If you're in to this sort of thing:
Scientists are currently trying to determine the origin of a mysterious jade artifact recently discovered.
According to the reserachers this finding is very puzzling because the rock has never been described in the archaeological record of the region.
So, where does it come from? Researchers are uncertain and say the discovery is geochemically extraordinary!
This extremely unusual example of jade was found by an international team of archaeologists and geologists in the Southwest Pacific, thousands of miles away from the nearest known geological source.
The small green artifact is about 3,300 years old and has a chemical composition that is unlike any other described jade. Found during an archaeological excavation on a coral island in Papua New Guinea, the rock is thought to have been used as a wood gouge by the people living there.
But where did it come from? The researchers, from the American Museum of Natural History, the University of Otago (New Zealand), and the University of Papua New Guinea, address this question in an upcoming special issue of the European Journal of Mineralogy on jadeitite, the rock that defines one type of jade.
Jade is a general term for two extremely tough rocks—jadeite jade (jadeitite) and nephrite jade, each composed almost entirely from a single mineral.
more
Mysterious Jade Artifact Of Unknown Origin Puzzles Scientists - MessageToEagle.com
Scientists are currently trying to determine the origin of a mysterious jade artifact recently discovered.
According to the reserachers this finding is very puzzling because the rock has never been described in the archaeological record of the region.
So, where does it come from? Researchers are uncertain and say the discovery is geochemically extraordinary!
This extremely unusual example of jade was found by an international team of archaeologists and geologists in the Southwest Pacific, thousands of miles away from the nearest known geological source.
The small green artifact is about 3,300 years old and has a chemical composition that is unlike any other described jade. Found during an archaeological excavation on a coral island in Papua New Guinea, the rock is thought to have been used as a wood gouge by the people living there.
But where did it come from? The researchers, from the American Museum of Natural History, the University of Otago (New Zealand), and the University of Papua New Guinea, address this question in an upcoming special issue of the European Journal of Mineralogy on jadeitite, the rock that defines one type of jade.
Jade is a general term for two extremely tough rocks—jadeite jade (jadeitite) and nephrite jade, each composed almost entirely from a single mineral.
more
Mysterious Jade Artifact Of Unknown Origin Puzzles Scientists - MessageToEagle.com
