining activity, at the "Lion Cave" in Swaziland, is a 43,000 year old ochre mine. In Germanic rune lore, red ochre was often used in place of blood to redden, or tint, the runes and thereby instilling the spirit of life into the rune, enabling it to be used for magical purposes. Crayola brand crayons A crayon is a stick of colored wax, charcoal, chalk, or other material used for writing and drawing. ... Binomial name †Homo heidelbergensis Schoetensack, 1908 Homo heidelbergensis (nicknamed Goliath) is an extinct species of the genus Homo and the direct ancestor of Homo neanderthalensis in Europe. ... Binomial name Homo neanderthalensis King, 1864 The Neanderthal or Neandertal was a species of genus Homo (Homo neanderthalensis) that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia from about 230,000 to 29,000 years ago (in the Middle Palaeolithic, early Stone Age). ... In archaeology and anthropology grave goods are the items interred along with the body. ... Chuquicamata, the largest open pit copper mine in the world, Chile. ...

The clay used to produce red ochre is thought to be the "red earth" from which God created Adam in the Book of Genesis. In fact, the entymology of the name "Adam" is ancient Hebrew for "man of red earth." Red ochre can be found in great quantities in the mountains rimming the river basin where archeologists place the biblical Garden of Eden, now in modern day Iraq. For the early writers of the Christian Bible, one can imagine the vibrant red color of this natural clay evoking the color of human blood. The Fall of Man by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden The Garden of Eden (from Hebrew Gan Ēden, גַּן עֵדֶן) is described by the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man - Adam - and woman - Eve - lived after they were created by God. ...

Ochre was a popular coloring in France during the time of the French Empire, and many French citizens living in foreign colonies would import a great deal of ochre clay from France to make their new lands feel like home. As a result, after the period of French colonization ended ochre became associated with repression and fell out of favour. With the advent of synthetic dyes, ochre mining nearly stopped altogether. Recently, however, natural ochre paint has seen something of a comeback as an upscale housepaint option. The First French Empire, commonly known as the French Empire or the Napoleonic Empire, covers the period of the domination of France and much of continental Europe by Napoleon I of France. ... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

Ochre was commonly used as a pigment by many native peoples. In Newfoundland its use is most often associated with the Beothuk whereby they were referred to as the Red Indians by the first Europeans to Newfoundland. It was also used by the Maritime Archaic as evidenced by its discovery in the graves of over 100 individuals during an archeological excavation at Port au Choix. Motto: Quaerite Prime Regnum Dei (Latin: Seek ye first the kingdom of God) Official languages None Capital St. ... Beothuk The Beothuks were the native inhabitants of the island of Newfoundland at the time of European contact in the 15th and 16th centuries. ... Newfoundland (French: Terre-Neuve; Irish: Talamh an Éisc; Latin: Terra Nova) is a large island off the northeast coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... In archaeology, the Maritime Archaic period is a period lasting from approximately 7000 BC into modern times. ...

Image File history File links Yellow_ochre. ...

See also

• clay earth pigment
• List of colors
• Goethite, or brown ochre

Clay earth pigments are naturally occurring minerals that have been used since prehistoric times as pigments. ... The following is a partial list of colors with associated articles. ... Goethite is an iron bearing oxide mineral found in soil and other low temperature environments. ...

Further reading

• Red Ochre and Yellow ochre, from Pigments through the ages.
• A recipe for red ochre paint.
• Fuller, Carl; Natural Colored Iron Oxide Pigments, pp. 281-6. In: Pigment Handbook, 2nd Edition. Lewis, P. (ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1988.
• Thomas, Anne Wall. Colors From the Earth, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.