Skip to main content

Abstract

Man is one of those few creatures who can see the world in color. Almost as far as we are able to trace the presence of man in history and prehistory, we find evidence that he has employed color to adorn his person and his surroundings. Tens of thousands of years ago, Cro-Magnon created cave paintings using the colors of minerals as pigments, and before him, the Neanderthal painted the bones of the dead with red mineral pigment. In the ancient world, colored stones and minerals were used in jewelry, in the decoration of buildings, and as coloring agents in glasses and enamels.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Gunnell E. M. 1939. Historical notes — mineral luminescence. The Mineralogist 7 (3): 75–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunnell E. M. 1939. Bibliography of mineral luminescence. The Mineralogist 7 (3): 81–83, 135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey E. N. 1957. A History of Luminescence. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kunz G. F. and Baskerville C. 1903. The action of radium, roentgen rays and the untra-violet light on minerals and gems. Science 18 (468): 669–783.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1983 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Robbins, M. (1983). Background. In: The Collector’s Book of Fluorescent Minerals. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4792-8_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4792-8_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-4794-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-4792-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics