Humanity's first art material — ochre has been used for at least 100,000 years, making it the oldest pigment in continuous human use.
A naturally occurring clay pigment ranging from yellow to deep red, used since prehistoric times in art and decoration.
From Greek ōchros meaning pale yellow, via Latin ochra and Old French ocre Key roots: ōchros (Greek: "pale, pale yellow").
Ochre is the oldest pigment in human history — red ochre has been found in human burial sites dating to 100,000 years ago, and cave paintings at Blombos Cave in South Africa used ochre crayons 75,000 years ago. It was likely the first art material humans ever used, predating civilization itself by tens of thousands of years.