Hong Kong closes zoo after eight animals die in one day
Hong Kong authorities on Monday closed a section of a zoo for public viewing after eight animals were found dead in a single day.
One De Brazza’s monkey, a common squirrel monkey, three cotton-top tamarins, and three white-faced saki monkeys were found dead at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens on Sunday.
The mammals section of the zoo was closed for disinfection and cleaning, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department said. The department ordered necropsies and laboratory tests to determine the cause of the sudden deaths.
Other facilities inside the zoo such as the botanical garden remained open to the public. “We will also closely monitor the health conditions of other animals,” the department said.
The mammals section was cordoned off and notices were put up informing visitors about the temporary closure until 20 October.
Zoo staff were seen feeding monkeys wearing full protective gear while security guards stationed near the mammals section wore face masks.
The closure left some tourists disappointed.
“We just walked by and were glad to find a botanical garden and zoo open to the public for free. And it is clean here. There is a little disappointment of course. But it is still a good place to visit,” Martin Bella, visiting with his wife from the Czech Republic, said.
Steffany Poon, a tourist from America, told The Star that he came to the mammals area “because I knew there were monkeys”, but had to leave without getting to see any.
The Zoological and Botanical Gardens is the oldest park in Hong Kong. Started in 1860, it houses 158 bird species, 93 mammals and 21 reptiles in about 40 enclosures.
Long-lost remains of Everest climber found after 100 years of mystery
The enduring mystery of Mallory and Irvine, the tweed-clad heroes of Everest last seen vanishing into a cloud as mist swept over the Himalayan summit, may finally have been solved 100 years on from the tragedy that so nearly ended in triumph.
Andrew “Sandy” Irvine, the youngest member of the 1924 Mount Everest expedition, disappeared on the upper slopes alongside George Mallory on 8 June that year while attempting to become the first people to climb the world’s highest peak.
With efforts on the coveted summit taking place in the few short years following the First World War, and with Britain having lost the race to the North and South Poles in desperate circumstances, the assault on Everest represented efforts to restore the reputation of British exploration – and indeed preserve the prestige of a declining empire.
The mystery of whether the duo reached the top before their death has been debated by climbers and historians for many decades. If they succeeded, they would have accomplished the feat 29 years before Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, who made the summit in 1953.
Now, what appears to be the partial remains of Irvine have finally been uncovered in the biggest breakthrough in the great Everest mystery since Mallory’s frozen corpse was found 25 years ago.
In the latest development, a sock embroidered with “A.C. Irvine” and a boot were discovered on the Central Rongbuk Glacier, below the north face of Everest, by a team of mountaineers filming a documentary.
The finding offers the first meaningful insight into the young man’s death since the ill-fated expedition to the 8,849m peak – with the Irvine family having volunteered to compare DNA test results with the remains to confirm his identity.
Notably, the sock and boot were found at a lower altitude than Mallory’s remains.
These were discovered by climber Conrad Anker in 1999 and are now in the possession of the China Tibet Mountaineering Association, which is responsible for climbing permits on Everest’s northern side.
When the team made the find they began “running in circles” and shouting expletives, the National Geographic director and photographer Jimmy Chin said.
“Sometimes in life, the greatest discoveries occur when you aren’t even looking. This was a monumental and emotional moment for us and our entire team on the ground, and we just hope this can finally bring peace of mind to his relatives and the climbing world at large.
“It’s the first real evidence of where Sandy ended up. A lot of theories have been put out there.
“When someone disappears and there’s no evidence of what happened to them, it can be really challenging for families. And just having some definitive information of where Sandy might’ve ended up is certainly [helpful], and also a big clue for the climbing community as to what happened,” he said.
In 1924, Britain was an empire in decline. The emergence of the US and Japan offered a glimpse into the world’s shifting tectonic plates and how global politics would be reconfigured over the coming decades.
Britain’s pride was also damaged after it lost out to both the North and South Poles, to the US and Norway respectively, losing its status as the trailblazer of global exploration.
Mount Everest was seen as the third pole, and the hopes of a nation rested on the shoulders of Mallory and Irvine.
Britain had made several efforts on the summit before. Set up by the Royal Geographical Society and the Alpine Club, the ascents had been led by Mallory, whose athleticism and reading of the mountain marked him as a special climber among battle-hardened mountaineers.
