An early Late Pleistocene ochre from the Luonan Basin, central China

This study presents an incised ochre artefact from the Yanling site in the Luonan Basin, the Qinling Mountains region, central China. The specimen, recovered from a well-stratified paleosol, bears deep incisions consistent with intentional scoring. The optical stimulated luminescence dating results indicate that the artefact dates to approximately 80 ka ago. Physicochemical analyses, including X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, reveal that the sample consists primarily of iron oxides and clay minerals, which are some of the most frequent constituents in ochre materials and thus support the artefact's identification as an ochre piece. This finding represents the earliest known incised ochre artefact from East Asia and provides new evidence for ochre use and behavioral complexity in the region.