Obsidian
by Mildred Boyd

     They called it itzli and used it for almost everything, those clever pre-Columbians. Housewives used it to gather and prepare food, farmers used it to harvest crops and butcher animals, warriors and hunters used it to tip spears and lances, nobles used it for bloodletting ceremonies and wore it as ornaments and priests used it in their bloody sacrificial rites. The very wealthy had it polished as mirrors and vases and figurines. It has been estimated that every household in Mexico consumed several kilos of it each year.

     Itzli is the Nahuatl word for obsidian, and keen-edged flakes of obsidian were truly the miracle substance of the Stone Age peoples. It can be worked so that the cutting edge is only one molecule in thickness, much sharper than the finest surgical steel, and reworked time and again to maintain the cutting edge. In fact, modern surgeons use obsidian blades to perform delicate eye and heart operations because they cause less damage to surrounding tissues and promote faster healing.


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