Thermal processes occurring deep inside the Earth manifest on the surface through volcanoes. Volcanoes, due to their terrifying destructive power, have found their place in the myths of many ancient peoples, so the very name “volcano” is associated with the name of the Roman god of fire. Volcanic eruptions bring valuable minerals to the surface, and one of the products of lava is obsidian. Therefore, where there are volcanoes, there is also obsidian.
Archaeological remains show that humans have been using obsidian for thousands of years. Peoples who found it in their immediate vicinity valued its quality, used it, and traded it along established trade routes. Thus, obsidian can be found in places far from the volcanoes in which it was formed. Çatal Hüyük in Anatolia, Turkey, was a major trading center from 7000 to 5000 BC and owed its economic prosperity to the nearby volcano, a rich source of obsidian. Obsidian from Çatal Hüyük has been found in many Archaeological sites throughout the Mediterranean basin have yielded obsidian artefacts. Objects made of obsidian have also been found in Vela Luka on the island of Korcula, and it is believed that they originated from the volcanic islands of Lipari, west of Sicily.
Ritual objects made of obsidian have been discovered in Egypt, Greece, and Rome, but obsidian had a special significance among the peoples of Central America, where it even served as a substitute for metal.
Its name derives from the Greek word “opsianos,” which means “to see” or “vision,” and refers to one of the ways it was used.
Obsidian, also known as volcanic glass, is similar in composition to granite but stands out due to its smoothness and shine. While both granite and obsidian are formed from magma, granite acquires a crystalline structure through slow cooling, whereas obsidian is formed by rapid cooling of lava when it comes into contact with a much cooler medium (such as air or water), resulting in its glass-like appearance. Obsidian is, in fact, naturally occurring glass. Similar to obsidian, even Today, glass is obtained by melting quartz sand and rapidly cooling it by immersing it in water.
An interesting process called devitrification occurs naturally in obsidian (after approximately twenty million years!), transforming it into ordinary stone. Silicon molecules gradually reorganize, forming regular crystalline structures, and obsidian loses its glassy properties as well as its ability to break smoothly and evenly. Before it fully transforms into ordinary stone, specks of white quartz crystals can be observed within it. This type of obsidian is called snowflake obsidian.
Obsidian is mainly composed of silicon, but it also contains iron, magnesium, cesium, uranium, cobalt, etc. Each obsidian deposit is characterized by a distinct combination of elements, making it possible to determine the origin of a particular piece. Although it is most commonly black in color, obsidian can also be found in various vibrant shades, depending on the oxidation state of the dispersed elements. Therefore, due to the presence of hematite, it can exhibit reddish hues or iridescent effects.
Red or brown obsidian can occur, with black mainly formed from magnetite. Variations in the degree of iron oxidation give it a green color, while various types of orthoclase can color obsidian blue, green, purple, or bronze. In addition, obsidian often retains trapped bubbles of water vapor, sometimes dispersed throughout the length of the stone, giving it a golden or silvery sheen.
Since obsidian does not have crystals in its structure, it is easily broken and has a very smooth surface at the fracture point, with edges sharper than shattered glass. That is why it has been used for making knives, arrowheads, spears, and the like. Like glass, obsidian blades cannot be sharpened, so such objects needed to be replaced after use. This is also the main reason why obsidian was later replaced by iron.
In Peru, operations on skulls were performed with obsidian knives, and after modern medicine discovered that the edge of a freshly detached piece of obsidian is sharper than surgical steel, it was introduced He is a specialist in ophthalmic surgery. It has also been proven that the smoothness of his blade enables faster healing of surgical incisions.
Obsidian in the Lives of Ancient Peoples
Of all the civilizations and cultures throughout history, obsidian is most commonly found among the peoples of Central America, especially the Mayans and Aztecs.
When the Spaniards arrived in this area, they were amazed that the Central American peoples had achieved a remarkable level of culture without the use of metal. Maya technology was based on the use of obsidian, which was abundant in these regions. Over fifty sites have been discovered just in the Yucatan. The Mayans and Aztecs particularly valued the shiny, green obsidian pachuca from the Mexican volcano Sierra de las Navajas (Mountain of Knives), which had been the subject of vibrant trade for hundreds of years before the arrival of the Spaniards.
