The origins of natural dyeing are hidden in the mists of prehistory. No doubt early humans observed the staining properties of plants when they plucked fruits or flowers and noted the various colors of rocks and soils. Human bones in prehistoric Neolithic graves have been found powdered with colored mineral pigments, suggesting that these people used the colors of the earth to add decoration to their clothing and bodies.To these early humans, the extraction and transfer of colors from nature to objects of their choice must have seemed magical. As a result, superstitions evolved concerning the ritualistic procedures whereby the wonders of natural dyeing were accomplished, and certain colors were believed to have magical powers (Knaggs 1992). Even among some twentieth-century cultures, superstition continued to be a part of the dyeing process. On the island of Rotti, in Indonesia, members of the indigenous culture traditionally believed that evil spirits enjoyed dipping their hands into dyepots to deprive the dyes of their effectiveness. Charms constructed from the wood of the lontar tree and hen's feathers were hung above the dyepots to ward off such mischievous evil (Buhler 1948).Natural Dyeing in AntiquityEvidence of natural dyeing in antiquity has been discovered in many parts of the world (Lillie 1979). Natural dyed fabrics were commercially produced in China as early as 3000 B.C., according to an ancient Chinese document (Adrosko 1971). Textile fragments dyed with roots from the madder plant (Rubia tinctoria), which produces red, were found at Mohenjo-Daro, an archaeological site in Pakistan dating to around 2500 B.C. Similar fabrics have also been unearthed in Egyptian tombs (Dean 1999). Ancient Hebrew women collected shield lice from the branches of oak trees to produce a red dye, a color source now known as kermes, and the Bible records the use of many other diversely colored fabrics (Sandberg 1994; Wilson 1979).The ancient Phoenician dye industry, which was located along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea as early as 1500 B.C., is credited with the discovery of several beautiful purple dyes, one of which was known as Tyrean purple. These purple hues were obtained from glandular secretions produced by a number of mollusk species (Knaggs 1992; Sandberg 1989, 1994). Dibromoindigo, the dye chromophore found in these secretions, changes from yellow to red-purple upon exposure to air (Bliss 1981; Wilson 1979). Tyrean purple was extremely expensive to produce because of the complicated vatting process it required and because as many as 12,000 mollusks were needed to produce only 3.5 ounces of dye (Held 1973). As a result of its costliness, Tyrean purple became the color of royalty. Modern archaeological excavations along the eastern Mediterranean coast have turned up huge mounds of old shells, revealing the presence of those ancient dye works.As early as 2000 B.C., mordants were fortifying natural dyes in India (Held 1973). Pli Excerpted from Dyes from American Native Plants: A Practical Guide by Lynne Richards, Ronald J. Tyrl All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
