Lecture Series: Rocks Now & Then

MKD Designs

Lecture Series

Rocks: Now & Then

Many people believe that rocks are the most prevalent things in the Universe; either by weight, by volume or by logic. Actually, they are the fourth most common substance: falling behind dark energy, dark matter and the number of unused brain cells in a high school classroom during a math test. However, if you happen to be out in space, rocks would be the most likely things you would find whizzing around you because there are a bunch of them out there. If you are out in space and happen to see dark energy or dark matter instead, notify your publisher immediately that you are ready to write the prequel to "What Happened" (and concentrate on those math questions!).

History of Jewelry Making

Actually all of the rocks that we are most familiar with come from our planet, Earth, which is, itself, a big rock: 7927 miles in diameter and weighing 7 sextillion tons, give or take a sextillion (and it's more fun to take a sextillion than it is to give one, don't let anyone kid you). The Earth has a nickel-iron core, molten layer in the outer core, and several progressively lighter rock layers toward the surface layer which is composed of granite rock. It is within the outer granite layer of the Earth that the majority of commercial minerals and gemstones are found. There are about 1,500 species of minerals which are natural, inorganic materials containing a three-dimensional pattern of atoms and a regular internal structure. Most rocks are aggregates of minerals and/or glass. Gemstones are specific mineral specimens that have been extracted from rocks and fashioned because of their beauty, rarity and durability. Additionally, gems and jewelry may be created from organic origin items such as pearls (from oysters), amber (sap from trees) and coral (aquatic plants), or made from glass and synthetic materials.

Gemstones & Their Magic

When pre-man first climbed out of the trees, he used rocks only as throwing weapons and conking weapons. In fact, his military arsenal consisted primarily of rocks and sticks which he eventually learned to tie together to make hatchets and arrows once menue viande took hold. Conking weapons could be used to get a date, while throwing weapons were used to bring home that other white meat. There were surely pet rocks which early man retained for their beauty or because they produced a good kill, but rocks weren't used extensively for ornamentation. For millions of years of our evolution, the tools and expertise did not exist to fashion rocks into jewelry. The art of drilling a hole was not applied to inanimate objects.

The earliest known jewelry was made from organic materials such as bone and shells. Recently shells from antiquity have been found in the Skhul rock shelter in Israel that are more than 100,000 years old. These shells were brought to the cave a long distance away from the seashore and fashioned into jewelry. This archeological find challenges the traditional view hypothesis that modern Homo Sapiens underwent a significant artistic and creativity change about 50,000 years ago which led to jewelry adornment. It seems that artistic creativity, demonstrated by fashioning jewelry for adornment & mating rituals, has existed in man for at least the last 100,000 years. Artistic adornment is believed to be linked to greater symbolic thinking capabilities in man and is thought to have precipitated man's migration out of Africa.

As man has evolved these symbolic thinking and artistic capabilities, jewelry has become a more varied, beautiful and significant an aspect of life. Jewelry making has existed as an industry for at least the last 5,000 years. During this time man & his mate have continuously made and worn jewelry for the following reasons:

wealth display
precious gem storage
functional uses such as clasps and pins
symbolism (to reflect status in a community)
artistic display & allurement
religious symbolism
mythological traditions
spiritual beliefs
medicinal effects.