Throughout prehistoric times it was common to smear red pigment on the bodies of the dead. Iron oxide was the most common pigment, but other pigments were also used. In this work, two red-stained bones from the megalithic tomb of El Moreco were characterized by SEM-EDS, FTIR, and GC–MS. The results provide evidence for the usage of a pigment obtained from Rubia spp. This finding constitutes one of the oldest evidences of the use of madder red in Western Europe (IV-III millennium BC) and, without ruling out other functions, suggests that it could have been used as a textile dye.

中文翻译：

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El Moreco (Huidobro, Burgos, Spain) 巨石通道坟墓的骨头上的一种基于茜草属的红色颜料

在整个史前时代，在死者的尸体上涂抹红色颜料是很常见的。氧化铁是最常见的颜料，但也使用其他颜料。在这项工作中，用 SEM-EDS、FTIR 和 GC-MS对来自El Moreco巨石墓的两块染红的骨头进行了表征。结果为使用从Rubia spp 获得的颜料提供了证据。这一发现构成了西欧（公元前 IV-III 千年）使用茜草红的最古老证据之一，并且在不排除其他功能的情况下，表明它可能被用作纺织染料。