Cinnabar or mercury sulfide (HgS) is a rock composed of mercury (Hg) and sulfur (S). Historically it's used to make vermillion or scarlet pigment, and as the primary source of natural mercury.
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Also called cinnabrite and mercublende, cinnabar is a source ore for elemental mercury. Cinnabar is the most common source of mercury in nature. It typically occurs as a vein-filling mineral associated with volcanic activity and alkaline hot springs.
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Until discovery of cadmium red in the early 20th century, vermilion is the most widely used red pigment and one of the most vibrant reds. It's found in Neolithic graves, Roman wall paintings and Renaissance palettes.
Cinnabar is a "soft" stone and can easily be ground into pigment, making it attractive to artists. It has a Mohs hardness of less than 3. Glass is 5.5 - 6.5. As a brilliant natural pigment, cinnabar has been mined for thousands of years, going back to the Neolithic Age.
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It's used as a coloring pigment or dye, in rituals and burials. Recent research investigates amounts of mercury in human bone from ancient archaeological sites. From Neolithic to Roman the bones tell the tale.
Liquid mercury is discovered at ancient Egyptian sites by 1500 BCE but has little history of use. In the Americas, archaeologist Sergio Gómez uncovers "large quantities" of liquid mercury in a chamber beneath one of the oldest known pyramids in Mexico.
Mercury is also found at various other archaeological sites in Mesoamerica. Its shimmering properties suggest symbolism of an underworld river or lake. The tunnel containing the mercury chamber is opened in 2003, for the first time in 1800 years.
According to archaeologists the ancient Mesoamericans produce liquid mercury by heating cinnabar. In China the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor and first known death by Chinese alchemical elixir poisoning, is said to contain rivers of mercury.
The earliest known written procedure for extracting mercury is recorded by the natural philosopher Theophrastus, who states in his work On Stones (4th century BCE), “Mercury is produced by grinding cinnabar with vinegar in a copper mortar with a copper pestle."
Like the Greeks, the Romans are greatly attracted to cinnabar. Natural philosopher Pliny the Elder writes the Romans see cinnabar as having divine associations. In alchemy metals, minerals and materials are ascribed male or female properties.
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The union of the two elements mercury and sulfur, creates the rock. Sulfur is fiery, combustive, active, and masculine; and mercury is flowing, receptive, changeable, and feminine.
Cinnabar is the intimate interaction of masculine and feminine, active and receptive, which creates a dual dynamism. The intrinsic qualities of cinnabar metaphorically relate to the power of the philosophers’ stone.
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Cinnabar ore used during this time comes from Almadén, Spain, the largest mercury mine in the world. The name Almadén is from the Arabic al-maʻdin, lit. 'the metal', 'the mineral' or lode.
On the Iberian Peninsula, use of cinnabar as a pigment, offering or preservative in burial practices is documented by c. 4000 BCE. Cinnabar decorates megalithic rooms, figurines and bodies of the dead. In several graves the bodies are covered with powdered cinnabar.
The highest levels of mercury appear in bones dated to the Copper Age of Spain (c. 2900 - 2600 BCE). According to the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology those affected are exposed to mercury through handling, processing or ingesting cinnabar.
The unfortunate people who mine and process cinnabar suffer symptoms of shaking, loss of sense, and death. Evidence from the ancient sites suggests mercury ls extracted from cinnabar and the workers are exposed to toxic mercury fumes.
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Early mining in the cinnabar mines of Almadén, 225 km (140 mi) southwest of today's Madrid, is done by slaves, prisoners of war and convicts, regarded as a death sentence. Today, Almadén mine is open as a museum.
In late antiquity, alchemists interested in turning base metal into gold are also interested in substances like liquid mercury and cinnabar because of their unusual physical properties. Mercury is one of the tria prima in alchemy, the three essential elements.
A process for producing a synthetic form of the pigment vermilion is recorded by Greek alchemist Zosimos of Panopolis, living in Egypt c. 400 AD. It's later backed up by a Persian alchemist, Jabir ibn Hayyan, c. 800 AD.
Cinnabar is typically deposited by epithermal ascending aqueous solutions, such as hot springs. They're located near the surface, not excessively hot and often far removed from their igneous source.
To produce liquid mercury (quicksilver), crushed cinnabar ore is roasted in rotary furnaces. Pure mercury separates from sulfur in this process and easily evaporates. A condensing column is used to collect the liquid metal, which is most often shipped in iron flasks.
Cinnabar is frequently found together with native mercury, stibnite, realgar, pyrite, opal, marcasite, quartz, chalcedony, dolomite, calcite and barite. Due to mercury content, cinnabar is toxic to humans.
Ancient Romans consider mercury poisoning (mercurialism) an occupational disease. Similarly, people in ancient South America use cinnabar liberally, although the toxic properties are known.
Cinnabar has a rich history of use for its vibrant color dating back to antiquity in the Near East, where it was applied as a rouge-type cosmetic. This tradition is also found in the New World since the time of the Olmec culture, when use of cinnabar as a colorant is widespread.
One example appears in royal burial chambers during the height of Maya civilization. In the 7th-century tomb of the Red Queen in Palenque, the noblewoman's remains and belongings are entirely coated in a brilliant red powder derived from cinnabar.
In China it's used for writing on oracle bones as early as the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BCE). By the late Song dynasty, cinnabar finds its way into coloring lacquerware, showcasing its versatility and allure.
Chinese carved lacquerware is thought to originate during the Song dynasty (960 - 1279 AD). While historical use of cinnabar in lacquerware poses risks of mercury poisoning, medieval artisans mitigate the danger by incorporating pigment into lacquer.
Today, modern industry has to seek safer alternatives. Vermilion pigment is made synthetically, and non-toxic pigment with resin-based polymers mimic the appearance of pigmented lacquer. Cinnabar or mercury sulfide is used in natural medicine.