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Obsidian, the gemstone in use since Stone Age is an ideal stone for making tools. The gemstone was discovered way back in Ethiopia by Obsius. An archaeologist while excavating came by a blade made of obsidian and after radiocarbon dating found out that the stone belonged to 21,000 BC. The obsidian blades were used by the Indians as arrowheads while hunting or otherwise and the Aztecs used them as tools or even as mirrors. They were available in large quantities in Obsidian Cliff in Yellowstone National Park.
The name obsidian is usually associated with a black colored stone but it comes in other colors as well like brown, gray, red, yellow, blue, green and in a clear orange form. This is due to the presence of hematite and a golden glow is given out by obsidian which is because of the presence of small gas bubbles. The obsidian is also known as snowflake obsidian because of its close resemblance with snowflakes. It is basically an extrusive igneous rock formed by the fast cooling down of the molten lava. Obsidian cooled down so fast that it did not get time to crystallize. Obsidian is glossy and is a bit harder than window glass.
Obsidian, the fairly fragile gemstone is used for having a clear view on any problem. It stabilizes any angry or agitated mind because it acts as a chastiser to the angry mind. There are rich deposits of this dark colored stone in Mount Hekla in Iceland, the Eolie Islands off the coast of Italy, and Obsidian Cliff in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, U.S. Obsidian is also found in places in Asia, Japan and Java.
The dark pieces of Obsidian found in Arizona and New Mexico are called Apache Tears. This gemstone has been used down the ages and finds its use even in dating and has been a jeweler’s favorite for time immemorial.
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