Nevertheless, traces of red ochre—a naturally occurring pigment used by many hunting and gathering people in the course of ritual observances—have been found in many Neandertal grave sites, some as old as two hundred thousand years. This indicates that, at the very least, these prehistoric people regarded death as an important milestone in human life, and that the death of a member of the group was observed by rituals in which the use of symbolic substances such as red pigment played a significant role.
