Obsidian Spearhead
Pressure-flaked volcanic glass; travel and repair in one sharp kit.
Collections
The content in this gallery was created by AI under human direction, then curated, reviewed, and edited by a human.
Archaeology
Coprolite Sample
Dietary and seasonal record in fossilized micro-details.
Basaltic Glyphstone
Boundary marker incised with shallow crossing lines.
Anthropology
Bronze Kohl Container
Beauty and medicine meet at the eyelid’s edge.
Cranial Vault Fragment
Traces of healing and stress recorded in bone.
Faience Scarab Amulet
Luck rolled forward in glaze and sand.
Histories
Obsidian Spearhead — Exhibit Label
Facts
Material: Volcanic glass (obsidian), pressure-flaked.
Approx. date: Late Holocene (relative, stratigraphic).
Region: Inland Sahel caravan margin, secondary dune ridge.
Dimensions: 11.2 × 3.1 × 0.7 cm. On display courtesy of the Field School Depot.
Interpretation
Obsidian cuts because it breaks like lightning: conchoidal, fast, and purposeful. The maker seated the blank on a palm and drew sharp pressure along the edge to lift thin flakes, a rhythm of intake and release that turned glass into intention. Spearheads like this travel easily through both space and story. Their raw material often moves hundreds of kilometers from volcano to camp, bundled in trade as nodules or rough preforms. The polish along the hafting end suggests repeated mounting and removal—a kit that shifted between hunter, scout, and guardian as a day unfolded. Under magnification, tiny step fractures near the tip imply contact with bone or heavy hide. Whether that contact was feast or defense is not knowable here; the point is honest about use but discreet about outcome.
Comparative Notes
Similar pressure-flaked forms occur across Africa’s Rift and Sahara margins, but the narrow “waisted” hafting seen here aligns with riverine groups who preferred slimmer foreshafts that could be repaired quickly. Trace-element sourcing may link this glass to an East African flow; if so, the object also maps a conversation route—merchants, marriage ties, and seasonal employment—threading savanna and desert.
Cautionary Note on Interpretation
Functional labels like “weapon” or “hunting spear” risk flattening a complex life. Points live in ceremonies, bridewealth, oaths, and teaching kits. Without a secure excavated context and community testimony, this label keeps multiple possibilities open rather than declaring a single past.
On display, courtesy of: Field School Depot and the dune-ridge community committee.