Jadeitite

Jadeitite is a metamorphic rock found in blueschist-grade metamorphic terranes. It is found in isolated metasomatically altered rock units within serpentinite associated with subduction zone environments. Jadeitite consists almost entirely of the pyroxene mineral jadeite and is typically mined as a source of the ornamental rock or gemstone, jade. Occurrences include Myanmar, Guatemala, Japan, Kazakhstan and in the Coast Ranges of western North America.

Over 100 axe heads made from jadeitite quarried in northern Italy in the Neolithic era have been found across the British Isles.^[1]^[2] Because of the difficulty of working this material, all the axe heads of this type found are thought to have been non-utilitarian and to have represented some form of currency or be the products of gift exchange.^[3]

References

Notes

^ "Jadeite axe". British Museum. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
^ "Jadeite axe-head". Wiltshire Museum. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
^ Barker, Graeme (1999). Companion encyclopedia of archaeology. New York: Routledge. p. 378. ISBN 0-415-21329-0.

Sources

Harlow, G.E., Jadeitites, albitites and related rocks from the Motagua Fault Zone, Guatemala, Journal of Metamorphic Geology 12 (1), 49–68 (1994)
Sorensen et al., "The origin of jadeitite-forming subduction-zone fluids: CL-guided SIMS oxygen-isotope and trace-element evidence", American Mineralogist, Volume 91, pages 979–996 (2006)
Sorensen, S. S, "Geochemistry of a Jadeitite-Serpentine Contact, Guatemala" Archived 2016-03-07 at the Wayback Machine, Geological Society of America (GSA) 2005 Annual Meeting
"Guatemala's Olmec Jade", Geotimes, August 2002

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[1] "Jadeite axe". British Museum. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.

[2] "Jadeite axe-head". Wiltshire Museum. Retrieved 11 September 2016.

[3] Barker, Graeme (1999). Companion encyclopedia of archaeology. New York: Routledge. p. 378. ISBN 0-415-21329-0.

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v t e Types of rocks
Igneous rock	Adakite Andesite Alkali feldspar granite Anorthosite Aplite Basalt Alkali basalt Picrite basalt Basaltic trachyandesite Mugearite Shoshonite Basanite Blairmorite Boninite Carbonatite Charnockite Enderbite Dacite Diabase Diorite Napoleonite Dunite Essexite Foidolite Gabbro Granite Granodiorite Granophyre Harzburgite Hornblendite Hyaloclastite Icelandite Ignimbrite Ijolite Kimberlite Komatiite Lamproite Lamprophyre Latite Lherzolite Monzogranite Monzonite Nepheline syenite Nephelinite Norite Obsidian Pegmatite Peridotite Phonolite Phonotephrite Porphyry Pumice Pyroxenite Quartz diorite Quartz monzonite Quartzolite Rhyodacite Rhyolite Comendite Pantellerite Scoria Shonkinite Sovite Syenite Tachylyte Tephriphonolite Tephrite Tonalite Trachyandesite Benmoreite Trachybasalt Hawaiite Trachyte Troctolite Trondhjemite Tuff Websterite Wehrlite
Sedimentary rock	Argillite Arkose Banded iron formation Breccia Calcarenite Chalk Chert Claystone Coal Conglomerate Coquina Diamictite Diatomite Dolomite Evaporite Flint Geyserite Greywacke Gritstone Itacolumite Jaspillite Laterite Lignite Limestone Lumachelle Marl Mudstone Oil shale Oolite Phosphorite Sandstone Shale Siltstone Sylvinite Tillite Travertine Tufa Turbidite Varve Wackestone
Metamorphic rock	Anthracite Amphibolite Blueschist Cataclasite Eclogite Gneiss Granulite Greenschist Hornfels Calcflinta Itabirite Litchfieldite Marble Migmatite Mylonite Metapelite Metapsammite Phyllite Pseudotachylite Quartzite Schist Serpentinite Skarn Slate Suevite Talc carbonate Soapstone Tectonite Whiteschist
Specific varieties	Adamellite Appinite Aphanite Borolanite Blue Granite Epidosite Felsite Flint Ganister Gossan Hyaloclastite Ijolite Jadeitite Jasperoid Kenyte Lapis lazuli Larvikite Litchfieldite Llanite Luxullianite Mangerite Novaculite Pietersite Pyrolite Rapakivi granite Rhomb porphyry Rodingite Shonkinite Taconite Tachylite Teschenite Theralite Unakite Variolite Wad