In the classical period, obsidian trade was controlled by Teotihuacan, and skilled craftsmen in their workshops shaped extraordinary objects from obsidian. In addition to making objects out of it, they also used obsidian for religious and ritual purposes. However, in addition to ornaments, jewelry, vases, and mirrors for everyday use, as well as tools and weapons, the Mesoamerican people also used obsidian for ritual purposes. Numerous sacrificial objects have been found beneath steles, altars, and household thresholds. Obsidian vases and mirrors have been discovered in graves across Mexico, and during the burial of Maya nobility, thousands of small obsidian fragments were scattered around the entrance to the tomb.
Tezcatlipoca – challenge and temptation
Obsidian is intricately woven into the mythology of these people. One of the important gods in the Mesoamerican pantheon, Tezcatlipoca, or the “Lord of the Smoking Mirror,” carries a mirror made of polished obsidian as his most important attribute, which in his hands becomes a symbol of nocturnal and lunar power. With this mirror, Tezcatlipoca casts a veil over the usual images and notions of reality, disrupting the established balance and giving reality a new and unfamiliar shape. The images that obsidian reveals in its depths can be beautiful or ugly, representing a glimpse into another realm and a different understanding. anikom inače poznatim licem, Quetzalcoatl shvaća da je dimno zrcalo bilo sredstvo koje je iskoristio Tezcatlipoca kako bi ga prevario. Osjećajući se izdan i prevaren, Quetzalcoatl shvaća važnost nutarnje snage i odlučuje se suočiti s izazovom. On odlazi u dubine svoje duše, preispituje svoje postupke i traži put ka iskupljenju. Ova priča nas podsjeća da vanjska ljepota može biti obmana, dok prava snaga leži u unutarnjoj ljepoti i moralu. Quetzalcoatl nas uči da je lako biti zaveden, ali prava hrabrost leži u suočavanju s vlastitim pogreškama i traženju puta ka istinskom dobroti. In the act, he decides to regain purification through sacrifice… Ultimately, Quetzalcoatl burns in the pyre he himself prepared, and his ashes transform into a flock of birds that carry his heart to the sky, from which later emerges the planet Venus, a sublime being, a celestial body of great importance to the Mesoamerican peoples. Thus, the god Tezcatlipoca, “The one who purifies wherever he steps”, initiated in Quetzalcoatl the process of transformation with his mirror, allowing him to recognize his hidden powers through purification and use them by taking an active stance towards life, thereby changing his position and role.
Matter and imprisoned soul
Among the other deities associated with obsidian, we will mention only three more. Ancient symbolism connects it with the “goddess of the world” who, in the beginning of time, gave birth to an obsidian knife. From it, a whole multitude of demigods who inhabited the world in ancient times was born. In connection with the mother of the world, corn is often mentioned as the most important food. nica, presented as an obsidian knife, but there is also a connection between obsidian and lightning, the fire that comes from the sky.
On the other hand, Itzlacoliuhqui is a god with a curved obsidian knife and represents ice, blindness, and stubbornness of matter, and is depicted walking on a volcanic rock. This indicates its role as a destructive aspect of nature; the sharpness of his obsidian destroys and petrifies what is alive, bringing it to a state of complete immobility, coldness, and death, and the need for life to be renewed.
His female counterpart is Itzpapalotl, she is the “obsidian butterfly,” a soul restrained, trapped, and crystallized in that stone of motionless matter. The myth says that this is a soul that fell from the stars in the form of obsidian. In order to return to its original abode, it must give life to matter and transcend it, like Quetzalcoatl.
The mythology of the ancient peoples of Central America tells us about a living and immediate experience of something that is now classified as beautiful but still dead. Obsidian was not appreciated solely for its great practical value; it is a stone that emerged from the living earth and its internal fires and currents, so we can sense the inner importance it had for a man immersed in the mythical dimension of existence. It is a fragment of the mysterious power of life, its reflections and transformations.