IT'S A BEAUTIFUL WORLD: AYLA'S RED OCHRE (10,000 BC, Egypt)

10,000 BC, New Stone Age*, Somewhere along The Nile Valley, Egypt

*(Neolithic era - Egyptians are still a Negroid, "true African" population. Man has turned farmer from hunter/gatherer, has settled down in establishments and communities and owns land and residence.Cleopatra and the Europoean featured "Egyptians" are, as yet, millenia away.)

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Who first applied cosmetics on their face and when exactly and where, is a question forever lost in the annals of time. There are no indisputable, solid written records of the earliest, oldest and the most primitive manifestation of the pursuit of physical beauty. Perhaps politics, violence, wars and battles have always found importance over the more subtle, more delicate and more beautiful aspects of our growth as a society.

Therefore, we will have to rely solely on archaeological finds and faded wall paintings, and re-create the “face of beauty” in the Neolithic Era from our imagination. Some information, to serve as the basis of this “flight of fancy” we are about to indulge in, is, however, out there and has been, thankfully, found! 

For example, archaeologists have unearthed palettes (made of ivory, slate, stone etc) used to grind pigments for eye-paints in sites dating back to 10,000 BC and thereabouts*. 

Perfume bottles, eye-paints, emollients have been discovered in ancient graves, rendering the dead person equipped with cosmetics for after-life. 

When we consider these primitive samples of make-up, paired with cave-art, the early clusters of semi-permanent dwellings, the beginning of systematized agriculture and domestication of animals, we start to see the creation of an ancient framework for cultured, societal living, rich with symbolism, rituals and practices. 

This is the first time in human evolution that man and woman, have started living in large social groups and forming relationships to take the human race ahead, relationships based on cooperation and mutual dependence for resources like food, shelter, protection for the female and her children, and the privilege of sex and dispersing his genes as much as possible for males. And the interaction of males and females, for the purpose of reproduction is driven by two major stimuli - female fertility and beauty. 

And in a 10,000 BC time frame and perspective, it won't be wrong to say, fertility IS beauty. 

Lumps of red ochre and other pigments, believed to be the primitive form of lipstick, cheek rouge and eye-shadow and body paint , have been found in Middle and New Stone Age settlements and burial sites. And a look at the body-painting and mate-selecting rituals of the indigenous tribes existing today, tells us that, manipulation of the body using man-made products is not only for the frivolous purpose of beautification,but it is an important signal to the opposite sex...MAKE-UP IS A MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.

But how do we start our journey? And wherefrom? Is there a direction? Which way do the recent finds of historians take us? 

Well, I personally believe that these old, primitive archaeological pointers lead us to the banks of the mighty Nile, the cradle of human civilization, in the bountiful Africa, where we meet the young Ayla and her community.

AYLA's RED OCHRE 

It all began when the women set out to fool the men!! 

Ayla has just had her initiation rite. The rite of passage from girl child to woman. It is a puberty ritual she has observed among the women of her community since she was a little girl. She has seen her sisters, her friends go through it. And to be honest, she was kind of waiting to transform from a child to a young woman, marked by her first menstruation. She has been of little value to her community as a girl child. A woman, however, is a different story. 

A young girl with big eyes and a complexion the colour of the silky dark Nile clay, Ayla has noticed her own body change from lithe, athletic and rough from playing in the mud and sand all day, to elongated, rounded, curvy and graceful. Her mother has told her over and over again that she will not attract a single mate if she went about looking like a young boy. She knows now, with her initiation into the group of "young women" she will have to give up playing in the sun. But still Ayla has enjoyed this process of growing up. It is as if she is in on some beautiful, intriguing secret! 

There has been much singing and dancing at her initiation ceremony. It was an all woman affair. Ayla was bathed, smeared in perfumed oils, tattooed with the mark of their tribe, her hair has been elaborately braided and her face, lips and arms and legs have been painted with Red Ochre. (Red Ochre is an earth pigment found in clay that has large contents of iron in the form of Hematite) 

From looking at most of the women around her, Ayla can say from now on, Red Ochre will play a very important role in her beauty regime. 

