THE PIGMENTS
Natural pigments have been used as dyes since prehistoric times. Archaeologists have discovered that early humans used ink for aesthetic purposes, such as body painting. In a cave in Zambia, pigments and grinding tools were found, believed to be around 300,000 years old.
Before the industrial revolution, the range of colors available for artistic and decorative uses was technically limited, as most came from minerals, earth, or biological sources.
The industrial revolution introduced artificial pigments obtained through chemistry. The discovery of mauveine, the first aniline dye, in 1856 was a precursor to the development of hundreds of synthetic dyes and pigments, such as azo and diazo compounds, which are the source of a broad spectrum of colors.
