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Cinnabar (mercury sulphide - HgS) is the single most toxic mineral to handle on earth. It is the worldâs main source of mercury and has been mined since Neolithic times. However, when oxidized, this element will produce methyl mercury and dimethyl mercury, two toxic compounds that cause irreparable harm to the nervous systems of children. It is deadly in small concentrations and can be absorbed through the respiratory tract, intestines, or skin.
Cinnabar has been used for its color since antiquity in the Near East, including as a rouge-type cosmetic, in the New World since the Olmec culture, and in China since as early as the Song dynasty, where it was used in coloring lacquerware.s the most common source of mercury in nature, cinnabar has been mined for centuries, even as far back as the Neolithic Age. During the Roman Empire it was mined both as a pigment, and for its mercury content.