The former schoolmaster, who had the good fortune of being sent home from the Somme due to the recurrence of an old climbing injury and then missing Passchendaele thanks to a motorbike accident, was involved in each of Britain’s three attempts to reach the summit, in 1921, 1922 and 1924.
Remarkably, the 1921 outing surveyed the Himalayas on an unprecedented scale, with 12,000 square miles of unexplored territory being mapped on a quarter-inch scale – laying the foundations for future expeditions for decades to come.
“That work is still being used, revised, updated, so it provides a baseline for understanding the region to this day,” Jamie Owen, of the Royal Geographical Society, told The Guardian. “It was a tremendous legacy.”
For the last of his three attempts, Mallory was joined by Irvine, a young engineer and keen rower who, according to a letter from Mallory to his wife, “could be relied on for anything except perhaps conversation”.
Although the expedition was poorly planned and marred by illness, Mallory and Irvine prepared for their final ascent on June 8. “It is 50 to 1 against us but we’ll have a whack yet & do ourselves proud,” Mallory wrote in his final letter to his wife, Ruth, unaware of the tragedy ahead.
Mallory and Irvine were last seen by Noel Odell, a fellow climber who saw two black dots moving across the ridge from thousands of feet below. It would be the last time Mallory would be seen for 75 years.
Irvine would disappear for a century.
Announcing their tragic end, the Mount Everest Committee received the cablegram from expedition member Colonel Norton, despatched from Phari Dzong, 19 June, at 4.50pm: “Mallory and Irvine killed on last attempt. Rest of party arrived at base camp all well.”
Britain was left a nation in mourning, with a memorial service for the pair at St Paul’s Cathedral attended by King George V.
Wade Davis, author of Into The Silence, in an account of the 1924 expedition, said it is the only time that mountaineers have been so honoured in British history.
In news that stunned the world, Mallory’s body was discovered at a height of 26,800ft (8,165m) just over 2,200ft (670m) from the peak along with some of his climbing equipment, a wristwatch and altimeter in 1999.
It reignited one of the great unanswered questions in world exploration. Did Irvine and Mallory die during a victorious descent having summited the world’s highest peak, or did they fall agonisingly short before perishing on the slopes?
Mallory’s camera, which may have held proof of whether they reached the summit of Everest, was lost. Also missing was a photo of Ruth – which he had previously said he would leave on Everest’s peak.
This raises the possibility of their success in conquering Everest. The climbing community generally says it is possible, but not probable, that Irvine and Mallory reached the top.
For now, that secret remains between the two men and Everest herself, but Irvine’s remains could shed new light on the events.
In September, several days before they came upon the boot, Chin revealed the team was descending the Central Rongbuk Glacier when they found an artefact that piqued their curiosity. “We discovered an oxygen bottle marked with a date on it that said 1933,” he said.
The bottle was marked nine years after Mallory and Irvine had gone missing. The 1933 British Everest expedition was the fourth attempt to climb the mountain and also ended in failure, but members of the 1933 expedition did find an ice axe that belonged to Irvine high on the northeast ridge, although well below where Mallory was found.
The discovery of the 1933 oxygen cylinder made Chin wonder. “If Sandy had fallen down the North Face, his remains or his body could be somewhere near here.”
Chin suspected that Irvine’s remains could be close. “Sandy could potentially be a few hundred yards up the glacier from here toward the mountain,” he told National Geographic.
In the days that followed, Chin and his crew began taking a circuitous route across the folds and crevasses of the glacier.
“It was actually Erich Roepke [filmmaker] who spotted something and was like, ‘Hey, what’s that?’,” said Chin. It was the boot, emerging from the ice. “I think it literally melted out a week before we found it.”
Julie Summers, Irvine’s great niece and biographer, said it is “remarkable” to see the discovery made almost exactly 100 years after their deaths. She was “moved to tears” when she heard that her blood relative’s boot had been found.
“I have lived with this story since I was a seven-year-old when my father told us about the mystery of Uncle Sandy on Everest. The story became more real when climbers found the body of George Mallory in 1999, and I wondered if Sandy’s body would be discovered next.
“When Jimmy told me that he saw the name A.C. Irvine on the label on the sock inside the boot, I found myself moved to tears. It was and will remain an extraordinary and poignant moment.”
