1. Historical Development of Colorants

Color is one of the elements of nature that makes the human life more aesthetic and fascinating in the world. Plants, animals, and minerals have been used as primary sources for colorants, dyes or pigments since ancient times. The first fiber dyes known to be used in prehistoric times consisted of fugitive stains from berries, blossoms, barks, and roots. This chapter is devoted to an historical introduction to the colorants, taking into account of the chronological developments in dyeing processes and the origins of dyes used. Even today, the dyeing using natural materials is applied as an adjunct for hand spinning knitting and weaving but it has remained as a living craft in many traditional cultures of North America, Africa, Asia, and the Scottish Highlands. The new discoveries about the science of color have also led to many industrial innovations and a sharp fashion change. Scale insects have long been used to produce crimson-colored dyes. Many plant pigments are used as dyes. Madder has been utilized since times as a red vegetable dye for leather, wool, cotton and silk. Indigo is a natural dye that is structurally related to betalains. Tyrian purple, which is an ancient dye, has been extracted from shellfish of the Murex genus.