Ancient Humans Were Wearing Makeup Before They Had Houses

Long before people built permanent houses, some of our ancestors were already grinding minerals, mixing pigments and putting color onto objects — and possibly onto their own bodies. Archaeologists have found surprisingly early evidence of pigment use across the prehistoric world. At Blombos Cave in South Africa, people made a paint-like mixture roughly 100,000 years ago using ochre and other materials, storing it in abalone shells. The exact purpose of the mixture is still uncertain, but researchers have suggested possibilities ranging from decoration to other practical uses. And the story may go even further. At the Cave of Los Aviones in Spain, Neanderthals left behind perforated seashells with traces of pigment dating to around 115,000 years ago. These finds have been interpreted as evidence of personal ornamentation and symbolic behavior. So were prehistoric humans really wearing makeup? We can't know exactly how every pigment was used. But these discoveries reveal something fascinating about our ancestors: color, appearance, decoration and symbolism were important surprisingly deep into prehistory — long before modern cosmetics, cities, or the kinds of permanent homes we take for granted today. In this video, we explore the oldest evidence for pigments and personal adornment, what prehistoric people may have used them for, and what these discoveries tell us about the origins of human identity, beauty and self-expression. I'm Eric King, and I created this channel to explore history, ancient humans and psychology through stories that are worth looking at more closely. I love learning, reading and digging into the details behind ideas that are often repeated without much context. This video was created using AI-assisted tools as part of the research, visual development and production process, together with editing and other creative tools. SOURCES & FURTHER READING: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blombos... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleoli... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehist... WATCH NEXT: How Did Wolves Become Dogs?    • How Did Wolves Become Dogs?   The Truth About Loneliness (It's Not What You Think)    • Why Ancient Humans Were Terrified of Being...   [RELATED VIDEO]    • What They Never Told You About the Stanfor...   If you enjoy carefully researched stories about ancient humans, history and human behavior, subscribe for more. What do you think prehistoric humans were trying to communicate by changing their appearance? TAGS: prehistoric makeup, ancient makeup, humans wearing makeup, prehistoric humans, ancient humans, history of makeup, history of cosmetics, ochre, red ochre, body paint, prehistoric body paint, Blombos Cave, Cave of Los Aviones, Neanderthal makeup, Neanderthal body paint, prehistoric beauty, ancient cosmetics, human evolution, prehistoric art, symbolic behavior, personal ornamentation, archaeology, anthropology, Stone Age, Paleolithic, ancient history, human history, ancient beauty HASHTAGS: #AncientHumans #PrehistoricHumans #Archaeology #History #HumanEvolution