Archaeologists discover 4000-year-old lipstick in southeastern Iran

Archaeologists have discovered about 4,000-year-old lipstick in southeastern Iran!

As reported, a small stone vial discovered in southeastern Iran contained a red cosmetic, that was likely used as a lip coloring nearly 4,000 years ago.

The rare find is “probably the earliest” example of lipstick to be scientifically documented and analyzed, the researchers reported in the journal Scientific Reports, in February.

A small cylindrical vial containing the lipstick is kept along with other findings at the Archaeological Museum of Jiroft, Iran. 

As per the journal, 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.

The report adds that it is 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.

An analysis of the lipstick sample revealed that 80 percent of the material is based on minerals such as hematite that provide the deep red color, the report added. 

Along with minerals, wax-like substances that were made from vegetables and other organic matter were also discovered. 

The red-colored minerals and wax-like materials can be compared to the current-day lipstick manufacturing method, the report added. 

The researchers have acknowledged that the possibility that the cosmetic is used for other purposes cannot be ruled out.

The substance found in the dark red color, the ingredients used in it, and the structure of the container indicate that it must have been used on the lips, the report said, adding that this is the oldest specimen of red makeup that has been researched.

According to the researchers, this is the first discovery of its kind as nothing similar to red lipstick has been found in ancient artefacts. Generally, silver-colored foundations and eyeshadows of ancient times have been unearthed till now.

It’s not possible to exclude the possibility the cosmetic was used in other ways, say, as a blusher, according to lead study author Massimo Vidale, an archaeologist at the University of Padua’s Department of Cultural Heritage in Italy. But he said the homogenous, deep red color, the compounds used, and the shape of the vial “suggested to us it was used on lips.”