Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology => Topic started by: Zwietracht on 06/11/2010 21:30:29
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I have two of these stones. They were found in TN, my mother's boyfriend found them and gave them to me. I'm just curious to know what they are, as I've never seen them before.
At first glance, you'd think they were black, but when you look closely, you find they're a deep, dark red, with lighter red areas near the surface. It has very jagged recessions and points on it, facets catch light and almost "sparkle".
I tried to take a decent picture, though you can't see the red in it very well:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/DarklingIListen/100_0747.jpg
Thanks for any help anyone can provide.
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Is there a way you can get a bit closer shot and change the lighting a bit...? It reminds me of obsidian..Lava Rock...
Ok, lets see if this is any better....
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Well no bigger but its here on site.. I could not get it any larger myself...LOL
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I don't think there would be much obsidian in that area. I have heard a lot about fossils from Tenn and would go with bituminous coal but it is hard to tell from the pictures.
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I agree with Karen.
The easy way to tell whether it's coal or obsidian is to scratch it with a knife- the coal will scratch easily and the obsidian will not.
Also, the coal will leave a black streak and will burn.
Native Americans used to trade obsidian extensively- pieces of western obsidian have been found all the way to the east coast.