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Prehistoric Pigments

  • May 4, 2015
  • By KIDS DISCOVER

Burnt charcoal and minerals like umber (pictured here) are among the earliest known pigments. Many ancient peoples also used the saffron plant to create yellow, a type of snail to produce royal purple, and cochineal bugs to make carmine, a bright red. Cochineal is still used to color some foods. (Michal812 / Shutterstock)

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