They then performed the same tests on obsidian samples obtained on loan from the University of Missouri, which included rock mined from four separate ancient Aztec quarries in southern and central Mexico.Īs the archaeologists explain in an article in the journal Antiquity, this comparison between geochemical signatures closed the case. With a high-tech piece of equipment known as a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer, they were able to create a detailed geochemical profile for each of the four obsidian mirrors they studied. To confirm their authenticity, University of Manchester archaeologists Stuart Campbell and Elizabeth Healey performed a geochemical analysis of the obsidian used to make the mirrors. Codex Tepetlaoztoc (Codex Kingsborough) (© The Trustees of the British Museum / Antiquity Publications Ltd ). 80 Days of Cuitlahuac: The Unforgettable Impact of a Late Aztec EmperorĪztec depictions of obsidian mirrors.John Dee: 16th Century Scholar, Astrologer, and Occult Practitioner.They could have been replicas made in Europe, and later incorrectly passed off as actual Aztec artifacts. But there was no direct proof they had come from Mexico or had been made by Aztec artisans. This was confirmed by extensive Aztec imagery that features drawings of these mysterious black mirrors, often in association with the Aztec deity Tezcatlipoca. There was never any question that the mirrors at the British Museum were made based on Aztec designs. The John Dee obsidian mirror (artifact 1) (S. Macuahuitl: Aztec Wooden ‘Paddles’ Are Obsidian Swords, Sharper Than Steel.Religion of the Aztecs: Keeping the Balance in an Unpredictable and Terrifying World.These artifacts were apparently shipped back to Europe from the New World in the 16th century, along with many other items that were either obtained through trade or seized as plunder during the Spanish conquest of Mexico and the Aztec Empire (1519-1521). It is featured in the Museum’s Enlightenment Gallery, and it shares a display space with two very similar circular mirrors and one rectangular mirror that were all believed to be of Aztec origin. John Dee’s circular black obsidian mirror, which is approximately 7.5 inches (19 centimeters) in diameter, was first acquired by the British Museum in 1966. After completing a high-tech geochemical analysis of this object, the archaeologists were able to confirm that the mirror in question did come from Mexico, and was in fact manufactured by a skilled Aztec artisan. Of special interest was a shiny black obsidian mirror, which belonged to the famed 16th century magician, scientist, court advisor, and occult devotee John Dee. Archaeologists from the University of Manchester have just completed a new analysis of several alleged Aztec artifacts currently on display at the British Museum in London.
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