Medieval women's early involvement in manuscript production suggested by lapis lazuli identification in dental calculus.
Sci Adv
; 5(1): eaau7126, 2019 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30662947
ABSTRACT
During the European Middle Ages, the opening of long-distance Asian trade routes introduced exotic goods, including ultramarine, a brilliant blue pigment produced from lapis lazuli stone mined only in Afghanistan. Rare and as expensive as gold, this pigment transformed the European color palette, but little is known about its early trade or use. Here, we report the discovery of lapis lazuli pigment preserved in the dental calculus of a religious woman in Germany radiocarbon-dated to the 11th or early 12th century. The early use of this pigment by a religious woman challenges widespread assumptions about its limited availability in medieval Europe and the gendered production of illuminated texts.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Dental Calculus
/
Radiometric Dating
/
Aluminum Silicates
/
Nuns
/
Literature, Medieval
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Sci Adv
Year:
2019
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom