Polished obsidian mirror
Espejo de obsidiana pulida
- Date
- c. 6000 BCE · confidence high
- Place
- Çatalhöyük, Konya, Turkey
- Credited to
- Neolithic communities of central Anatolia
- Field
- Communication
What it is
Obsidian discs with one face polished to a mirror-like shine, placed in women's graves. The first manufactured optical instrument: a controlled reflective surface.
What it led to
- Self-contemplation and care of personal appearance as a social practice
- Demand for Cappadocian obsidian and long-distance trade
- The basis of the reflective-surface idea, later taken up in copper and bronze mirrors
Built on
- Obsidian knapping and polishing
- Sand abrasion
Made possible
- Copper mirror
- Bronze mirror