“Any expedition to Everest follows in the shadow of Irvine and Mallory,” Chin said. “Sometimes in life the greatest discoveries occur when you aren’t even looking.
“This was a monumental and emotional moment for us and our entire team on the ground, and we just hope this can finally bring peace of mind to his relatives and the climbing world at large,” he added.
Chin has declined to reveal the precise location of the find in order to deter trophy hunters.
Mumbai politician killed in office as police blame jailed gang leader
A prominent Indian politician known for his strong connections to Bollywood was shot dead in Mumbai on Saturday by unknown assailants, just months before state elections.
Baba Siddique, a three-time member of the state legislative assembly, was attacked near his son’s office in the upscale Bandra East area of Mumbai.
The 66-year-old former Maharashtra state minister was shot in the chest by three men who fired a volley of bullets on Saturday, when the country was celebrating the Hindu festival of Dussehra.
Siddique was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, but succumbed to his injuries. An aide accompanying him was also injured.
Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who is from the same political party as Siddique, said he was shocked by the killing. “The incident will be thoroughly investigated and strict action will be taken against the attackers. The mastermind behind the attack will also be traced,” Pawar said in a statement.
The incident has raised concerns about political violence ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections and a resurgence of gang violence in Mumbai, something which has been curbed in recent years.
The police have arrested three suspects and said they were connected to the crime organisation run by jailed gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi, according to the NDTV news channel.
The gang has been linked to a number of high-profile killings and extortion cases in the past. Even though Bishnoi, who faces dozens of criminal cases, is currently imprisoned in a jail in Gujarat, his gang keeps making headlines over reports of ransom calls to businessmen.
Bishnoi has also been linked by police to a number of murder cases in recent years, including the high-profile killing of rapper Sidhu Moosewala.
Police said they were yet to confirm the gang’s involvement, but told Indian media that the alleged killers had admitted to being in touch with the gang.
Police are reportedly investigating two potential motives behind the attack: one involving Bishnoi’s criminal network and another related to a slum rehabilitation case Siddique was handling.
Siddique was a former member of the Congress Party who later aligned with a faction of the smaller Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) that formed a Maharashtra coalition government with the BJP.
His influence stretched far beyond politics, however, and he often made headlines for his ties to Bollywood celebrities. His lavish iftar parties – a festive meal eaten by Muslims at sunset to break their fast during Ramadan, were attended by stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. Siddique reportedly played a key role in mending the relationship between the two Bollywood superstars.
Siddique had received a death threat as recently as 15 days before the attack and was given Y-level security, the fourth tier of security provided by the government of India to prominent individuals who face threats seen as relatively mild. A security team at this level typically includes eight personnel, including one or two commandos and some police officers.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde condemned the killing, calling it “extremely unfortunate” and warning against the return of gang violence in Mumbai.
“I have asked the police to take strict action and ensure no one takes law and order into their hands. A gang-war-like situation should not be allowed to resurface in Mumbai,” he said.
Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who oversees the home ministry, said he is monitoring the case.
Sharad Pawar, former chief minister of Maharashtra and a critic of the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party, said people in the government should take responsibility and step down from their posts.
“The deteriorating law and order situation in the state is a matter of concern,” he wrote in the Marathi language.
“If the home minister and the rulers will take the state’s vehicle forward with such leniency, it can be a warning sign for the common people.”
Bomb survivors use Nobel Peace Prize win to share anti-nuke message
The recipient of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize is a fast-dwindling group of atomic bomb survivors who are facing down the shrinking time they have left to convey the firsthand horror they witnessed 79 years ago.
Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese organisation of survivors of the US atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was awarded for its decadeslong activism against nuclear weapons. The survivors, known as hibakusha, see the prize and the international attention as their last chance to get their message out to younger generations.
“We must seriously think about the succession of our messages. We must thoroughly hand over from our generation to the future generations,” Toshiyuki Mimaki, senior member of the Hiroshima branch of Hidankyo, told reporters Friday night.
“With the honor of the Nobel Peace Prize, we now have a responsibility to get our messages handed down not only in Japan but also across the world.”
The honor rewards members’ grassroots efforts to keep telling their stories — even though that involved recollecting horrendous ordeals during and after the bombings, and facing discrimination and worries about their health from the lasting radiation impact — for the sole purpose of never again let that happen.
