Thinking about colour

As I've progressed with experiments related to aspects of Mesolithic personal ornaments, I have been struck by the vibrancy of the materials I have been working with. The Mesolithic was a colourful place! Whether the warm yellows and oranges of amber, the vibrant reds of ground ochre, the deep grey of shale and vivid white of engravings or the cortex of flint, I can't help thinking this rich and diverse palette must have been an important part of the Mesolithic world.

I have been working on a paper about the role of ochre in craft activities in the Mesolithic and the notion of colour and how this was understood has become an area of increasing interest for me. Ochre is perhaps the classic example of a material which has been argued to have symbolic connotations associated with its colour, yet has a diverse array of practial applications that in no way diminish or contradict these deeper significances.

By extension, can we begin to see the colour of other materials as an important property influencing how the material was understood and used? Its a notion I would like to go on to explore n more detail in relation to personal ornament prodcution during the Mesolithic material, in particular in relation to the selection of materials.