Archaeology dig in Spain yields prehistoric ‘crystal weapons’

originally posted by: AndyMayhew
Some people today have decorative weapons on their walls. They would be useless in real battles, but look good. Some become antiques and heirlooms even.

Why assume our ancestors were different to us?

Because the skill and effort put into making edged weapons and points from stone (clear quartz is stone, not "crystal") would be a waste of time if just for decoration.

Clear quartz is hard as well. Quartz, like flint, chert or obsidian, can be hewn (knapped) to a fine cutting edge.

These artifacts were most certainly used to hunt, the arrows downing the prey from a distance and the 'dagger' to dispatch it up close.

I agree with the artistic appraisement, but these were not wall hangers.

Knapping, wiki

Aztec stone knives

originally posted by: intrptr

originally posted by: AndyMayhew
Some people today have decorative weapons on their walls. They would be useless in real battles, but look good. Some become antiques and heirlooms even.

Why assume our ancestors were different to us?

...(clear quartz is stone, not "crystal")

Quartz is a rock or stone. It's crystal too.

Quartz is an igneous rock made out of molecules of silicon and oxygen atoms held together in a crystal pattern. All of the silica and oxygen that make quartz came originally from the insides of stars, and it shot out of the stars when the stars exploded as supernovas. Then the silica formed part of a nebula, a dust cloud floating in space.

...There are many different kinds of quartz, depending on exactly how it cooled down. Some kinds have large crystals, and some have very small crystals. Small amounts of other materials that get into the stone can give it colors - quartz with a little iron in it is a pink color or a purple color called amethyst. Some kinds of quartz are nearly transparent (you can see through them).

...Most glass is made by melting sand made of tiny bits of quartz. People also use quartz crystals in various religious ways.

Quartz also often becomes a part of other kinds of rocks. Some igneous rocks, like granite, have quartz in them. Some sedimentary rocks, like sandstone and limestone, also contain quartz. And some metamorphic rocks, like marble, have quartz in them too.

originally posted by: kosmicjack
Ohhhhh...Dragonglass?

Thanks for posting!

Yup!

Cool, huh? Love it that the silica and oxygen that make quartz came originally from the insides of stars, and it shot out of the stars when the stars exploded as supernovas.

And this. [Why travel several hundred kilometers for quartz when options are nearby - unless it was for the 'special powers'?]

punkinworks10

It is certainly a offering or funerary gift, but it was not found with the body, but in an upper chamber,

So I think it is a remembernce type gift to the dead, from a crasftsman.

The quartzite is not native to the area, but comes from "several hundred Km away from Valencia", I have read that knappers in the region have a history of using quartzite for points, even when cherts and flints are nearby and more readily available. This preference goes all the way back to Solutrean times.

I found some stone knives in the yard, rocks that were flaked to make knives. I tried a couple of them to see if they work. To my surprise, the old stone flaked knives cut meat better than my best knife I have for cutting things.

Metals are crystals of a sort, but they are heated and stretched which makes them different. The old hammered and tempered metal knives could cut better, but also they are more brittle.

Crystals store energy, releasing the energy and increasing the energy by bringing it to a point allows it to break the bonds of what it is cutting. The energy can come from our bodies through a conductor, and load the crystal. Electrolytes can increase the energy transfer. By chopping wood we really are throwing our energy into the axe head and the head has a point and the energy is transferred to the wood and it breaks the covalent bonds between the fibers. If the energy is too high, it attempts to break the ionic bonds between the fibers in the wood and the axe gets stuck. The proper swing and the proper shaped head is crucial.

Shooting an arrow through the air loads a crystal arrow head with energy and it releases upon impact. The energy breaks the bond of the skin, and seperates the layers of the flesh.

An Atomic bomb releases a lot of energy, that energy overloads the covalent bonds holding our bodies together and we melt or explode as this happens. A regular bomb with just energy and no matter will just toss us because there is nothing to penetrate the body. But it still overloads the bonds and causes damage. An explosion will overload the bonds on glass windows and the windows explode. I can go on and on with examples on this.

Crystal weapons are very effective but also they shatter and this shattering explodes them on impact and releases the energy unless cushioned. Metal has the ability to form a surface charge that holds the weapon together, the charge builds up as you shoot the arrow and upon impact the energy is released. A crystal core on the arrow head would possibly help increase the power on a long shot. Cast iron is a crystal too, heating and hammering them makes the crystals into fibers and forms the metals we use today.

