Processing colouring materials during the Upper Palaeolithic: Evidence from Parpalló Cave, Gandía, Spain

• Parpalló Cave yielded 4116 painted and engraved artefacts from layers dated between the Gravettian and Magdalenian. • 130 artefacts from Upper Solutrean occupations present evidence of ochre processing. • We identified the presence of upper and lower grindstones and possible palettes. • The complexity of ochre processing technical procedures suggests that colouring materials had multiple uses. • Results reflect a culture in which colouring materials appear to shift from artistic to more varied applications. In recent years, research has focused on the characterisation of pigments used for the production of cave art in Upper Palaeolithic contexts. In contrast, studies exploring the technical processes involved in the acquisition, processing, and application of mineral colouring materials such as ochre –for artistic, or other functional or symbolic purposes– remain relatively scarce. For instance, artefacts used to process colouring materials, such as grindstones, palettes, containers, and other ochre-stained artefacts from Upper Palaeolithic contexts have rarely been the primary focus of systematic studies. In this study, we present the first results of the use-wear analysis of pigment processing tools found at Parpalló Cave, Gandía, Spain. This site has yielded one of the most important collections of Palaeolithic portable art, consisting of 4116 painted and/or engraved artefacts, mostly limestone plaquettes, spanning from the Gravettian to the Magdalenian. Quantification of use-wear in pieces from Upper Solutrean occupations shows that among 529 artefacts, 261 bear pigment residues, of which 130 exhibit clear evidence for processing ochre and other colouring materials. These findings provide an exceptional opportunity to gain insight into the technical processes involved in mineral colouring material processing, and the variety of purposes of colouring material use in an Upper Palaeolithic context.