Now, with their average age at 85.6, the hibakusha are increasingly frustrated that their fear of a growing nuclear threat and push to eliminate nuclear weapons are not fully understood by younger generations.
The number of prefectural hibakusha groups decreased from 47 to 36. And the Japanese government, under the U.S. nuclear umbrella for protection, has refused to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapon.
But there is hope, and a youth movement seems to be starting, the Nobel committee noted.
Three high school students accompanied Mimaki at the city hall, stood by him as the prize winner was announced, and promised to keep their activism alive.
“I had goose bumps when I heard the announcement,” said a beaming Wakana Tsukuda. “I have felt discouraged by negative views about nuclear disarmament, but the Nobel Peace Prize made me renew my commitment to work toward abolishing nuclear weapons.”
Another high school student, Natsuki Kai, said, “I will keep up my effort so we can believe that nuclear disarmament is not a dream but a reality.”
In Nagasaki, another group of students celebrated Hidankyo’s win. Yuka Ohara, 17, thanked the survivors’ yearslong effort despite the difficulty. Ohara said she heard her grandparents, who survived the Nagasaki bombing, repeatedly tell her the importance of peace in daily life. “I want to learn more as I continue my activism.”
In April, a group of people set up a network, Japan Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, connecting younger generations around the country to work with survivors and pursue their effort.
Efforts to document the survivors’ stories and voices have grown in recent years around Japan, including in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Tokyo. In some places, young volunteers are working with hibakusha to succeed their personal story telling when they are gone.
The first U.S. atomic bombing killed 140,000 people in the city of Hiroshima. A second atomic attack on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, killed another 70,000. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, bringing an end to its nearly half-century aggression in Asia.
Hidankyo was formed 11 years later in 1956. There was a growing anti-nuclear movement in Japan in response to U.S. hydrogen bomb tests in the Pacific that led to a series of radiation exposures by Japanese boats, adding to demands for government support for health problems.
As of March, 106,823 survivors — 6,824 fewer than a year ago, and nearly one-quarter of the total in the 1980s — were certified as eligible for government medical support, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry. Many others, including those who say they were victims of the radioactive “black rain” that fell outside the initially designated areas of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, are still without support.
Attack on miners leaves 20 dead ahead of SCO summit in Pakistan
Gunmen shot dead 20 miners and wounded over half a dozen in Pakistan‘s restive Balochistan province on Friday, just days ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in the country.
Nearly 40 gunmen stormed the living quarters of workers at a coal mine in Duki district at around 12.30am local time and fired on them, police said.
The carnage lasted about 30 minutes before the attackers “escaped into the night”, Asim Shafi, police chief in Duki, said. “They had rocket launchers and hand grenades with them.”
Three of the dead workers and four of the wounded were Afghans. The rest were mostly Pashtun from Balochistan, police said.
No group claimed immediate responsibility for the Duki attack, but the suspicion was likely to fall on the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, which has a long history of targeting civilians and security forces in the region.
The attack drew strong condemnation from Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi and Balochistan’s chief minister Sarfraz Bugti, who said the “terrorists have once again targeted poor labourers”.
The chief minister said the attackers were cruel and had an agenda to destabilise Pakistan. “The killing of the innocent labourers would be avenged,” he said in a statement.
Friday’s was the latest in a spate of terrorist attacks in recent months that has raised concerns about Pakistan’s ability to provide security for foreign leaders participating in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Islamabad on 15 and 16 October.
Balochistan is home to several separatist groups that accuse the federal government of unfairly exploiting the province’s natural resources like oil and minerals, and routinely target natural resource extraction projects.
The Balochistan Liberation Army launched multiple attacks in August that killed over 50 people, prompting a security crackdown that left 21 insurgents dead in the province. Those killed included 23 passengers mostly from eastern Punjab province who were fatally shot after being taken from vehicles in Musakhail district.
This week, the proscribed group claimed responsibility for an attack outside the Karachi airport that killed two Chinese citizens.
Pakistan’s interior ministry has deployed troops to secure the capital and asked the four provincial governments to take additional measures to enhance security as the separatist groups and Pakistani Taliban could launch attacks at public places and government installations during the upcoming security summit.
