American warriors used "magic stones" to fight, which were as lethal as iron weapons

Reviewer: Ma Zhifei

Geological science writer, senior engineer

When it comes to Latin America, some people may wonder where this continent is? In fact, Latin America is a geographical concept , that is, the part of America except North America (the United States and Canada). Because of the colonial rule of Spain and Portugal, the languages ​​of this region are mainly Spanish and Portuguese, and these two languages ​​evolved from Latin , so it is called Latin America . Before the colonists entered Latin America, the main weapon of the entire Latin American civilization was "glass". Of course, this "glass" is not the glass we see in our daily life, but its name is still familiar to everyone - obsidian .

Obsidian source | Baidu Encyclopedia

Reasons for using "glass" weapons

Why did Latin American civilizations use obsidian as weapons instead of more practical bronze or iron?

First, Latin America has a shorter development time . According to the New World migration model, humans entered America around 15,000 BC, which is several thousand years later than the Old World. Secondly, Latin America is rich in obsidian , and the material itself is relatively easy to process, requiring only the application of stone grinding technology. In addition, Latin America is relatively closed and has no communication with the Old World. Latin American civilization has fallen into a vicious circle of focusing on the development of grinding technology rather than smelting technology, and has neglected metallurgical technology that is more in line with the requirements of improving productivity.

Humans enter the Americas

Source: Wikipedia

In Latin America, obsidian is not a natural weapon, but weapons are naturally obsidian. Obsidian is a common name, it is also called Tokachi stone or dragon crystal , and its scientific name is obsidian. Obsidian is widely distributed in areas where there is or has been volcanic activity. Its cause is that the acidic volcanic lava flow cools and condenses quickly, and there is not enough time for mineral crystals to grow, forming glassy rocks. Since the periphery of the lava flow cools the fastest, obsidian is usually found on the periphery of the lava flow. Central America and the northern part of South America are located at the junction of plates, with active crustal movement. Volcanic activity has occurred in the past, thus producing obsidian.

The main component of obsidian is silicon dioxide, which has the characteristics of glass. When broken, it has a shell-like fracture surface, which is very sharp but fragile. In ancient times, it was used as a cutting tool such as a knife or arrowhead. Because of its own characteristics, it was the main weapon in Latin America.

Dragon Crystal in Film and Television

Source｜TV series screenshots

magma

Source: Wikipedia

Various uses of "glass" weapons

Before the Age of Exploration, the main civilizations in Latin America were the Mayan, Aztec and Inca civilizations. The Mayan and Aztec civilizations were mainly distributed in Central America, while the Inca civilization was mainly in Peru. All three civilizations used a lot of obsidian, and its main use was as weapons because it was easy to grind and very sharp. The Mayan civilization appeared earlier, and the use of obsidian as a weapon was relatively rudimentary; the Aztec civilization had a relatively mature technology for using obsidian as a weapon, and the obsidian weapons it manufactured were more complex and were used on a large scale; the Inca civilization was more developed, and some of them had bronze weapons, but the use of obsidian weapons was not as developed as the other two civilizations.

Distribution of Mayan civilization

Source: Wikipedia

Aztec civilization distribution

Source: Wikipedia

Distribution of Inca civilization

Source: Wikipedia

In the middle period of the Maya, the main method was to smash obsidian, use its core and polish it, and install it on spears as spearheads, or use it as dart tips in conjunction with javelin throwers. A javelin thrower is a wooden stick about half a meter long, with a groove on the top to accommodate darts and javelins (some darts are made of obsidian). It is a tool that uses the principle of leverage to increase the initial velocity of the javelin. There is a ladle-shaped or hook-shaped support at one end to fix the tail end of the javelin. The user usually grabs the end without the ladle-shaped or hook-shaped support with one hand, and throws the javelin with the upper arm and wrist. It is easy to reach an initial velocity of 150km/h.

Obsidian Spearhead

Source: Wikipedia

Spear Thrower

Source: Wikipedia

The weapons used by the Aztecs also included darts and javelins made of obsidian, and the melee weapon used on a large scale was the maquahuitl, a wooden handheld weapon with an obsidian tip. It is composed of a long rectangular wooden body with a handle at one end for easy grip; and the long rectangular part is surrounded by a circle of sharpened obsidian blocks, and the sharp obsidian tip can scratch the enemy well.

Marco Vettel

Source: Wikipedia

Obsidian is harder than steel and therefore sharper, but it is easily worn and broken, requiring frequent repairs. Overall, its effectiveness is unlikely to match that of iron weapons.

Nowadays, obsidian is mainly worn as jewelry , mainly in the form of Pixiu and bracelets. According to its color and composition, it can be classified into pure black, ice type, rainbow eye, golden obsidian, etc. Pure black obsidian is bright black throughout and is the most common type; ice type obsidian has good light transmittance and is transparent under natural light; rainbow eye refers to the ability to see colored reflections under light; golden obsidian, as the name suggests, is obsidian with gold. In a few medical fields, obsidian is used as a scalpel because its sharpness causes less bleeding in wounds.