University of Wisconsin Milwaukee UWM Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations May 2018 The eH art of the Madder: An Important Prehistoric Pigment and Its Botanical and Cultural Roots Michelle LaBerge University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Biochemistry Commons, and the Botany Commons Recommended Citation LaBerge, Michelle, "The eH art of the Madder: An Important Prehistoric Pigment and Its Botanical and Cultural Roots" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 1854. https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/1854 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by UWM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UWM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE HEART OF THE MADDER: AN IMPORTANT PREHISTORIC PIGMENT AND ITS BOTANICAL AND CULTURAL ROOTS by Michelle L. LaBerge A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Anthropology at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee May 2018 ABSTRACT THE HEART OF THE MADDER: AN IMPORTANT PREHISTORIC PIGMENT AND ITS BOTANICAL AND CULTURAL ROOTS by Michelle L. LaBerge The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Under the Supervision of Professor Bettina Arnold, PhD In recent years, an interest in natural botanical dye sources has prompted new research into the cultivation and processing of prehistoric dye plants. Advances in chemical analyses of ancient European textiles have provided more information about dye plants such as woad (Isatis tinctoria) weld (Reseda luteola) and madder (Rubia tinctorum), which were important sources of color in early textile production. Evidence of madder dye has been reported in the archaeological record of the European Bronze and Iron Ages in textiles preserved in the Hallstatt salt mines, Scandinavian bog sites and other elite European burials but the picture of madder usage from the Late Bronze Age into the medieval era is still unclear. The use of other indigenous plants related to madder also complicates this picture. This thesis critically reviews the history of research on madder and the evidence for its use in archaeological contexts in Europe. The experimental component of the thesis involved 1) growing madder root plants and analyzing them for growth rate, hardiness, and fecundity and 2) using madder root with and without mordants, at various temperatures and pH levels on a range of archaeologically attested textiles to determine the spectrum of red hues that could have been obtained in prehistory. This research contributes to the literature on growing and dying with madder root, its use in prehistoric textile and dye production and the significance of color in prehistory. ii © Copyright by Michelle L. LaBerge, 2018 All Rights Reserved iii To my children, Gwen L. Maurer and Jacob A. Maurer, who have grown up watching me become an archaeologist. You are both a big reason why this journey was so meaningful. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures……………………………………………………………………… vii List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………… x Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………… xi Chapter 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………... 1 A. The Long History of the Color Red……………………………………... 1 B. A Brief History of Dyer’s Madder, or Rubia tinctorum………………… 2 C. Basic Botanical Aspects of R. tinctorum………………………………… 3 D. Dyer’s Madder in Prehistoric Technological Context…………………… 6 E. Related Research…………………………………………………………. 8 F. Current Interest in and Importance of Dyer’s Madder…………………… 9 G. Research Questions……………………………………………………… 10 Chapter 2. Literature Review ………...……………………………………….…. 12 Part 1: The Botanical Aspects of Madder…………………………………… 12 A. Botanical Characteristics of R. tinctorum………………….….…. 12 B. Distribution of R. tinctorum……………………………………… 15 Part 2: Chemistry, Alchemy, and Madder…………………………………... 18 A. Organic Dye Fundamentals…………………………………….... 18 B. Dyes and Alchemy ………………………………………………. 20 C. Dyes and Their Chemistries……………………………………… 21 D. Other Chemical Components of R. tinctorum…………………… 25 E. Methods of Dye Analysis in Archaeological Textiles…………… 26 F. Textile Conservation and Ancient Dyes…………………………. 28 Part 3: Archaeological Evidence for Madder…………….……………….…. 29 A. An Introduction to Ancient Dyes and Archeological Textiles…… 29 B. Earliest Textiles, Pigments, Organic Dyes, and Ancient Evidence for Red……………………………………........................................... 34 C. The Archaeological Evidence for Madder………………………... 35 D. The European Neolithic (before 2000 BC) …………….……….... 37 E. The Bronze Age (2000 BC to 700 BC) ………………………….... 38 F. The Early Iron Age (700 BC to 450 BC) …………………...….…. 40 G. La Tène Period (450-400 BC to the Roman Conquest).…………. 