Alum is an ingredient in processes such as dyeing fabric, tanning hides and water purification. Alum is ubiquitous in ancient and...

Tanning hides is practiced in the ancient world since c. 7000 BCE, in the Indus Valley site of Mehgarh. By 2500 BCE, Sumerians of...

Pistacia is a shrub or tree prized for food , resin, tannins, oils and natural turpentine for thousands of years in the Mediterranean...

Yarrow is an herb of magic and medicine. A flowering plant native to the northern hemisphere yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is commonly...

Verdigris is the green rust or patina on copper, created as the metal reacts with oxygen in the environment. Copper corrodes green to...

Black is among the first pigments in the palette of early humans. By Paleolithic times, black defines lines, shadows and meaning. Black...

White pigments used in ancient art, spirituality and beauty include bone, limestone variations like chalk and other natural sources....

Red ocher is among the first colors appearing on the palette of early humans, along with white and red. Black, white and red are also...

Limonite is an iron earth mineraloid among the first colors of the Stone Age palette. Grinding limonite produces yellow ochre. Other...

Woad ( Isatis tinctoria ) is a plant yielding a blue pigment used in dyes, paint and medicine. A member of the mustard family, it's also...

Nephrite jade is the foremost commodity to travel along the Pacific Coasts of the East. The seaway route is the original Jade Road named...

Turquoise is beloved for thousands of years by people from royals to the richly challenged. The world's first known turquoise mine is...

Spiritual alchemy uses the principles of alchemy to achieve harmony and fulfillment in life. Alchemy incorporates shapes, symbols,...

The Yamnaya or Yamna people occupy the Ponti-Caspian Steppe about 3300 BCE, with a tribal origin going back to Neolithic times. In the...

The ancient town of Kültepe (Kultepe, Kanesh, Kaneš), where the earliest writing originates, rises to a prosperous trade city and kārum ...

Asteria or Star Stones create a star-like inner glow. Star sapphires belong to this group. In the ancient world they're valued by Greeks...

Mary the Jewess, Maria the Jewess or Maria Prophetissa is considered the world's first alchemist. Working in Alexandria, Egypt, she's...

Alchemy rises from inquiring minds . Golden Ages of alchemy appear in Greco-Roman Alexandria , medieval Islam and the Renaissance ....

Copper (Cu) is one of the original seven metals of antiquity and has been used for thousands of years. This metal is found in the ground...

The mighty Rhine River is famous for legends, mystic secrets and hidden treasure, including small sparkling rock crystals known as Rhine...