Obsidian flake from 45,000-yeal-old tool discovered in Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Researcher and archaeological scientist Ellery Frahm has published a picture of a tiny, prehistoric obsidian flake discovered in Armenia.

"It might not be the prettiest artifact from Ararat 1 Cave, but my chemical tests in our field lab established that this tiny obsidian flake was removed in order to resharpen a stone tool that, about 45,000 years ago, had been carried more than 200 km," Frahm said on Twitter.

Ararat 1 is a new Palaeolithic cave in Ararat Depression in Armenia.

Frahm's team earlier found another minuscule obsidian projectile, most likely dating to the Chalcolithic period, on the first day of their excavations at the cave. The obsidian comes from Geghasar volcano — 40 km away linearly, but farther on foot.

On Tuesday, July 12, scientists shared the image of what he described as "the prettiest artifact so far from Ararat 1 Cave.

"It’s a Chalcolithic (post-Paleolithic and post-Neolithic) obsidian leaf-shaped point with one end broken off — it would’ve originally been more symmetrical before it broke long ago," he wrote.