42 H. The Roman Period (Roman Conquest to AD 410) ………….….…. 44 I. Historical Written Evidence for Madder…………………………… 50 J. Evidence for Dyeing as a Profession………………………………. 51 K. Madder Legends and Lore…………………………………………. 52 v L. Modernity and Madder: The Current State of Madder Usage…… 54 Chapter 3. Methods ……………….……………………………………………... 56 Research Questions……………………………………………………….…. 56 Phase 1: Growing Madder…………………………………………………... 62 A. Cultivation…………………………………………………….…. 62 B. Harvest…………………………………………………………… 68 Phase 2: Dye Experiment Structure…………………………………………. 73 A. Textiles…………………………………………………………… 74 B. Equipment………………………………………………………... 79 C. Color……………………………………………………………... 80 D. Madder Sources………………………………………………...... 84 Phase 3: Dye Bath Processes………………………………………………... 86 A. Sources of Dye Recipes……………………………………….…. 86 B. Mordants…………………………………………………………. 87 C. Other Dye Experiment Variables………………………………… 92 Chapter 4 Results…………………………………………………………………… 96 Phase 1: Madder Cultivation: Results………………………………………… 96 A. Cultivation: Results…………………………………………….…. 96 B. Harvesting: Results……………………………………………….. 96 Phase 2-3: Dye Experiments: Results………………………………………... 99 A. Basic Alum Dyebaths: Results………………………………….... 99 B. Dye Bath Temperature Variations: Results………………………. 101 C. Dye Bath pH Variations: Results…………………………………. 106 D. Dye Bath Timed Experiments: Results…………………………... 112 E. Mordant Experiments: Results……………………………………. 118 F. Wisconsin Madder Dye Baths: Results…………………………… 122 Overall Summary……………………………………………………………… 124 Chapter 5 Summary and Future Research…………………………………………. 126 References Cited……………………………………………………………………… 132 Appendix A: Online Sources………………………………………………………... 145 Appendix B: Dye Bath Results Images……………………………………………... 146 Appendix C: Dye Bath Results Tables……………………………………………… 178 vi LIST OF FIGURES All images are by the author unless otherwise stated Fig. 1.1a-d. R. tinctorum botanical anatomy………………………………………… 4 Fig. 1.2a-b. Kermes and Cochineal.…………………………………………………. 6 Fig. 2.1. A simplified plot of R. tinctorum’s botanical lineage……………….…. 12 Fig. 2.2a-b. R. tinctorum pollen……………………………………………………... 13 Fig. 2.3. R. tinctorum, botanical drawing………………………………………… 13 Fig. 2.4a-c. Equatorial views of Rubieae tribe pollens…………………………………... 15 Fig. 2.5. Worldwide distribution of dye plants in the Rubiaceae family…………… 15 Fig. 2.6a-d. Madder and madder-type plants…………………………………………. 17 Fig. 2.7a. Anthraquinone group chemical structure………………………………. 24 Fig. 2.7b. Alizarin chemical structure……………………………………………… 24 Fig. 2.7c. Purpurin chemical structure………………………………………….…. 24 Fig. 2.7d. Pseudopurpurin chemical structure………………………………….…. 24 Fig. 2.8a. Kermesic acid chemical structure……………………………………… 24 Fig. 2.8b. Carminic acid chemical structure…………………………………….… 24 Fig. 2.8c. Laccaic acid chemical structure………………………………………… 24 Fig. 2.9a. Boletol chemical structure……………………………………….….…… 25 Fig. 2.9b. Dermorubin chemical structure…………………………………………. 25 Fig. 2.10. Hallstatt textiles showing the variety of color and patterns……………… 40 Fig. 2.11a-b. Evebø/Eide textiles………………………………………………………. 50 Fig. 3.1. USDA Plant Hardiness Zones for Wisconsin …………………………… 63 Fig. 3.2. Global Plant Hardiness Zones ………………………………………….... 64 Fig. 3.3. Plant Hardiness Zones for Europe...……………………………………… 64 Fig. 3.4a-b. Overwintered madder………………………………………………….…. 67 vii Fig. 3.5a-d. Wisconsin madder plants………………………………………………. 68 Fig. 3.6a-b. Harvesting madder………………………………………………….…. 70 Fig. 3.7a-b. Harvested madder…………………………………………………...…. 70 Fig. 3.8a-b. Comparison of 1-year and 2-year plants ……………………………… 70 Fig.3.9a-b. Madder root close-ups…………………………………………………. 71 Fig.3.10a-b. Washing madder roots…………………………………………………. 72 Fig.3.11a-b. Drying madder…………………………………………………………. 72 Fig. 3.12. Mordants…………………………………………………………….…. 74 Fig. 3.13a-d. Fibers included in experiments………………………………………… 76 Fig.3.14. The range of reds………………………………………………………. 83 Fig. 3.15a-b. Soaking Pakistani madder……………………………………………… 85 Fig. 3.16a-b. Soaking the dried homegrown madder…………………………………… 85 Fig. 3.17a-d. Equipment used in experimental component of this project……………. 86 Fig. 3.18a-b. Heating the ground oak galls………………………………………………... 89 Fig. 3.19a-b. Club moss mordant preparation……………………………………………. 90 Fig. 3.20a-b. Development of the iron liquor over several weeks……………………… 91 Fig. 3.21a-d. Soapwort mordant………………………………………………………. 92 Fig. 3.22a-b. Wood ash water examples……………………………………………………... 94 Fig. 4.1. Dried madders…………………………………………………………... 97 Fig. 4.2a-d. Magnified images of madder plant……………………………………... 98 Fig. 4.3a-b. Untreated examples of the experiment fiber types……………………… 99 Fig. 4.4 Madder-dyed fiber types with and without an alum mordant.…………. 100 Fig. 4.5a-b. Wool fibers at differing