Blue pigments are absent in Paleolithic art. This has been ascribed to a lack of naturally occurring blue pigments or low visual salience of these hues. Using a suite of archaeometric approaches, archaeologists have now identified traces of the vivid blue mineral pigment azurite on a concave stone artifact from the Paleolithic site of Mühlheim-Dietesheim, Germany. This represents the earliest use of blue pigment in Europe.
The three areas of blue residue present on the sandstone layer of the stone artifact from Mühlheim-Dietesheim, Germany. Image credit: Wisher et al., doi: 10.15184/aqy.2025.10184.
Mineral and organic colorings were exploited by both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens but have appeared limited to the use of only black and red-yellow hued pigments deriving from charcoal, manganese dioxides and a variety of ochres (iron oxides).
These are well-documented across different continents for a plethora of activities.
In the European Middle Paleolithic (c. 300,000-40,000 years ago), Neanderthals seem to have used ochres and manganese dioxide for not only functional purposes, such as compound adhesives or for fire-lighting, but additionally for symbolic practices, potentially and controversially including producing cave/rock art.
In Homo sapiens, pigment use emerged at least 100,000 years ago and has been associated to the emergence of ‘behavioral modernity’, perceived as a hallmark of cognitive complexity.
The intensity of pigment use throughout the Upper Paleolithic appears contradictory to a restricted use of charcoals, manganese dioxide and ochres, and raises important questions regarding the absence of blue pigments.
Until now, only one case of a copper-based blue-green pigment has been recorded for the Paleolithic from decorated anthropomorphic figurines at the site of Mal’ta in Siberia (c. 19,000-23,000 years ago).
No blue pigment use has been previously recorded in the European Paleolithic.
“Our discovery challenges what we thought we knew about Paleolithic pigment use,” said Aarhus University archaeologist Izzy Wisher.
In their research, Dr. Wisher and colleagues identified the blue pigment on a stone artifact with a concave, bowl-like morphology from the Paleolithic (c. 14,000-11,700 year ago) open-air site of Mühlheim-Dietesheim in Germany.
This represent the first and earliest example of blue pigment use from the European Upper Paleolithic.
“The presence of azurite shows that Paleolithic people had a deep knowledge of mineral pigments and could access a much broader color palette than we previously thought — and they may have been selective in the way they used certain colors,” Dr. Wisher said.
“The stone bearing the azurite traces was originally interpreted as an open-circuit lamp.”
“Now, it appears to have been a mixing surface or palette for preparing blue pigments — hinting at artistic or cosmetic traditions that remain largely invisible today.”
The findings urge a rethink of Paleolithic art and color use, opening new avenues for exploring how early humans expressed identity, status, and beliefs through materials far more varied and vibrant than previously imagined.
“We hypothesize that azurite was likely used in the Upper Paleolithic to a much greater extent than hitherto assumed, based on its presence at Mühlheim-Dietesheim and its likely accessibility in the landscape,” the researchers said.
“It is possible that azurite use was restricted to activities that do not preserve well in the archaeological record.”
“Blue pigments were evidently not used to decorate cave walls nor portable art objects in the European Paleolithic but may instead have been used to decorate the body.”
“Our results encourage a critical consideration of the use of color during the Upper Paleolithic to determine why certain hues were used — or not used — for different artistic practices.”
The results were published this week in the journal Antiquity.
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Izzy Wisher et al. The earliest evidence of blue pigment use in Europe. Antiquity, published online September 29, 2025; doi: 10.15184/aqy.2025.10184
