gems, ancient gemology, ancient jewelry, early metallurgy, India, Indus, green stones, green grossular, hydrogrossular, jade

Hitherto it has commonly been supposed that the pre-Aryan peoples of India were on an altogether lower plane of civilization than their Aryan conquerors; that to the latter they were much what the Helots were to the Spartans, or the Slavs to their Byzantine overlords—a race so servile and degraded, that they were commonly known as Dasas or slaves. The picture of them gleaned from the Hymns of the Rigveda was that of black skinned, flat-nosed barbarians, as different from the fair Aryans in physical aspect as they were in speech and religion, though at the same time it was evident that they must have been rich in cattle, good fighters, and possessed of many forts in which they defended themselves against the invaders. These “forts”, however, were explained by Vedic scholars as being no more than occasional places of refuge—simple earthworks, that is to say, surrounded, may be, by palisades or rough stone walls; for, seeing that the Aryans themselves were still in the village State and that their society was in other respects correspondingly primitive, it was deemed impossible that the older races of India—the contemptible, outcast Dasas—could already have been living in well-built cities or fortresses, or in other respects have attained to a higher state of culture. Mentally, physically, socially, and religiously, their inferiority to their conquerors was taken for granted, and little or no credit was given them for the achievements of Indian civilization. Never for a moment was it imagined that five thousand years ago, before ever the Aryans were heard of, the Panjab and Sind, if not other parts of India as well, were enjoying an advanced and singularly uniform civilization of their own, closely akin but in some respects even superior to that of contemporary Mesopotamia and Egypt. Yet this is what the discoveries at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro have now placed beyond question. They exhibit the Indus peoples of the fourth and third millennia B.C., in possession of a highly developed culture in which no vestige of Indo-Aryan influence is to be found. Like the rest of Western Asia, the Indus country is still in the Chalcolithic Age—that age in which arms and utensils of stone continue to be used side by side with those of copper or bronze. Their society is organized in cities; their wealth derived mainly from agriculture and trade, which appears to have extended far and wide in all directions. They cultivate wheat and barley as well as the date palm. They have domesticated the humped zebu, buffalo, and short-horned bull, besides the sheep, pig, dog, elephant, and camel; but the cat and probably the horse are unknown to them. For transport they have wheeled vehicles, to which oxen doubtless were yoked. They are skilful metal workers, with a plentiful supply of gold, silver, and copper. Lead, too, and tin are in use, but the latter only as an alloy in the making of bronze. With spinning and weaving they are thoroughly conversant. Their weapons of war and of the chase are the bow and arrow, spear, axe, dagger, and mace. The sword they have not yet evolved; nor is there any evidence of defensive body armour. Among their other implements, hatchets, sickles, saws, chisels, and razors are made of both copper and bronze; knives and celts sometimes of these metals, sometimes of chert or other hard stones. For the crushing of grain they have the muller and saddle-quern but not the circular grindstone. Their domestic vessels are commonly of earthenware turned on the wheel and not infrequently painted with encaustic designs; more rarely they are of copper, bronze, or silver. The ornaments of the rich are made of the precious metals or of copper, sometimes overlaid with gold, of faience, ivory, carnelian, and other stones; for the poor, they are usually of shell or terra-cotta. Figurines and toys, for which there is a wide vogue, are of terra-cotta, and shell and faience are freely used, as they are in Sumer and the West generally, not only for personal ornaments but for inlay work and other purposes. With the invention of writing the Indus peoples are also familiar, and employ for this purpose a form of script which, though peculiar to India, is evidently analogous to other contemporary scripts of Western Asia and the Nearer East. Sinkankas: An account of the archaeological remains at Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley unearthed by the Government of India between 1922 and 1927. Age fixed between 3250–2750 B.C. Chalcedony in all its forms prominent among the objects and frequently display an advanced degree of lapidary skill. Other gemstone objects are made from rock crystal, amethyst, jadeite, turquoise, lapis, amazonite, steatite, alabaster, and also non-gem materials. “Not seen; my reference to source lost.”

gems, early lapidaries, early gemology, early mineralogy, topaz, etymology, Chaucer

Few suggestions have been made concerning the significance of Chaucer’s selection of Thopas as the name of the hero of his fragmentary mock-romance. But if it is true, as Professor Manly argues, that Chaucer wrote this poem as a satire upon the Flemings, then his selection of Thopas as the name of his knight was, I believe, a part of the jest. In the later Middle Ages the topaz (thopas) was quite generally believed to be an effective cure for sensuality. An Anglo-Norman prose lapidary which Studer and Evans ascribed to the thirteenth century says, describing the powers of the topaz: Ele vaut mult a une maladie ki l’em apele fi…. Ele refreidit homme et le rent plus chaste et meins luxurius. Ele deit ser en or. A French lapidary in verse, which according to Pannier is of the thirteenth century, says: Voluntiers doit porter tel pierre / Cil qui de sa char est pechiere / Por lui donter et repentir; / Homme refroide sans mentir. Another, known as the Lapidary of Philip, which dates from the fourteenth century and attained wide circulation, informs the reader that Qui ceste pierre porte, plus en aime son cors a demener chastement, et plus aime a regarder la celestial vie royal. Since a description of the topaz and its virtues given in a fourteenth-century lapidary attributed to Sir John Mandeville is brief and fairly typical, it may be quoted entire: Topace d’Arabie vient des fleuves de l’Orient; il y en a de deux manieres, et sont semblables a or vierge; l’une l’est plus que l’autre; elles valent a une maladie qu’on appelle fiel; elle sent la lune, car quand la lune doit etre pluvieuse, la pierre est relente (de mauvaise odeur), mais quand il doit faire beau temps, elle est claire et reluisante; elle refroidit l’homme, le rend plus chaste et moins luxurieux, et doit seoir en or.

