Natural Science in Archaeology

98 5 Gemstones, Seal Stones, and Ceremonial Stones
Fig. 5.3 Jasper seal stone
from Vaphio, Greece
sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. For thousands of years black jasper was used
to determine the gold content of gold-silver alloys. Rubbing the alloys on the stone
produces a streak, the color of which indicates the gold content.
Jasper was plentiful in the Egyptian Eastern Desert (Lucas 1989). The use of
red jasper in Egypt dates to Predynastic times, and during the Second Intermediate
Period it was carved into scarabs. Seal rings, scarabs and scaraboids of jasper have
been found on seventh century BCE Assyrian, Phoenician, Syrian, and Palestinian
sites. Jasper projectile points were recovered from prehistoric sites on the east
coast of the United Arab Emirates. (Diedrich 2006) During the Middle Ages, jasper
was exported from the Krknoše and Jizerské Mountains of Bohemia to Europe as a
decorative stone for altar pieces, components of tombs and wall facing.
Jasper has been used since prehistoric times in North America. An extensive and
important deposit exploited by Paleoindians is located in southeastern Pennsylvania
(Luedtke 1992). The Brook Run site is an Early Archaic jasper quarry in Virginia. This
jasper occurs as large blocks of red-to-yellow brecciated material cemented by black
chert. The quarrying formed a four-meter deep pit. (Monaghan et al. 2004) X-ray
fluorescence (XRF) studies indicate that there were also other ancient sources of jasper
in North America (King and Hatch 1997). A number of sources have been located
in Japan based on XRF studies of ancient Japanese artifacts (Warashina 1992).
Heliotrope/Bloodstone. This relative of jasper is greenish, containing red spots
of iron oxide. Its name originates from the Greek, meaning “sun turning.” According
to Pliny, heliotropius came from Ethiopia and Cyprus (N.H. 37.165, 113). In
early Christian legends, the red spots were supposed to represent drops of the blood
of Christ. In some cultures it was thought to control hemorrhaging or cure problems
of the circulatory systems. For over 2000 years, bloodstone and jasper have been