Tributes pour in as ‘visionary’ Ratan Tata to receive state funeral
Ratan Tata, former chairman of the Tata Group, one of India’s largest business conglomerates, has died aged 86.
“It is with a profound sense of loss that we bid farewell to Mr Ratan Naval Tata, a truly uncommon leader whose immeasurable contributions have shaped not only the Tata Group but also the very fabric of our nation,” the conglomerate said in a statement.
Tata will be cremated with full state honours in Mumbai. Federal home minister Amit Shah will attend the funeral.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde declared a day of mourning on Thursday when the national flag will fly at half-mast across government offices.
Tata’s body will be displayed at the National Centre for Performing Arts for public tributes and the cremation will take place later in the day.
Tata led the Tata Group, a conglomerate of over 100 companies spanning diverse industries like steel, automobile, and software, for more than two decades before retiring in 2012. He then held the title of Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, the group’s holding company.
The Tata Group expanded globally under his leadership, acquiring premium brands such as Jaguar Land Rover and Tetley Tea in Britain.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the late business tycoon. “Ratan Tata was a visionary business leader, a compassionate soul and an extraordinary human being,” he wrote on X.
“He provided stable leadership to one of India’s oldest and most prestigious business houses. At the same time, his contribution went far beyond the boardroom. He endeared himself to several people thanks to his humility, kindness and an unwavering commitment to making our society better.”
Born into a prominent Parsi family on 28 December 1937 in Bombay, now known as Mumbai, during the British Raj, Tata studied in the US before joining the family business. His family was prominent in the small Zoroastrian community in India and he was raised by his grandmother, Lady Navajbai Tata, after his parent’s — Naval and Sooni Tata — separated.
He attended the prestigious Riverdale Country School in New York and later graduated from Cornell University with a degree in architecture.
Tata began his career at Tata Steel in 1962 and steadily climbed the ranks. In 1991, he succeeded JRD Tata as chairman, and under his leadership, the Tata Group expanded from an India-focused business to a global conglomerate.
The business tycoon never married and had no children. Despite being a highly influential public figure, he maintained a private personal life and was known to avoid the limelight.
He was often described as a private and reserved person, devoting much of his time to work, philanthropy and personal hobbies like driving sports cars and flying planes.
His family included his younger brother Jimmy Tata and half-siblings Noel, Shireen, and Deanna.
Tata is particularly remembered for his philanthropy, especially after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The Tata Group’s Taj Mahal Palace Hotel was one of the key targets of the attacks, with 33 people, including 11 staff, killed there.
Tata pledged to support the families of the dead and injured employees, offering lifetime salaries to the relatives of those killed. He also invested over $1bn to restore the damaged hotel, completing the restoration within 21 months.
His career was not without controversies, however. He became involved in a major controversy after his handpicked successor, Cyrus Mistry, was ousted as chairman of the Tata Group in 2016.
After Mistry’s removal, a high-profile legal battle ensued, with accusations of nepotism and mismanagement. Although Mistry initially won in lower courts, India’s Supreme Court ruled in Tata’s favour in 2021.
Other controversies also surfaced from time to time. In 2010, Tata’s name surfaced in leaked conversations involving corporate lobbyist Niira Radia. Although Tata wasn’t directly involved in any wrongdoing, the tapes hinted at lobbying for telecom licences and raised concerns about corporate influence on policymaking. Tata took legal action to protect his privacy.
His Tata Motors faced protests in the early 2010s from farmers over land acquisition in West Bengal state for a factory to make the Tata Nano, called the world’s cheapest car. His company’s acquisition of farmland for the plant in spite of the protests and his reported opposition to fair compensation for farmers was perceived as being contradictory to the values he publicly upheld.
The project had to be relocated to Gujarat state when the protests continued, causing delays and public criticism of the company’s approach.
Although the Tata Group has a reputation for being a leader in worker welfare, their factories have had their share of fatal accidents.
Tata Steel, for example, has faced several accidents over the years, most notably a 2007 gas leak and a 2011 explosion, both of which resulted in fatalities and injuries.
Tributes also poured in from celebs, politicians and fans of the business tycoon. Sachin Tendulkar, the cricketing legend wrote on X: “In his life, and demise, Mr Ratan Tata has moved the nation. I was fortunate to spend time with him, but millions, who have never met him, feel the same grief that I feel today. Such is his impact.