jade, jadeite, fei cui, nephrite, cutting, gems

gems, ancient texts, Greek, Greece, ancient geography

Aulus Gellius’ Noctes Atticae (Attic Nights), written in the second century AD, is a miscellany of observations and extracts from Greek and Roman authors assembled from notes made during Gellius’ studies and travels. The work preserves information from many ancient writings that are now lost and ranges widely over philosophy, history, law, language, medicine, natural history, mathematics, and antiquarian lore. Vol. 1 of the Loeb edition contains Books 1–5, with the Latin text and English translation on facing pages. Of gemological interest are passages reflecting ancient beliefs about stones and other natural substances and, more broadly, the methods by which Greek and Roman writers described and explained unusual natural phenomena. Gellius frequently quotes or discusses earlier authorities, making the work valuable for tracing the transmission of classical scientific and mineralogical traditions as well as for preserving fragments of otherwise lost authors. This Loeb edition was translated by John C. Rolfe.

corundum, Afghanistan.12, gems

Herbordt surveys Afghanistan’s economically useful mineral deposits from his own observations, specimens collected during exploration, and material preserved in Kabul, placing them within a brief account of the country’s geology. [193–194] He describes gold in Badakhshan, where native miners wash river gravels, and notes reported silver and argentiferous lead deposits in the Herat region. Copper is described as widespread, occurring principally in quartz veins and mineralized schists, with occurrences near Kabul, Chilseitu, Maidan, Urusgan, Kandahar, and elsewhere; malachite, copper pyrites, limonite, and other associated minerals are recorded. [195] Iron ores, graphite-bearing rocks, asbestos, rubies, lapis lazuli, coal, bituminous rocks, and petroleum are also discussed. Of particular gemological interest, Herbordt records ruby occurrences at Jagdalak, east of Kabul, in white mica-bearing limestone or crystalline marble containing spinel and corundum; mining had previously been conducted by the Afghan government but had ceased about twelve years before his report. He also mentions another ruby occurrence in Badakhshan near the upper Amu Darya, while lapis lazuli occurs in Badakhshan on the upper Kokcha River in crystalline limestone, where large deposits had been worked for many years. [196] In his summary, Herbordt states that Afghanistan possesses widely distributed ores, minerals, and fuels, with especially rich iron ore and coal near Kabul; he specifically identifies lapis lazuli and ruby from Badakhshan as gemstones known since antiquity and notes that lapis and rubies had also been washed from gold-bearing alluvium. He concludes that Afghanistan’s immediate mining prospects were constrained by shortages of fuel, transportation difficulties, and the lack of an indigenous metallurgical industry, suggesting that easily won minerals such as mica, asbestos, lapis lazuli, and gemstones offered better prospects than large-scale metal mining. [197–198]

gems, ancient gemology, early gemology, ancient mineralogy, early trade, Rome, Romans, Greeks, ancient trade, commerce

Trade-Routes and Commerce of the Roman Empire by M. P. Charlesworth offers a comprehensive examination of the Roman Empire’s economic landscape during its first two centuries. Structured geographically, the book delves into various regions under Roman influence, including Italy, the Eastern provinces, Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, Africa, Spain, Gaul, and Britain. Charlesworth explores the intricate network of trade routes—both overland and maritime—that connected these regions, facilitating the movement of goods and cultural exchange. He also investigates Rome’s commercial interactions with distant territories such as India and China, highlighting the empire’s far-reaching economic connections. Utilizing a diverse array of ancient sources, from literary works to technical treatises, Charlesworth illuminates the complexities of Roman trade and its pivotal role in the empire’s prosperity.

gems, ancient gemology, ancient jewelry, Egypt, Egyptian jewelry, glyptic, engraved gems, Babylon, agate, chalcedony, lapis lazuli

