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Obsidian talus at Obsidian Dome, California Polished snowflake obsidian, formed through the inclusion of cristobalite crystals. The Natural History by the Roman writer Pliny the Elder includes a few sentences about a volcanic glass called obsidian (lapis obsidianus), discovered in Ethiopia by Obsidius, a Roman explorer. [9] [10] [11] [12]
Obsidian used in ceramic vessels has been found at Aztec sites. Obsidian cutting knives, sickles, scrapers, drills, razors, and arrow points have also been found. [19] Several obsidian mines were close to the Aztec civilizations in the Valley of Mexico as well as in the mountains north of the valley. [20]
Obsidian forms part of many high-status items, such as valuable ear-spools, but these obsidian ear-spools have also been discovered in exclusively lower-status settings. Thus the value of obsidian can be considered highly variable.
Helenite, also known as Mount St. Helens obsidian, emerald obsidianite, and ruby obsidianite, is a glass made from the fused volcanic rock dust from Mount St. Helens and marketed as a gemstone. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Helenite was first created accidentally after the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 .
Obsidian was also in use during the Ubaid, although the percentage of obsidian tools that was found at archaeological sites fluctuates widely across Mesopotamia. At sites along the middle Euphrates, only few pieces were usually found, and the number of obsidian artefacts was also limited in southern Mesopotamian sites.
Additionally, Teotihuacan exported fine obsidian tools found throughout Mesoamerica. The city is thought to have been established around 100 BCE, with major monuments continuously under construction until about 250 CE. [5]
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Golludag obsidian was mined, processed and traded to distant areas as far as Cyprus, and Syria. A 40,000-year-old obsidian tool was found in Syria that was made from Golludag obsidian. [3] The areas where obsidian was processed locally may be the earliest such workshops in the world.