Table of Contents
What was the stone obsidian used for?
Obsidian has been used across history to make weapons, implements, tools, ornaments, and mirrors. Because of its conchoidal fracture (smooth curved surfaces and sharp edges), the sharpest stone artifacts were fashioned from obsidian.
Is obsidian a real thing?
Earth > If Rocks Could Talk > Obsidian. Rondi: Everyone, meet Obsidian , an igneous rock that from melted rock, or magma. Obsidian is an “extrusive” rock, which means it is made from magma that erupted out of a volcano.
What god is associated with obsidian?
Tezcatlipoca Tezcatlipoca Parents Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl (Codex Zumarraga) Siblings Quetzalcoatl, Xipe-Totec, Huitzilopochtli (Codex Zumarraga) Children None.
Is haematite magnetic?
Hematite is a magnetic material that shows interesting magnetism [1, 7]. Bulk hematite is weakly ferromagnetic (FM) between the Néel temperature K and the Morin transition temperature K.
What do you know about rock?
To geologists, a rock is a natural substance composed of solid crystals of different minerals that have been fused together into a solid lump. The minerals may or may not have been formed at the same time.
Where do I get fire obsidian?
The volcanic highland hosting the fire obsidian is located in southeast Oregon and is an extinct rhyolite dome complex that encompasses approximately 90 km2 at altitudes of 1,400 to 1,950 m (Walker and MacLeod, 1991).
Where is obsidian found in the US?
Obsidian is restricted to volcanic regions, and in the United States, obsidian outcrops are widely distributed in the Mountain West, Southwest, California, Oregon, and Washington State.
What does Tlaloc mean?
Tlaloc, (Nahuatl: “He Who Makes Things Sprout”) Aztec rain god. Representations of a rain god wearing a peculiar mask, with large round eyes and long fangs, date at least to the Teotihuacán culture of the highlands (3rd to 8th century ad).
How sharp can obsidian get?
Cutting edge Obsidian – a type of volcanic glass – can produce cutting edges many times finer than even the best steel scalpels. At 30 angstroms – a unit of measurement equal to one hundred millionth of a centimeter – an obsidian scalpel can rival diamond in the fineness of its edge.
Is obsidian magnetic?
The magnetic properties of obsidian have been recognized by geologists for some time and the causes subject to investigation (e.g., Schlinger et al., 1986). Basic glasses are reported to be more magnetic than acid glasses (George, 1924:370).
What are tezcatlipoca powers?
Aztec deity Tezcatlipoca Alter ego -Tezcatlipoca Team affiliations Aztec gods Abilities Various godlike powers, including magical mirrors revealing inner fears and desires, superhuman strength and enhanced senses, jaguar form, power to hurl lightning, and power to possess a human host.
What is obsidian mirror?
The obsidian mirror was the primary accessory of the supreme Aztec deity Tezcatlipoca, whose name means “smoking mirror.” He is often depicted with an obsidian mirror on his chest, in his headdress, or replacing his right foot.
What does pumice look like?
Pumice is a fine-grained volcanic rock. It is very light grey to medium grey in colour. It contains a lot of empty gas bubbles, so it is very light and looks rather like a sponge. Sometimes pumice is so light that it will float on water.
What texture is Obsidian?
Glassy Type Igneous Rock Texture Glassy Origin Extrusive/Volcanic Chemical Composition Felsic Color Reddish Brown mottled with black.
How old is obsidian rock?
Obsidian is short-lived relative to most crystalline rocks. Most obsidian is younger than 20 million years, because any obsidian older than that has devitrified, or changed from glass to crystalline rock. Over eons, the silica molecules within the glass slowly rearrange into organized crystal structures.
What does basalt look like?
Basalt is usually dark grey to black in colour, due to its high content of augite or other dark-coloured pyroxene minerals, but can exhibit a wide range of shading. Some basalts are quite light-coloured due to a high content of plagioclase, and these are sometimes described as leucobasalts.
What is volcanic rock called?
Volcanic rock (also called extrusive rock) is one type of magmatic rock (igneous rocks) and is the condensated product of extrusive magma after diagenesis and compaction, which differ greatly from sedimentary rocks in forming conditions, environments, and distribution.
Why is obsidian smooth?
That’s because obsidian is volcanic glass. It forms when volcanic lava cools so quickly, there’s no time for crystals to grow. This gives the rock a black, smooth, glossy shine.
Is obsidian hard to break?
Weapons are not made from it and it is very hard to break. In reality, obsidian is easily broken by human action and can also be worn down by the weather. While obsidian is not used to build indestructible walls or portals, it is used to make surgical tools.
What is black obsidian made of?
Most black obsidians contain nanoinclusions of magnetite, an iron oxide. Very few samples of obsidian are nearly colorless. In some stones, the inclusion of small, white, radially clustered crystals (spherulites) of the mineral cristobalite in the black glass produce a blotchy or snowflake pattern (snowflake obsidian).
Do surgeons use obsidian scalpels?
Obsidian is used by some surgeons for scalpel blades, as well-crafted obsidian blades have a cutting edge many times sharper than high-quality steel surgical scalpels, the cutting edge of the blade being only about 3 nanometers thick.
Is obsidian a strong material?
Strong almost beyond compare and able to stand huge blasts, glossy, black obsidian is forged in the very fires of the earth. That’s because obsidian is glass, and rather than being super tough, it’s brittle, shattering easily. But this lends obsidian its greatest strength, something early humans knew all about.
Where is obsidian found in Europe?
Carpathian 2a and 2b type obsidians are both found at the re-deposited source of Erdöbénye. Carpathian obsidian was used most widely in Hungary, Slovakia and Romania, and also reached south to the Danube in Yugoslavia, west to Moravia, Austria and to the Adriatic near Trieste, and north to Poland.
Is obsidian conductive?
The mineral has no electrical conductivity, is not radioactive, and melts at a temperature of 1200 to 1500 degrees Celsius.
