At ∼160 ka, near the end of our African speciation, archaeologists identify a change from sporadic to habitual use of red ochre, interpreted as ‘blood-red colorant’ for decorating performers’ bodies during group rituals, with habitual ritual considered pre-requisite to symbolic culture’s ‘shared fictions’ (Dapschauskas et al. 2022). This article considers the proposed motivations for such behaviour, and asks whether cross-cultural data on African hunter-gatherer ritual uses of red substances and associated beliefs can further constrain the interpretation of the archaeological finding. The comparative survey fills a basic knowledge gap. The survey’s interpretation relies upon proposed relations of relevance bridging the past and present, foremost being predictions of symbolic culture derived from evolutionary models of group ritual. The main symbolic theme encountered is a metaphoric relationship between women’s reproduction and men’s hunting, expressed as a form of ‘blood’ symbolism. This is consistent with a long theoretical tradition within social anthropology, and the neo-Darwinian re-casting of that tradition by the Female Cosmetic Coalitions hypothesis, which arguably predicted the timing of habitual ochre use thirty years ago. Models aside, this article hopefully demonstrates that if evolutionary and social anthropology are to jointly address how we became a symbolic species, they will have to attend more closely to African hunter-gatherer voices.

中文翻译：

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象征文化的根源是血液的象征主义？非洲狩猎采集者的观点


在 ∼160 ka，即我们非洲物种形成接近尾声时，考古学家确定了红赭石从零星到习惯性使用的变化，红赭石被解释为在集体仪式中装饰表演者身体的“血红色着色剂”，习惯性仪式被认为是象征文化“共享虚构”的先决条件（Dapschauskas 等人，2022 年）。本文考虑了这种行为的拟议动机，并询问关于非洲狩猎采集者仪式中使用红色物质和相关信仰的跨文化数据是否可以进一步限制对考古发现的解释。比较调查填补了基础知识空白。该调查的解释依赖于桥接过去和现在的相关性关系，首先是对源自群体仪式进化模型的象征文化的预测。遇到的主要象征主题是女性繁殖和男性狩猎之间的隐喻关系，以“血”象征主义的形式表达。这与社会人类学中悠久的理论传统以及女性化妆品联盟假说对这一传统的新达尔文主义重塑是一致的，该假说可以说在三十年前预测了习惯性使用赭石的时间。撇开模型不谈，本文希望能证明，如果进化论和社会人类学要共同解决我们如何成为一个象征性物种的问题，它们就必须更密切地关注非洲狩猎采集者的声音。