Flecks of Blue on Old Teeth Reveal a Medieval Surprise

Newser ^ | 1*10*19 | John Johnson

[jy8z]

They couldn’t figure out the blue?

I would say that was the first ever blue tooth!!!

[SJackson]

Yes, ultramarine. One of the costliest if not the costliest pigment.

[doorgunner69]

Or “doing” the medieval version of Facef*ck?

[SJackson]

It's well-known that nuns were very active in sacred and liturgical arts...

I've heard that and have no real doubt, but I doubt it's well known beyond those who pay attention to these things.

[Mrs. Don-o]

(((Sigh))) you’re probably right.

Vrginia Woolf didn’t know!

[LegendHasIt]

Powdered Lapis was used as eyeshadow by wealthy women for centuries.

[LegendHasIt]

Oops. Didn’t mean to ping Al. Left off an l.

[Beagle8U]

“They couldn’t figure out the blue. Scientists studying tartar from the teeth of medieval skeletons hoped to learn a thing or two of about diets of the Middle Ages. But when they put the teeth and jaw of one woman under a microscope, they were surprised to see hundreds of tiny flecks of blue, reports the BBC. After much sleuthing, they figured out that the blue came from lapis lazuli, a rare and expensive stone ground into powder to make dye for sacred manuscripts. Typically, male monks have gotten most of the credit for working on such texts, but the amount of lapis lazuli in the woman’s mouth suggests that she—and presumably other women—were also on the job. Researchers’ best guess is that the blue flecks ended up in her teeth because she kept putting the tip of her brush in her mouth, reports the AP.

“It’s kind of a bombshell for my field—it’s so rare to find material evidence of women’s artistic and literary work in the Middle Ages,” says Alison Beach of Ohio State University, a professor of medieval history and co-author of the report in Science Advances. Another possibility is that the woman breathed in the lapis lazuli, known as ultramarine in its powder form, while preparing it for someone else, notes the Atlantic.”

Yeah, the women weren’t artists or writers after all, just the ones forced to chew rocks for the men.

[Mamzelle]

Very interesting. 😊

[Mrs. Don-o]

If you wonder how Hildegard and her nuns were using that blue:

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In a word: brilliant.

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[logi_cal869]

I saw that too, but there was no example of the primary use of the color. Here's one:

Plus pertinent details:

Lapis Lazuli: A Blue More Precious than Gold

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks SJackson. Stop me if you've heard this one, but it's weird that they even *had* bluetooth in the middle ages...

• Blue tooth reveals unknown female artist from medieval times

  

[Mrs. Don-o]

Oh, that’s gorgeous! Thank you so much for that BVM, and the lore on lapis lazuli.

[bert]

The nuns were making eye shadow for the noble women who were bannded from their homes after they got knocked up.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Isn’t that what the British call BS? Bloody Stooopid?

[bert]

Not at all. It is an observation equally valid to the others