Talk:Cinnabar

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The first known use of cinnabar is referred in the dolmenic burial "La Velilla", in Osorno (Palencia, Spain), where well-preserved human bones were carefully covered by large amount of pulverized cinnabar (5000 B.C.). The mercury-based composition of the cinnabar makes the preservation of the osseous remains possible by preventing the activity of destructive microorganisms (The Lancet, 1994 Dec 24-31;344(8939-8940):1776-7).

Vermilion proved to be useful in the preservation of human bones 5000 years ago. In the dolmenic burial at La Velilla’ in Osorno (Palencia, Spain) human bones have been found remarkably well preserved coated in powdered cinnabar (vermilion), surviving in unfavourable climate conditions. The powder was deliberately added as a preservative since there was no cinnabar mine within a radius of 160 km, because of the large amount present (hundreds of kilograms), and because its composition (mercuric sulphide red) is similar to that of preparations used in embalming. This discovery alters the date of the use of mercury ore as a preservative for human remains by at least 1000 years in Europe. Human bones coated in cinnabar-containing paint were recently discovered in a 900-1000 BC tomb in a Middle Sican burial in Peru. This type of preservation has not been previously reported in Europe or the Middle East;however, cinnabar was found in so-called Algar Culture tombs, in south-east Spain, and mercury was found in an amulet in an Egyptian tomb dated around the 16th century BC. Before the discovery at La Velilla, it was believed that European races did not make use of the bacteriostatic properties of mercury-based antiseptics, until the time of Paracelsus, when it was applied in epidemic new diseases such as syphilis or morbus gallicus, exanthematic typhus, and the anglian exudation. The good state of the bones at La Velilla was attributable to mercuric sulphide, which makes possible the preservation of bone by preventing the activity of destructive microorganisms. Cinnabar was used in embalming as late as the 19th century. William Hunter was the first to inject vermilion (dispersed in a mixture of turpentine essences, lavender oil,and camomile oil) in the femoral arteries of corpses, which was hailed as a revolution in the art of embalming. The relatives of individuals buried in La Velilla probably paid a high price in terms of their health. We now know that the mercurial vapours that arise during vermilion preparation in cinnabar grinding cause serious irritation of the lungs (chemical pneumonia), kidney disease,and moderate disturbance of the digestive system, accompanied by a metallic taste. Finally, the cinnabar used at La Velilla seemed part of a unique ritual. The evidence leads us to think that 100 or so people were buried once the soft tissue had decomposed and only their bones remained. The bones were then dipped in vermilion and placed in the dolmen. There is some evidence, however, indicating that some tissue adhered to the bones. Other features that reinforce the hypothesis of a unique ritual are: the ten great stone blocks that were the dolmen foundations lay horizontally (instead of vertically, as is usual), fireplaces were made before laying of the dolmen floor, and special spatula-like shaped bone idols (worked onovicaprid tibiae and carved with geometric themes or with female forms and also stained in vermilion) were placed alongside the dead. J Martín-Gil, F J Martín-Gil, G Delibes de Castro,P Zapatero-Magdaleno, F J Sarabia-Herrero