The ochre crayon was discovered near an ancient lake, now blanketed in peat, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire in England. An ochre pebble was found at another site on the opposite side of the lake.
The pebble had a heavily striated surface that is likely to have been scraped to produce a red pigment powder. The crayon measures 22mm long and 7mm wide, according to the study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Ochre is an important mineral pigment used by prehistoric hunter-gatherers across the globe.
The latest findings suggest people collected ochre and processed it in different ways during the Mesolithic period.
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"Colour was a very significant part of hunter-gatherer life and ochre gives you a very vibrant red colour. It is very important in the Mesolithic period and seems to be used in a number of ways," Needham said.
"For me it is a very significant object and helps us build a bigger picture of what life was like in the area; it suggests it would have been a very colourful place," he added.
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