“From his love for animals to philanthropy, he showed that true progress can only be achieved when we care for those who don’t have the means to take care of themselves.
“Rest in peace, Mr Tata. Your legacy will continue to live through the institutions you built and values that you embraced.”
Anand Mahindra, fellow business tycoon and chairman of Mahindra Group wrote on X: “I am unable to accept the absence of Ratan Tata.
“India’s economy stands on the cusp of a historic leap forward.
“And Ratan’s life and work have had much to do with our being in this position.
“Hence, his mentorship and guidance at this point in time would have been invaluable.
“With him gone, all we can do is to commit to emulating his example. Because he was a businessman for whom financial wealth and success was most useful when it was put to the service of the global community.”
MK Stalin, chief minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, said: “Deeply saddened by the passing away of Thiru. #RatanTata, a true titan of Indian industry and a beacon of humility and compassion.
“His visionary leadership not only shaped the Tata Group but also set a global benchmark for ethical business practices. His relentless dedication to nation-building, innovation, and philanthropy has left an indelible mark on millions of lives.
“India has lost a giant, but his legacy will continue to inspire generations. I offer my deepest condolences to his family, colleagues, and the entire Tata Group in this profound moment of loss.”
Court upset as police claim rats destroyed evidence in homicide case
A court in central India was left upset after police declared that rats had destroyed evidence in a culpable homicide case.
Police in Indore city told the Madhya Pradesh High Court that 29 pieces of evidence, including plastic bottles containing viscera, had been destroyed by rodents during the rainy season, The Indian Express reported on Friday.
“Histopathological reports could not be obtained” as a result, the city’s deputy commissioner of police informed the court.
The court was hearing a bail application by a man named Ansar Ahmad who is accused of beating his wife with a stick in August 2021 and injuring her in the head, hand and spine.
The woman died during treatment and police filed a case of culpable homicide and of voluntarily causing hurt against Mr Ahmad.
After learning about the destruction of evidence on 4 October, the court observed that it highlighted the “pathetic condition in which material collected during investigation is kept in police stations”. Even so, the court added, the police’s explanation “by no stretch of imagination can be said to be satisfactory”.
“Police officers concerned should have taken into account all relevant factors to protect and safeguard the material seized during an investigation, and although nothing can be done about this spilt milk, at least this incident has also brought into the light the pathetic condition in which the material collected during investigation is kept in the police stations of the state,” judge Subodh Abhyankar said, according to the report.
“It is anybody’s guess as to what the situation in the police stations at small places would be, when in the present case, the police station was one of the most busy police stations of Indore city.”
The court asked the Madhya Pradesh’s police chief to take stock of all police station storehouses to avoid such incidents in the future.
Police said they had moved evidentiary material out of the storehouse and taken “extra precaution to sanitise and seal the room”.
Chinese made and wore makeup over 1,000 years ago
China had a thriving cosmetics industry more than a thousand years ago, archaeologists have found.
The industry, which flourished between 618 and 907AD, produced a range of products including moisturisers made of animal fat and eyebrow enhancers using graphite powder. The products were commonly used by the wealthy non-elite of the Tang dynasty, according to a new study published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.
The study assessed thousands of tombs in the Tang dynasty’s capital city of Xian and found that Chinese living there not only developed cosmetic recipes but also “optimised” them.
A moisturiser product identified as ruminant fat, for example, contained a small amount of brassicaceae seed oil, which would have made it easier to spread than plain ruminant fat in the cold, dry winters of northern China.
“This indicates that the recipe of the moisturiser had been optimised,” the study said.
Archeologists also found evidence of the use of coloured cosmetics . They found some organic residues in shells made from a mixture of vegetable oil, moths, and plant extracts.
Another skincare product found at the site was likely made from a mixture of rosin and plant pigments.
The study noted that people in the Tang dynasty used products similar to today’s lipstick and blusher. “A piece of graphite ore was used as an eyebrow cosmetic and a mixture of cinnabar and animal glue was used as a lipstick or blusher,” it explained.
Some of the items, though, may have contained a mineral of mercury, which would have been toxic to its users.
“The findings suggest that the cosmetics were diverse and made from a wide range of raw materials, including plants, animals and minerals, during the Tang dynasty in China,” the study noted.