When archaeologists brushed away the dirt from a prehistoric artifact in Germany, they were startled to see a shimmer of extremely rare color. Clinging to the stone’s surface were flecks of deep, electric blue. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Blue is one of the rarest hues in nature . Even flowers, birds, and butterflies that look blue usually rely on optical tricks like iridescence because few natural substances produce a true blue pigment.

That’s why the discovery at the Mühlheim-Dietesheim site in Germany is so remarkable. Dating to 13,000 years old, it’s the earliest known use of a blue pigment in Europe, and among the oldest examples in the world.

“It’s nearly the oldest blue pigment in the world – the only

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