Obsidian was an important commodity in the Aztec empire. The obsidian industries from several Late Aztec sites in the northeastern Basin of Mexico are briefly summarized. These sites represent both urban centers and their rural dependencies. Site TA-80, the urban center of the Otumba city-state, contained numerous surface concentrations of. Obsidian honors Itzpapaloti, the Aztec Butterfly Goddess. Her name means “Obsidian Butterfuly” and she is both a ruler of the beautiful paradise world, Tamoanchan, and a skeletal warrior goddess. She is usually depicted wearing bones, skulls, or other body parts, and is a figure of feminine strength. The jaguar warriors fought the near tribes and often won, creating the famous Aztec Empire. Afterwards the enemies were kept alive, as prisoners and were later used for ceremonial purposes, such as human sacrifice. The knife is made from obsidian which a volcanic glass that is really sharp. It’s naturally made and a handle was attached to it. Besides the macuahuitl, the Aztec made use of the tepoztopilli, one more weapon carved out of wood and fitted with obsidian blades. However, the tepoztopilli was more like a type of polearm. It was spear-like, with a large wedge head on the front, and at five to six feet long, the entire piece was a bit longer than the macuahuitl.
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MEXICAN OBSIDIAN : A naturally formed glass produced by volcanoes.
Obsidian is formed by the rapid cooling of viscous lava that is extremely rich in silica. It has no crystal structure as it cools too fast to crystallise.
Obsidian was an essential material in the daily and ritual lives of the ancient cultures of Mexico and Guatemala.
It was used to make all types of sharp instrument tools such as knives, arrow heads, scalpels, and scrapers. It was also used as body ornaments.
In the Aztec language (nahuatl) it is called Itztli or devine stone and came under the deity Tezcatlipoca, Lord of the Night and owner of magic obsidian mirrors. It was also a very valuable trading commodity.
With the arrival of the Spanish and the use of metal the use of obsidian quickly declined. The Spanish themselves had no interest or use for obsidian. Their interest was in other commodities such as gold or silver.
The main prehistoric source for obsidian was at Otumba and Pachuca some 30-55 miles, respectively north east of Mexico City. This was the source for obsidian for the Aztecs, Toltec and the people before them who built the great pyramids of Teotihuacan.
Obsidian has been found at every Meso American archeological site of any importance. Obsidian from Pachuca has a distinct green tint to it and is considered to be superior to obsidian from other sources. It was traded to the Almec on the Gulf coast and the Maya, in what is now Guatemala, even though they had their own deposits of obsidian.
Another important ancient source was in what is now the state of Jalisco around the volcano Tequila. This area still has one of the largest deposits of obsidian in the world.
Today the deposits north east of Mexico City and in Jalisco state still produce much material. It is often carved into modern replicas of Aztec or Toltec deity. At the Great Pyramids at Teotihuacan near Mexico City there are many vendors of obsidian and also in the street markets of Mexico City.
In the small town of Magdalena in Jalisco state there are many workshops cutting and polishing obsidian. The roads between the towns of Tequila and Magdalena passes through many thousand tons of obsidian. You can help yourself to some and this is the area that Tequila is produced from the Blue Agave, a cactus like plant. There are vast rows of it stretching for miles. Its quite a sight. You can visit the distilleries in the town of Tequila. A nip or two is a real pick up, but don't overdo it.
The speciality of the Mexican cutters is a heart. To cut a heart you need an oval or round formation in the obsidian stone. Grind down on the sides of the oval to produce the V. Then nick the top of the stone on the edge pf the grinding wheel to produce the heart, though its easier said than done. Always wear safety glasses when working with obsidian as it is a glass.
There are many different colours and shades in obsidian: mahogany, snowflake, silver, gold and green sheen. Pure obsidian is black. Iron and magnesium oxide causes the brown green and red colours.
Sometime in the late 1990's rainbow obsidian came onto the market. It was found in only one area in Jalisco state. Rainbow obsidian is an amazing material with the full spectrum of rainbow colours. The interference of light (iridescence) on microscopic gas bubbles cause this amazing display of colour. Though three stone has to be cut in the right direction and orientation to bring out the colour. I have not seen really high grade rainbow obsidian for many years. It is a case of if new deposits can be found.
Much Mexican rough obsidian is exported to China for cutting and polishing there.
PHOTO: Obsidian mariposa
PHOTO: Green sheene obsidian which I found myself near Tequila volcano
Obsidian Aztec Eagle God Statues Sculptures
PHOTO: A large heart obsidian
PHOTO: Aztec calander itched onto obsidian
PHOTO: Rainbow obsidian
PHOTO: Rough obsidianPHOTO: Obsidian sphere
PHOTO: How many hearts can you get in a piece of obsidian - is this a record?
CONTACT : In Memory of Dave Gibson. A collector in the UK. davegibson@gemologyonline.com
©All photos and text Copyright of Barbra Voltaire for David Gibson and can not be duplicated without permission
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Today, we ask why the Aztecs didn't make full use of metal. The University of Houston's College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them. One question that torments historians of technology is the 'Why didn't?' question. Why didn't the Chinese, with all their inventions, produce the industrial revolution? Why didn't the Romans ever make full use of water wheels? Why was Europe 400 years behind China in printing with movable type? All those questions come back upon the present, of course. Why aren't we doing the right thing today -- whatever that might be?
So: why didn't the Aztecs ever emerge from the stone age? Why did such a remarkably advanced people make such limited use of metal? Anthropologist Terry Stocker offers a troubling answer. When you already have a fine technology, you don't see beyond it. And the Aztecs had obsidian for their axes and knives.
Obsidian is a naturally-occurring glass, usually black and opaque. It's harder than steel, and it fractures smoothly. By splitting it, you can create murderously sharp blades. For the early Greeks and Egyptians, obsidian was a profitable medium of trade, not so easily available. Once artisans had shaped cutting tools from bronze, they had reason to give up obsidian.
That never happened in the Aztec world. Southern Mexico was richly endowed with obsidian. Anthropologists now think the huge and mysterious pre-Aztec city of Teotihuacan, near Mexico City, was the center of an obsidian industry.
Aztec swords were made with rows of small obsidian teeth. They were murderous weapons for cutting an enemy. For a long time, historians have marveled at the amount of ceremonial self-mutilation the Aztecs underwent. Now we find that being cut with obsidian is less painful than you'd think, because it makes such a sharp edge.
So obsidian became woven into Aztec worship as well as Aztec function. What need could there be for a replacement material? The Aztecs didn't develop their use of metal because they couldn't see beyond obsidian.
Then the Spanish came with their steel guns, swords, and cannon. They conquered the Aztecs and tried to erase their history. The sublime irony of that is, we now use Aztec obsidian to reconstruct that history. For obsidian carries the imprint of its own past. Once fractured, obsidian slowly reacts to water in a chemical process called hydration. It's possible to read the age of artifacts by seeing how far that process has gone.
I have a little Aztec image on my desk. It's smooth and inky black, carved from Mexican obsidian. It catches the light and rewards the touch. It tells me, as surely as history does, why the Aztecs continued to write their story in this hard, hypnotic, even magical stuff, when simple reason would've preferred gray steel.
I'm John Lienhard, at the University of Houston, where we're interested in the way inventive minds work.
Obsidian Aztec Knife