![]() ![]() It may be that some of the objects were bought in or were acquired by nominees buying on behalf of Joseph Mayer (1803-86) and a consortium of Liverpool businessmen (Gibson, 1988: 11). ![]() In an annotated sale catalogue in the British Library the group of three mosaics is shown as having been acquired by what appears to be a Mr Roussey or Roussell for 14 guineas (the handwriting is difficult to read). The three turquoise items (mask, knife and skull) also appear in the catalogue of Hertz’s first Sotheby’s sale (Sotheby & Wilkinson, 1854) which took place in May 1854. Hertz published a catalogue of his collection (Hertz, 1851) – possibly the first appearance of the mosaics in print since the 17th century – and in this (Hertz, 1851: iii) reference is made to the collection having been acquired “within the last twenty years”. Carmichael, Turquoise Mosaics from Mexico (London, British Museum, 1970) p. An account of the provenance of these objects is given in a letter from Hertz, who had settled in London in the 1830s, dated ‘5 February 1858’ but (Dept of Asia, WWII archive) more probably written in 1859 at a time when Christy was contemplating their purchase at a forthcoming sale. 1794) and subsequently bequeathed to the Museum by Henry Christy (1810-65) q.v. 399, Mask Am St.400, Human skull Am St.401) acquired by the dealer and collector Bram Hertz (b. This item is part of group of three turquoises (Sacrificial Knife Am St. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.Acquisition notes For details on Christy's purchase of Am,St.399-401, see King et al. Torrence, R., Production and Exchange of Stone Tools. 33.Īdvances in Obsidian Glass Studies: Archaeological and Geochemical Perspectives (R.E. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1995, p. American Inventions: A Chronicle of Achievements that Changed the World. Stocker, T., A Technological Mystery Resolved. I'm John Lienhard, at the University of Houston, where we're interested in the way inventive minds work. It tells me, as surely as history does, why the Aztecs continued to write their story in this hard, hypnotic, even magical stuff, when simple reason would've preferred gray steel. It catches the light and rewards the touch. ![]() It's smooth and inky black, carved from Mexican obsidian. It's possible to read the age of artifacts by seeing how far that process has gone. Once fractured, obsidian slowly reacts to water in a chemical process called hydration. For obsidian carries the imprint of its own past. The sublime irony of that is, we now use Aztec obsidian to reconstruct that history. They conquered the Aztecs and tried to erase their history. Then the Spanish came with their steel guns, swords, and cannon. What need could there be for a replacement material? The Aztecs didn't develop their use of metal because they couldn't see beyond obsidian. So obsidian became woven into Aztec worship as well as Aztec function. Now we find that being cut with obsidian is less painful than you'd think, because it makes such a sharp edge. For a long time, historians have marveled at the amount of ceremonial self-mutilation the Aztecs underwent. They were murderous weapons for cutting an enemy. Anthropologists now think the huge and mysterious pre-Aztec city of Teotihuacan, near Mexico City, was the center of an obsidian industry.Īztec swords were made with rows of small obsidian teeth. Southern Mexico was richly endowed with obsidian. Once artisans had shaped cutting tools from bronze, they had reason to give up obsidian. For the early Greeks and Egyptians, obsidian was a profitable medium of trade, not so easily available. By splitting it, you can create murderously sharp blades. It's harder than steel, and it fractures smoothly. Obsidian is a naturally-occurring glass, usually black and opaque. And the Aztecs had obsidian for their axes and knives. When you already have a fine technology, you don't see beyond it. So: why didn't the Aztecs ever emerge from the stone age? Why did such a remarkably advanced people make such limited use of metal? Anthropologist Terry Stocker offers a troubling answer. Why aren't we doing the right thing today - whatever that might be? Why didn't the Chinese, with all their inventions, produce the industrial revolution? Why didn't the Romans ever make full use of water wheels? Why was Europe 400 years behind China in printing with movable type? All those questions come back upon the present, of course. One question that torments historians of technology is the "Why didn't?" question. ![]() The University of Houston's College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them. Today, we ask why the Aztecs didn't make full use of metal. ![]()
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