World’s oldest lipstick discovered in country that once banned makeup

Fashion & Beauty

by taylor knight

Truly timeless beauty.

Archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest physical form of lipstick in southeastern Iran.

This hand-carved stone bottle has been carbon-dated to between 1936 BC and 1687 BC, is made from the mineral chlorite, and has a hole in the top for access to its contents, possibly It is thought to have been a form of lipwear used in the Bronze Age. I will polish it.

Researchers analyzed the deep red beauty product last month and published their findings in Scientific Reports.

“It is important to note that current knowledge assumes a lip paint, not a solid lipstick,” said Massimo Videle, one of the seven scientists who studied the substance. It detailed the findings in a statement.

This ancient beauty product is approximately two inches tall and three-quarters of an inch wide, resembling a miniature version of a traditional cylindrical lipstick container.

“Its shape mimics a portion of a swamp cane, so it is very thin and easy to handle,” Bidale told The Washington Post. “At that time, people used common cane parts as cases and containers, but this one is made of high-quality stone.”

Scientists said the cylinder was first discovered in 2001 in a flooded 3rd millennium BC cemetery near the Khalil River in southeastern Iran’s Kerman province.

This vial is thought to have been used by the Bronze Age civilization, the Giloft Culture, but was unknown until the Flood.

“It’s always a sudden revelation,” says Vidale, a professor of archeology at the University of Padua in Italy. “Moreover, because the material under our eyes was a perfect match for a fine stone container of a very unusual shape, very close to the lipstick cases of the time.”

Bidale’s team examined the material inside the ancient chlorite schist vial and found that the lip paint had dried over 3,700 years, turning it into a powder.

When placed under a microscope, the researchers noticed that dark pigments were visible, indicating that the original product was a “deep red color,” the researchers reported.

They enhanced their product research by using environmental scanning electron microscopy to examine the lipstick’s composition.

The tubes contained products similar to today’s cosmetic lip wear, such as vegetable oils and waxes.

“When you put these together, this is exactly what you would expect from a modern lipstick,” Vidale emailed to The Washington Post.

However, other components were present, such as hematite (a ferric oxide mineral whose name comes from the Greek word for “blood” due to its red color).

Lipstick has been around for at least 5,500 years, but researchers were surprised to discover the world’s oldest known lipstick in Iran, a country that once banned cosmetics and cosmetics.

The country phased out beauty products after the 1979 Islamic revolution, but eventually relaxed regulations, allowing only women who don’t work in government offices and medical students to wear makeup.

Vidale’s team was intrigued by the discovery of the oldest lipstick, but although they were unsure to whom it belonged, they believed it was part of Giloft’s funeral, which was buried in the tomb.

“We are groping in the dark here,” he wrote. “Although it is believed that the dead were decorated for their final journey, it is also believed that cosmetics are important personal possessions that are used on a daily basis and cannot be used by others after an individual’s death.” You can.”

Mr. Bidale pointed out that there are many similarities between today’s society and ancient times, even though thousands of years have passed since BC.

“The evidence supports a simple point: the early Bronze Age world, where the first cities became the political bases of powerful, hierarchical states, was already very similar to our world. “, he concluded.