“The earliest humans didn’t have words for colors; they had words for objects and actions. It took tens of thousands of years for those words to evolve into the names of the colors we use today. Looking back gives us a glimpse of how those early people saw the world around them.”
And the perceptions and descriptions of around ten of those colors are surprisingly similar across cultures, as explained in this episode of Otherwords from PBS Storied.
Host Dr. Erica Brozovsky shares the fascinating origins of the names of colors across cultures and history, not only the words black, white, red, and yellow—colors that might have had strong connections to survival and emotions…
…but crimson, indigo, and malachite, as well—names more associated with art and pigment sources.
And what came first, the orange fruit or the orange color? She answers that, too.
Watch these related videos about color next:
• Colorscope, an exploration of color across cultures
• A Vault of Color: Protecting the World’s Rarest Pigments
• What is the rarest color in nature?
• How does your brain help you see color?
• Why Is The Sun Yellow and The Sky Blue?
• The Grand Prismatic Spring: One of Nature’s Most Amazing Sights
Plus, an activity: The Stroop Test.
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