The Nile Valley has become pretty dense with people as compared to what it was even fifty generations ago - so dense that simply hunting and gathering food is not enough anymore.            

(Picture courtesy: www.historyforkids.org/learn/egypt)

           

Ayla’s father is the head of their mid-sized community that consists of mostly peasants. Her family owns some land, quite a few cows and pigs and a very airy and sunny semi-permanent dwelling constructed with mud. Her father is the leader not because he owns the largest piece of land, but because he is believed to be the strongest of all the men around and therefore capable of protecting the community in the eventuality of an attack.

Ayla is not sure if she will live out her entire life here. The river Nile has a mischievous tendency of flooding. Her father says it is this flood that makes the soil richer every time it sweeps the land, but Ayla knows the women live in the fear of having to move if their settlement is flooded. Everything is always more difficult for women than for men. Women cannot fight or hunt or do really heavy chores in the fields, so they stay back having children, taking care of their men and brood, and chaffing and grinding grains and charring meat over fire. A mass movement from this settlement will not only mean extra hard work for the women-folk of the community, but also fear of violence, abduction and violation from members of other hostile communities and tribes.

       (Picture courtesy: www.history.com)

In such volatile conditions, Ayla understands that as a woman her safety lies in securing a mate as fast as possible and reproducing. However, there is a slight glitch in the plan. 

The mature women in Ayla's community are divided into three categories - the ones that are old and cannot reproduce, the ones that are pregnant or lactating and therefore cannot be of much interest to the menfolk for some time and the ones, like Ayla herself, that are young, attractive and not pregnant and therefore ready to be "taken"....ready to lure the dominant males away from the women they have already impregnated.

This, the women will not allow. Ayla's Red Ochre is not her's alone.

Menstruation and fertility are a big deal in Ayla's time and community. Reproductive stress is high on the women as they are dependent on men for food, shelter and protection. 

And therefore, Ayla learns, the women work as a strong coalition...a community within a community...they help each other by manipulating the men's mating behaviour - with the help of the colour "red".

Ayla's older sisters explain it to her. In an emerging social structure where the rules of monogamy have not yet been laid down, the reproductive investment of women is far greater than that of men. Physically, it is the women who have to bear the brunt of keeping the community thriving, whereas, for men the best way is to mate with as many fertile women as is possible and then to not stick around for the entire duration of bringing up the children. The men go on in the search for more women who are fertile and not pregnant. 

To stop this philandering of their mates, who provide them food and shelter, the pregnant and lactating women in Ayla's community fake their fertility. 

This is called "Sham Menstruation". The women dress up and make-up in the same way a young, fertile, non-pregnant girl would. Earlier they used to wear a lot of red flowers. But as red flowers are unreliable in the dry heat of Egypt, they use Red-Ochre to paint their lips, cheeks and bodies to give out the signal that they are "fertile and therefore desirable." 

And then, since they live in a community with a strong and protective women's coalition, they deprive their men of sex....every woman together at the same time. The women go on a sort of "Sex-Strike". And no woman breaks the rules of this "fertility sisterhood". 

This confuses the men to no end. While the way the entire womenfolk dress up and put red paint on themselves, screams "yes"; the way they ignore the men and behave, yells "no".

Biology yells "YES!", while behaviour yells "NO!".

The signal one gender sends out loud and clear to another gender is that they are fertile and capable of having babies, but they are temporarily unavailable. 

The men therefore, busy themselves with working on fields, growing grains, hunting the odd animal for meat and bringing home food.

Ayla is intrigued to no end, but is willing to participate in this elaborate charade. She is readily willing to share her Red-ochre with other women to smear on themselves and fake menstruation, so that no woman of the community is deserted and their supply of food and shelter continue unhindered.

(At this point in time these women are not even aware that thousands of years later, the colour "red" will still be the colour of sexual attraction, intrigue and fertility...that men will still be mysteriously drawn to a woman's red stained lips, red rouged cheeks, red clothes and red heels...Red, will forever be the colour of finding a mate and keeping him!)

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Ayla is learning about so many new things she always knew the grown women never told the children.

