Body Shop

There is enough eye make-up in my house to last the cast of a major Broadway show at least a year.


Ever since I was 15, I have worn eye make-up everyday day, and that morning ritual has been passed on to my teen housemate. We love the stuff, and why not, because painting the body is a long human tradition.

Recently, archaeologists from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa uncovered  two  100,000 year old abalone shells full of the red clay paste called ochre. Along with the shells are two tool kits that include hammer stones and grindstones, a bit of charcoal, and slim bones for mixing and painting.


What we have here is a make-up factory. A very old one.

Across the globe, and for generations, people have painted and wiped their bodies with ochre. No one knows when or why people started this act of decoration, but it's been found on the bodies of mummies and the bones from ancient graves.

We slap color on ourselves because long before there was paper or canvas, humans recognized that rituals and identity could be cemented with paint.












And surely, even 100,000 years ago it was just as  fun to do.