Stone Age Europeans may have worn make-up more than 6000 years ago

By James Urquhart

Some late Stone Age Europeans may have carried make-up inside miniature bottles that they wore around their necks or waists more than 6000 years ago.

Researchers have discovered traces of ingredients known to be used in cosmetic formulations by later civilisations inside small bottles unearthed in Slovenia, dating to between 4350 and 4100 BC.

The finding suggests that lead-based cosmetics were possibly used in Europe more than 2000 years earlier than previously thought, and more …