Material reference

Silver Sheen Obsidian · Anino ng Liwanag

Scientific identity, documented history, and community contexts are presented with sources. TÁWID’s contemporary design interpretation is identified separately.

Material identity

Silver sheen obsidian is natural volcanic glass selected for a silvery reflection. Unlike quartz, obsidian is a glass rather than a mass of fully developed quartz crystals. Its appearance belongs to the physical history of a volcanic material and to the way its surface has been cut and polished. “Silver sheen” describes the visual effect; it does not by itself establish a volcano, quarry, country or archaeological source. [1]

Documented historical context

Obsidian has an important history as a worked stone. Archaeologists study pieces recovered from dated deposits, their manufacture and use, and the chemical relationships between artefacts and potential raw-material sources. A modern polished bead is a different kind of object from an excavated flake: the same broad material can participate in very different technologies and social settings. Its historical interpretation therefore begins with the object and its context, rather than with its dark colour or reflective surface. [2] [3]

Philippine and community context

A Philippine example is Neri and colleagues’ 2015 study of obsidian from Ille Cave in Palawan and Bubog 1 on Ilin Island. Portable X-ray fluorescence was used to compare chemical characteristics and investigate acquisition and movement during the Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene transition. The study links material analysis to questions about early islander mobility and maritime adaptation.

The analysed archaeological obsidian was not identified specifically as the silver-sheen material used in modern beads. [2] [3]

TÁWID’s contemporary interpretation

Anino ng Liwanag is TÁWID’s contemporary reflection on attentive self-examination.

References

1. US Geological Survey, Volcano Hazards Program, “Obsidian”
2. “Mobility of early islanders in the Philippines during the Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene boundary: pXRF-analysis of obsidian artefacts,” Journal of Archaeological Science (2015)
3. Neri et al. (2015), “Mobility of early islanders in the Philippines…,” Journal of Archaeological Science 61, 149–157, doi:10.1016/j.jas.2015.05.005

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