The Aztec Empire once hosted an expansive trade network that brought volcanic glass to its capital from right across Mesoamerica, coast to coast. The largest compositional study of obsidian artifacts ...

A series of mysterious ancient artifacts made from volcanic glass have been found off the coast of Italy—and some believe the objects could represent the cargo of a Neolithic wreck, in what would be a ...

The collection consists of correspondence, lithic analysis, data, illustrations, and photographs relating to the analysis of obsidian objects from Tres Zapotes in Mexico. Thomas R. Hester (1946-) is ...

A scythe-like object (middle-top) found near two human skulls was one of the 788 obsidian objects studied. Source: Jesús López, courtesy of Proyecto Templo Mayor, INAH Mystery surrounds an ancient ...

The mirror, now held in the British Museum in London, has long been suspected of being made by the ancient South American empire, but the truth was lost to history. Now, thanks to a system that ...

The layer of material that forms on the surfaces of arrow points, spearheads, and certain other natural-glass objects, as they age can be used to estimate the temperatures that the artifacts have ...

Discover how an analysis of more than 700 objects reveals obsidian came into the Aztec capital from far and wide. The Aztec — or Mexica — people oversaw an extensive economic network that involved ...