Cosmetics in Ancient Egypt
by Sandy Stai
Overview
This module is designed for an introductory high school chemistry class. The goal is to help students experience chemistry within a specific historical context. The setting for this module is Ancient Egypt. The subject is cosmetics. Students will be situated in small investigative groups. With some guidance they will be asked to develop a useable form of makeup from a powdered mineral or an inorganic pigment along with other readily available materials. Students will have the opportunity to:
- develop their own plan of experimentation rather than follow a predetermined procedure; and
- experience the trial and error aspect of science.
It is hoped that the students will develop an appreciation for some of the many factors that can play a role in the development of science, specifically in this case - religious, practical, medicinal, and technological factors.
Day 1
Lecture - Life in Ancient Egypt (20 min.)
Assign Groups/Explain Project (10 min.)
- Malachite - a green copper-based mineral found on surface of copper ore deposits in Egyptian desert; used to make green eyepaint
- Azurite - a blue copper-based mineral often found with malachite; apparently not used by Egyptians, but there are Egyptian images that have blue eyepaint
- Stibnite - an antimony-based mineral that later replaced galena in black eyepaint
- Iron Oxide - better known as rust, is pigment in red ocher, a red clay readily available in Egyptian desert; thought to be used in rouge and lipstick
Small Group Work and Planning (20 min.)
Day 2
Small Group Planning (15 min.)
Lab Time (35 min.)
Materials include: water, honey, beeswax, vegetable oils, lard
Day 3
Lab Time (50 min.)
Day 4
Lab Time (15 min.)
Demonstration Time (35 min.)
Day 5
Follow-up (10 min.)
Download as Word doc [68KB] (includes: lecture notes, detailed day plans, handouts, follow-up question sheet, URLs for overhead visuals and MSDS sheets, references)
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