Red Ochre clay mixed with water is a beautiful colour to paint the body and face with. It is the most commonly used cosmetic Ayla sees around her. Almost everyone is painting their lips, eyes, cheeks and bodies with Red Ochre.

Myrrh, Thyme and Chamomile, tied in a soft cloth bundle, smell so good and fresh and spicy that Ayla sometimes goes to sleep with such little bundles on her person.

Ayla’s personal favourite is Lavender. It makes her smell beautiful and mysterious. It calms her down.

Nine parts animal fats mixed with one part perfumed resin is an excellent and long lasting skin emollient.

Burning natural resins gives off a very beautiful fragrance.

Myrrh oil is used to protect against sunburns under the harsh Egyptian Sun and is an anti-inflammatory and antiseptic, anti-microbial and an astringent. 

It is also useful against infections of feminine private parts and can also ease painful menstruation. 

Swirling water with a few drops of Myrrh oil in the mouth makes bad breath go away. It can also stop wounds from bleeding.

Rosemary, Cedar, Marjoram, Moringa, Frankincense, Rose are all used by Ayla, her mother and sisters, as perfumes, essential oils and emollients.But they are expensive. 

Olive oil and almond oil keep the skin smooth and shiny and slow the appearance of wrinkles. 

In fact some Sweet Almond Oil and two drops of essential oil of Frankincense, applied to the face in circular massaging motions is a tried and tested method of preserving youthful skin for a very long time, Ayla has been told.

Drawing the waterline and lash line of eyes thickly with kohl (a mixture of soot, ash, crushed burnt almonds and ochre, black manganese oxide, powdered antimony, malachite, verdigris, resin etc) makes the eyes stand out and look sensuous and attractive.

Painting the eyes is also supposed to protect them from the harsh sun.

Henna is good for temporary tattoos.

Hair on the head was, however, best worn in a tight braid, or many tight braids after oiling it with perfumed olive or almond oil. 

A good way to keep hair looking slick and black is to smear it with a paste of soot mixed in animal fat. The men prefer their hair to be completely shaved off. 

In the heat of Egypt, a shaved head means less sweat and no lice infestation. 

Clay from the banks of the Nile help with keeping the skin tight and cool against the rough weather and also helps in avoiding boils and pimples.

Cream churned from milk, when added to honey, is an excellent skin softener.

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Ayla understands that her pursuit of beauty and all the oiling, massaging, tattooing and face painting will eventually cause strife between two or more young men of her community. Someone will fight someone to death, just to possess her.

Or she will be betrothed to the chief of a larger, mightier tribe, somewhere unknown to her as yet, on the banks of Nile- in a matrimonial deal that will ensure the prosperity of her tribe.Thereafter, her only duty would be giving birth to and rearing child after child and cooking, cleaning and grinding wild grains. 

And then,  if she doesn't send out those "red-ochre painted" confusing signals to her mate, of being fertile but temporarily unavailable, her importance and requirement will simply decrease directly proportional to her age. Like her father, her possessor too will desert her in search for younger females who can give him yet more children.

If that is the way it works, Ayla is ready for it. After all, food and shelter for herself and the children she will have in the future, is of utmost importance. Therefore, she has no objections to the women pampering her and themselves in preparation for a well-planned fertility scam. 

Being beautiful and desirable feels good. And the meaning of beauty in Ayla's community, is fertility. 

Little does she know, that over the next few millenia, Egypt will be home to some of the most physically beautiful women in the world - women who will go on to set some of the most iconic and outstanding trends in beauty.

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References:
* Universal World History, Volume One, Edited by J.A Hammerton
Painted Ladies by Kate Douglas, www.newscientist.com
Fashions in Makeup: From Ancient to Modern Times by Richard Corson
From Interaction to Symbol: A systems view of the evolution of signs and communication by Piotr Sadowski
The Mammoth Hunters, Book Three by Jean M. Auel

www.historyforkids.org/egypt

www.historyofcosmetics.net

Women in Pre-Historic Art by Camilla Power

www.cosmeticsinfo.org

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Pallavi
Kent, Ohio