Bronze Age lipstick found in Iran (6 photos)

In the Jiroft region of Kerman province in southeastern Iran, archaeologists discovered a small vial of chlorite containing a rich red cosmetic preparation. The artifact turned out to be ancient lipstick.





Analysis showed that the product consists of red mineral components (hematite, manganite and braunite, as well as traces of galena and anglesite) and vegetable wax.

The formula bears a striking resemblance to modern lipstick recipes.



“We knew what eyeliners and eye shadows were made from 5,000-4,000 years ago, but there was no data on lipsticks,” commented Massimo Vidale, a professor at the University of Padua in Italy and one of the authors of the discovery.

Prehistoric stone vials containing similar substances have often been found in Egypt, Anatolia, Iran and Mesopotamia.





Early Iranian recipes for cosmetics are striking in their rather complex formulas.

"The substance itself is very cleverly made. It required knowledge of the chemical reaction of iron and manganese compounds, the effect of finely ground quartz as a shiny component, and oils, waxes and possibly urea that could be added as moisturizing components." - said Professor Vidale.



"All this requires specialized knowledge that could only be accumulated in workshops run and maintained by the elite."

It is noteworthy that the bottle was found at the burial site of the deceased. People believed in an afterlife and placed important attributes in the grave.

Unfortunately, thousands of burial sites of the Jiroft civilization were looted and destroyed. Therefore, scientists are unable to determine the makeup features of different social classes or age groups.

Vidale explained: “In the Shahri Sukhte burials in Iranian Sistan, it seems that men were also buried with cosmetics, but it is too early to draw conclusions.”



Until now, most ancient cosmetics from the Middle East and Egypt were light-colored formulations used as foundations or eye shadows, and lead-based black eyeliners.

"The Jiroft civilization, although discovered 20 years ago, still remains a mystery. We don't even know if men or women used these tools, because the cemeteries of this civilization were looted and destroyed in 2000-2001."

The Jiroft civilization flourished in the southeastern region of modern Iran from around 3000 BC. to 2000 BC



The small cylindrical vial was discovered among many valuable stone and copper artifacts.

Researchers described the vial as a greenish compact chlorite container, reminiscent in style of hundreds of other chlorite artifacts from Jiroft. This supports the idea that cosmetics in ancient times were packaged and sold in standard containers and labeled, as is common in the modern perfume and cosmetics industry.

“The earliest image of a woman applying lipstick is preserved on papyrus around 1300-1200 BC. As far as we know, Bronze Age Iran is the earliest evidence of this invention,” the scientist concluded.