“Obsidian Objects at the World’s Columbian Exposition”
Joseph Valdez, En Hui Zou (Penn SEAS)

The obsidian objects on display at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 aimed to showcase Japan’s cultural past. The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology received as a gift nine obsidian objects, believed to date from the Jōmon Period (10,000-400 BC). The objects are semi-translucent with random flaking and serrated edges (arrowheads uncertain). There are systematic data sets by Ono (1992), Kuzmin/M. Izuho (2007), and Phillips (2010), which have identified regions in Hokkaido used for obtaining obsidian. The two locations are Shirataki and Oketo, which are also identified as possible trade routes. Penn Earth and Environmental Sciences Department lab coordinator Dr. Vann tested our nine objects with a bench PANalytical Epsilon 1. Compared with previous datasets, our data indicate a possible match in northern Hokkaido. The distribution of obsidian types varies spatially over time, leading up to the Jōmon period.