Most people do not understand that many metals are crystals. Gold is pure, it is easy to bend and the covalent bond between the molecules is different because of the metal. It is soft at normal temperatures, you would have to heat iron to a high temperature to get the same softness. Mercury is way more soft than gold, but gold is refined with mercury. Somehow the mercury causes the creation of a bond, sort of like a catalyst. Lots of people got mercury poisoning from improperly made gold in the past. The metal industry knows a lot more how to purify things today. I would like to know more about the way mercury interacts with metals but the literature was hard to find, lots of people know that mercury is used but not many people understand exactly what is happening.

a reply to: soficrow

Quartz is a rock or stone. It's crystal too.

Most hard rocks 'crystalize', atoms forming bonds, aligning in a lattice structure, forming 'crystals' under the right conditions.

The word crystal is misused.

But sounds good, healing crystals, crystal skulls, lead crystal chandeliers.

originally posted by: LSU0408
a reply to: seasonal

That would be pretty tough to make... I wonder if these were used specifically for sacrifices, etc...

I think they could have been for ceremonial purposes -- although not necessarily sacrifices. As the article speculated, they may have been for funeral processions and maybe other formal ceremonies.

It may be similar to the sabre that is part of some modern soldier's formal ceremonial wear, such as a U.S. Marine's ceremonial sabre. These could have been part of the "dress uniform".

a reply to: Box of Rain

I think this is the nicest spear head I have ever seen, It would be good for on e throw, you miss you make a new head.

originally posted by: soficrow

originally posted by: kosmicjack
Ohhhhh...Dragonglass?

Thanks for posting!

Yup!

Cool, huh? Love it that the silica and oxygen that make quartz came originally from the insides of stars, and it shot out of the stars when the stars exploded as supernovas.

Same for Cobalt, Nickel, Zinc, Gold, Tin, Silver, Lead, Arsenic, Iodine, and every other element heavier than iron.

The pressures and heat needed to nucleosynthesize an element heavier than iron requires a supernova.

Oxygen and silica doesn't require a supernova to be nucleosynthesized; they are made inside a star hear the end of its life, and can be released in a nova event -- but they do come out of a supernovae, too.

a reply to: seasonal

Do you think the crystal skulls came from the same group of people? It just seems so reminiscent of the same practices.

a reply to: Box of Rain

Shush!

It's a spiritually romantic factoid.

Very nice find !
Reminds me of the Game Of Thrones white walkers haha

Considering we have evidence of native Americans using obsidian and other glasslike minerals this is not surprising. Nice find

a reply to: LSU0408

Good point. No pun intended lol. If the small grooves have any biological material would be interesting to test it.

a reply to: rickymouse

You need some new knives!!

a reply to: PRSpinster

I know very little about the crystal skulls but they are really interesting, if real.

originally posted by: Box of Rain

originally posted by: soficrow

originally posted by: kosmicjack
Ohhhhh...Dragonglass?

Thanks for posting!

Yup!

Cool, huh? Love it that the silica and oxygen that make quartz came originally from the insides of stars, and it shot out of the stars when the stars exploded as supernovas.

Same for Cobalt, Nickel, Zinc, Gold, Tin, Silver, Lead, Arsenic, Iodine, and every other element heavier than iron.

The pressures and heat needed to nucleosynthesize an element heavier than iron requires a supernova.

Oxygen and silica doesn't require a supernova to be nucleosynthesized; they are made inside a star hear the end of its life, and can be released in a nova event -- but they do come out of a supernovae, too.

But what do you get when an Ox and Magnesium rich star does super nova? Or stars that enriched in Ox and Si or Si and C?
The answer is very interesting

a reply to: FamCore

The crystal arrowheads are fascinating, by how uniform they are the amount of craftsmanship that went into them is just amazing.

a reply to: Konduit

Can you imagine getting to the last little chisel mark and cracking the whole damn thing? It must have been made by some one who knows what they were doing.

originally posted by: lighter78
a reply to: rickymouse

You need some new knives!!

I have some really good knives, I have no patients with inferior tools.

a reply to: seagull

Excellently done video. He is a master of his craft and a master teacher in the making of his video.