The ancient Maya painted some of their ornate temples with mica to make them sparkle in the sun, a new study suggests.
Scientists discovered traces of the shiny mineral while analyzing flakes of paint taken from the Rosalila temple in Copán, Honduras.
The temple, built in the sixth century A.D., today sits "entombed" in a giant pyramid built around it. (See a cut-away view of the Rosalila temple.)
No word if teenaged Maya girls used it for makeup.