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Pigment made from lapis lazuli, used by a female painter in the medieval era, was found centuries later in the dental calculus of her lower jaw. Christina WarinnerWhat were medieval European women doing? It's difficult to say, as very little was documented about their daily lives, except by notable figures like Charlemagne, who certainly sought attention.
A research team examining the diets of medieval populations made an unusual find in the dental plaque of an elderly 11th-century woman buried in a rural German monastery: small blue specks. This surprising discovery is beginning to reshape our understanding of the kinds of work women in medieval Europe were capable of doing.
The tiny blue specks were actually fragments of lapis lazuli, one of the most precious materials in the medieval world. This mineral was imported from Afghanistan to Europe, where it was used to create ultramarine pigment. It was so rare and expensive that it sometimes exceeded the price of gold. The journey from the Afghan mines to Europe involved a lengthy trip through Egypt and Constantinople. Once it arrived, crafting the pigment required a 50-step process, including grinding and mixing with lye, pine resin, various waxes, and oils. Only 10 percent of the raw lapis's weight remained after processing. This made ultramarine a luxury item, used sparingly by painters and monks for illuminated manuscripts, especially to depict the Virgin Mary's blue robes.
It seems odd that this woman, likely a nun, would have lapis lazuli pigment in her teeth. The only logical explanation is that she was an artist — and not just any artist, but one with the skill to handle the rarest and most expensive material in medieval Europe.
A study published in the journal Science Advances on January 9, 2019, proposes that the presence of ultramarine pigment in her teeth could only mean she was an artist. This discovery opens new possibilities in how we understand the lives of ancient people. The pigment might have ended up in her mouth from licking her brush, suggesting that dental plaque could reveal more about daily activities. In the future, we may uncover evidence that women were involved in professions like blacksmithing and carpentry too.
"This provides direct evidence of a woman not just painting, but using a rare and costly pigment in an isolated location," said Christina Warinner, senior study author at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, in a press release. "Her story could have remained hidden forever without these techniques. It makes me wonder how many other artists we might discover in medieval cemeteries — if we just look."
Ultramarine was exceptionally difficult to obtain during the medieval era. It's said that Michelangelo abandoned at least one painting because he couldn't secure any.
