The Mysterious Antique Bracelet that Amaze Scientists
A 9,500-year-old mysterious antique bracelet baffles scientists around the world. Made of obsidian, a volcanic rock, the bracelet dating from the Neolithic period is so perfectly crafted and polished that even contemporary experts could not achieve better quality.
The oldest obsidian bracelet ever identified was discovered in 1995 at the site of Asikli Hoyuk, in Turkey. The obsidian antique bracelet has a complex shape and a remarkable central annular ridge and is 10 cm in diameter and 3.3 cm wide.Researchers from the French Institute of Anatolian Studies (IFEA) and the Laboratory of Tribology and Systems Dynamics in Istanbul conducted the technical expertise of the ornament using high-tech methods. The exceptional quality of the adornment amazed everyone and fundamentally changed the view of contemporary specialists on the mysterious Neolithic civilizations.
Unraveling the secrets of the antique bracelet
The mysterious antique bracelet is the earliest evidence of obsidian working, which only reached its peak in the seventh and sixth millennia BC with the production of all kinds of ornamental objects, including mirrors and vessels.
The results were stunning! They revealed the incredible technical mastery of craftsmen in the eighth millennium BC. The bracelet was made using highly sophisticated manufacturing techniques, it was almost perfectly regular. The symmetry of the central annular ridge is extremely precise, to the nearest degree and nearest hundred micrometers. This is something unbelievable for this late period in history.
Specialists have no clue how this is possible
Specialists believe that probably its artisans used models to control its shape when it was being made. The surface finish of the bracelet (which is very regular, resembling a mirror) required the use of complex polishing techniques capable of obtaining a nanometer-scale surface quality worthy of today's telescope lenses.The results of the research conducted on the oldest obsidian object from the Neolithic period, that was discovered by mankind, were published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Such an intriguing piece of jewelry, that was polished to the nanometer scale, with a technique comparable with that used today in the case of telescopic lenses, by people from the Neolithic period, is not something you see every day. Scientists have no clue how this is possible, what technology did those people from the old days possess to make such perfect jewelry.
This is not the first such puzzling artifact originating from prehistoric civilizations that has left scientists in awe. It seems that prehistoric civilizations have many secrets that our present-day science has yet to decipher.
If you want to see it with your own eyes, you can find the mysterious antique bracelet now displayed at the Aksaray Archeological Museum.