As the goddess of love Ishtar descended into Hades in quest of her youthful lover Tammuz, she had to divest herself of her queenly attire, her crown, earrings, necklace, breastplate, bracelets and anklets, girdle of precious stones; and when she passed the seventh gate, she was nude. For such is the rule of Hades. This old Babylonian legend embodies some historical facts so far as jewels are concerned. Nearly all these jewels and a few more are found in a tablet from Nippur dated in the 5th year of the Cassite King Nazimaruttash, about B.C. 1300. The tablet is not complete. There must be an interval of four to five lines between the two portions preserved. The left corner is broken off. The tablet contains a catalogue of over 125 jewels in gold and precious stones, chalcedony, lapis-lazuli, agate, etc. They rank from caskets all gold, or with stones inlaid, down to necklaces, bracelets, anklets, seal-cylinders in gold mounting, eyes of stone in gold mounting, breastplates, earrings, tablet mould and tongue of gold. They were brought over from Nippur and Dur-Kurigalzu to a third place Ardi-Bêlit, the last two being only parts of the same town of Nippur. The tablet itself does not state under what circumstances the removal was made. But the information supplied by the excavations and the Tell El-Amarna letters, the official correspondence between the Cassite kings of this period and the rulers of Egypt, will help us to realize the importance of this gold treasure.

gems general

Schaller argues at the outset that there is no valid scientific distinction between “precious” and “semiprecious” stones, since beauty, rarity, hardness, price, and fashion provide no consistent basis for such a division. The report then reviews U.S. gem production for 1916, valued at $217,793, an increase of 28% over 1915, with corundum, quartz, tourmaline, and turquoise accounting for most of the output. Montana again ranked first, chiefly through sapphire production, followed by California, while 34 mineral species and 79 named gem varieties were reported from 27 states. Detailed notes cover beryl, Arkansas and California diamonds, including a 1.48-carat diamond from Indiana, newly reported dumortierite deposits in New Mexico and Nevada, garnet, quartz varieties, tourmaline, and turquoise. The report also describes the gem-bearing pegmatites and tourmaline deposits of southern California and a National Museum exhibit illustrating their geology and mineral assemblages. Imports of precious stones excluding pearls were valued at $38.93 million, nearly recovering to prewar levels, and the paper concludes with a selected bibliography of recent gemological literature.

gems, Ceylon, Sri Lanka, Roman Empire, trade, navigation

Schoff examines maritime communication between the Mediterranean, India, Ceylon, Southeast Asia and China during the Roman Empire, arguing that trade expanded greatly between the first and third centuries CE through exploitation of the seasonal monsoon winds. He reconstructs the sea routes from Egypt through the Red Sea to southern India and Ceylon and onward across the Bay of Bengal, comparing Graeco-Roman accounts with Indian literature, coinage and Chinese records. Ceylon appears as an important link in this maritime network, connecting western commerce with routes extending farther east. Of gemological interest, Schoff notes that gold, silver and precious stones came from Yunnan and describes Indian literary evidence for an active jewelry trade in which craftsmen examined pearls, topazes, sapphires, beryls, rubies, lapis lazuli and coral, set rubies in gold, strung pearls and cut lapis lazuli. He concludes that Roman ships regularly reached the Tamil kingdoms and Ceylon, but voyages by Roman vessels into the Bay of Bengal and China Sea were exceptionally rare; much Roman geographical knowledge of the Far East therefore depended on hearsay transmitted through Indian and other Asian mariners.

gems, jade, jadeite, fei cui, Mesoamerica, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mayans, Olmecs, Aztecs, archaeology, history, archaeogemology, Pre-Columbian jade; Costa Rica; Maya; exchange; iconography, lapidary

The study of Maya art, here presented, is based upon a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy submitted May 1, 1909, at Harvard University. While the matter has expanded greatly under further study, the thesis as presented contained an exposition of the chronological sequence of the monuments, which the writer considers the most noteworthy contribution, as well as chapters on the analysis of the designs and the principles of the architecture. It was thought wise to present the portion relating to the historical development of art at Copán before the Congress of Americanists at Mexico City in September 1910; otherwise the subject matter has not been given to the public. The attempt has been made to be precise and exoteric in the discussion of this most involved subject. It is with gratitude that the writer acknowledges his indebtedness to the many persons who have aided and encouraged him in this work. The inception of this research took place in Anthropology 9, a course on Mexican and Central American archaeology offered at Harvard University by Dr. A. M. Tozzer. Its continuance has been largely due to the support and cooperation of the small band of students of Maya culture headed by Mr. C. P. Bowditch. Thanks are also due to Mrs. Zelia Nuttall of Mexico City, to Mr. E. H. Thompson of Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, and to Mrs. W. M. James of Mérida, Yucatán, as well as to many other persons in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. In the revision of the manuscript the writer received valued assistance from Dr. Tozzer. For the revision of the proof he is indebted to Professor Putnam and to Miss Mead, and to the latter also for the preparation of the index. Mr. C. C. Willoughby has given his kind attention to the preparation of the plates and to the making of the blocks for the illustrations in the text. The map of the region covered by the Maya civilization was drawn by Mr. L. M. Hendrick, Jr., according to data compiled from several sources. Since his connection with the American Museum of Natural History, the writer has been greatly indebted to his superiors in the Museum, who have done everything in their power to further his labours in this field.