A Bronze Age lip-paint from southeastern Iran
![]() 37365 Tuesday, 06 February, 2024, 20:24 A small chlorite vial, discovered among numerous artifacts looted and recovered in the Jiroft region of Kerman province, southeastern Iran, contains a deep red cosmetic preparation that is likely a lip-coloring paint or paste. Through analytical research involving XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM-EDS (scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive spectroscopy), and HPLC-MS (high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry) analyses, the mineral components of the reddish substance were identified as hematite, darkened with manganite and braunite, and traces of galena and anglesite, mixed with vegetal waxes and other organic substances. The mixture, thus observed, bears a striking resemblance to the recipes of contemporary lipsticks. We also report the first radiocarbon date ever obtained from a Bronze age cosmetic in the ancient Near East: results place the pigment in the early 2nd millennium BCE, a date compatible with several mentions of the powerful eastern-iranian civilization of Marḫaši in coeval cuneiform texts of Mesopotamia, as well as with its currently emerging archaeological picture. ![]() |
Apple debuts iPhone 17
207Yesterday, 23:08Yuri Ivashechkin, the creator of the Su-25 attack aircraft, has died
104503.09.2025, 13:33Türkiye to build spaceport in Somalia for rocket, missile tests
285705.08.2025, 18:17A woman in India has been diagnosed with a unique blood type
376730.07.2025, 14:21Global media forum with Aliyev's participation to be held in occupied Stepanakert
464519.07.2025, 17:30SpaceX Starship rocket explodes during test flight (video)
685419.06.2025, 12:34Elon Musk announces XChat feature
768902.06.2025, 13:04The world's lowest car has been created in Taiwan (video)
914726.05.2025, 11:40