Obsidian cache

[drdave514]

Trask, thanks, I'm not trying to call Rok out, at all, as only he knows the back story but I have never ever seen anything like that. To have such a large fragile group? Wow. I see the patina and that's a good sign. Again, I sincerely hope they are real but I'd be stunned.

[rokdok]

These are absolutely real. The patina is on all aspects. These points were taken to a lithics specialist at UTEP by my uncle. He was told that they were atlatl points, made from a huge prismatic obsidian core. When he asked the professor how he knew they were authentic, he was told, that besides the obvious patination, that it took a huge block of obsidian to make these dart points, and a very special technique to detach these long prismatic blades, and due to breakage etc, noone either could or would reproduce these as it just took too much obsidian to do it.

[DesertWalker]

Very interesting. Haven't seen anything like them from the west.

[Buckeye]

Cool, Where they surface finds or eroding out of a bank or...

[SmokyHill]

Originally Posted by rokdok

These are absolutely real. The patina is on all aspects. These points were taken to a lithics specialist at UTEP by my uncle. He was told that they were atlatl points, made from a huge prismatic obsidian core. When he asked the professor how he knew they were authentic, he was told, that besides the obvious patination, that it took a huge block of obsidian to make these dart points, and a very special technique to detach these long prismatic blades, and due to breakage etc, noone either could or would reproduce these as it just took too much obsidian to do it.

Very interesting!

Have you ever considered having the obsidian sourced?

About Obsidian and Obsidian Sourcing

SH

[willybee]

those are absolutely real.........real obsidian needles. any lithics expert in the world will tell you in 10 seconds those are obsidian needles. check out the MODOC NATIONAL FOREST obsidian mine website-here is a direct quote-

The needles mine is best known for its “needles” that are naturally occurring needle-like pieces of the volcanic glass. Needles can vary in length from an inch or 2 to as long as a foot or more. Diameters of the needles also vary from 10’s of an inch to an inch or more. The longer thinner needles have been desired for wind chimes because of their pleasant sound while the smaller needles have been used for jewelry. Whether you want to make anything of it or not, the obsidian needles are very interesting. This deposit, to the best of our knowledge, is one of very few – perhaps only 2 or 3 – locations in the world where volcanic glass has fractured in this manner to produce the needles as you find them. This mine also produces very pretty obsidian rocks varying in color from black to mahogany, translucent to variegated coloration and highlights.

you can pick those up right off the ground, patina and all. there are MILLIONS of them-so many they let you take all you want for free. willy

[rokdok]

All i know is they were found south of El paso, close to a lake. I am in Georgia, these points as well as a few other small obsidian bird points, and a large mano\metate, and a large double-sided grinding stone were given to me by my great uncle and aunt, who moved to El Paso in 1945.He was a WW2 vet who was shot to hell and was stationed at Fort Bliss to recuperate, and liked it so much he stayed.I never thought about having the obsidian sourced, but i'm sure it's probably from central Mexico.

[comanche]

Central Mexico,,,That makes good sense.
Rok doc,,,you have sparked all of our attention,,,
Welcome from the "Central Texas Aspect"/////comanche
look forward to seeing and talking about your wonderful collection.../Thanks

[rokdok]

Thanks, Smokeyhill for the info. After reading Willybee's post i went and looked at some of the natural occuring needles from California. The obsidian they show does not look like the obsidian from this cache, which looks much more black and dense to me.I will send a piece to Dr. Richard Hughes for analysis. When i get the results, i will post it here.10 bucks says the source is in Mexico.These tools were obviously taken off of a prismatic core.

[rokdok]

Thanks for your evaluation, Paleotroy.The cache was taken to UTEP in the 70's. My uncle has been dead for over 20 years.I will be the first to admit i don't know s--- about obsidian,but i have seen quite a few artifacts,and these look rite to me.I am in Valdosta,Ga. Ph.# 229 333 0300 if any of you guys are in the area come by and look in person. The large knife is obviously just that, but the other pieces look more like elongated points and not knife forms to me.I will edit the post to show close-ups of the pieces,maybe that will help.