Paleolithic man, beginning 400,000 years ago, used numerous varieties of minerals: Chalcedony, quartz, rock crystal, serpentine, obsidian, pyrite, jasper, steatite, amber, jadeite, calcite, amethyst, and fluorspar. Later ochres of mineral paints were utilized. The Neolithic (or New Stone Age) period marks a development of human technology, beginning about 9,500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the World [45], in which man became acquainted with gold and copper, he also used pyrite, sillimanite, and turquois [46].
Lapis Lasuli was cherished thousands of years ago by the peoples of Mesopotamia (where the blue stone symbolized the heavens and was used to decorate the ceilings of temples), Persia, Greece and Rome. In Egypt, it was used to adorn statues of the gods. Lapis was first mined 6,000 years ago. In those days, the stones were mined in what is now Afghanistan. In other cultures, Lapis lazuli was also worshipped as a holy stone. In far Eastern countries, Lapis was considered to be a gemstone with magical powers. Numerous seals, rings, scarabs, and other objects were crafted from the blue stone (for more information see [47]).
The discovery, exploitation, ownership, and barter of minerals is very important in the cultural development of Man, such as in the past when the use of gemstone, nonmetallic minerals, and metallic minerals changed the life forms and styles of peoples. In history, Egyptian and Greek cultures discovered and praised minerals and gaining multiple capabilities by using them the right way. This way, during thousands of years, large portions of the human culture have used the mineral power to enhance their traditions, history and meanings.
The use and mining of gemstones reached a high art among the early Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Indian cultures. It was not just a matter of culture, but also a central part of economic development.
The only mineral of Afghanistan that is familiar for its cultural use, is lapis lazuli, as it was an economic commodity in the ancient Egyptian culture. Lapis lazuli is very famous because of its blue color, and even today it is extracted in Afghanistan, but by very ignorant and brutal methods and only to be used for decorations, cf. Figure A above.
The importance of minerals today is paramount - they are central in the production of almost every product. But some governments like Afghan governors do not know that the production of everything from food to clothing, and even housing construction and transport and liquid medicine, army tools, etc. are all depending upon the minerals.
Already tens of years ago the United States government developed many controls, subsidies, and agencies designed for the conservation of natural resources, encouragement of research and production of mineral deposits, stockpiling of strategic minerals, and other efforts to provide an adequate supply of minerals for defense, private industry, and consumption [48].
If we need to know the effect and power of minerals in our everyday life, it may be enough to remember the historical periods and the mineral operations developed during human civilization and how it changed with the minerals, such as the Stone Age changed to the Copper Age when man began hammering tools out of native copper. This age long preceded the Bronze Age, when Mesopotamians learned that instead of adding arsenic to copper to form the earliest bronze, adding a little tin to a lot of copper made a much harder metal, which we call bronze. If you would like to know more about when which mineral was extracted, see table (2-1) in ([46]).
Now, if Afghanistan sold all their mines, as Mr. Wahidullah Sharani (Mining Minister of Afghanistan 2011) would have us do, it would also sell all the future of the Afghan people. And even if the price was sky high, as the corrupted government wants, what would it imply for the progress of Afghanistan?
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[45] P. Bellwood, First Farmers: The origins of agricultural societies (2004), pp. 68-69.
[46] Jensen, Mead L. & Alan M. Bateman, 1981. Economic Mineral Deposits 3rd edition, New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
[47] http://www.canequest.com/lapis.asp.
[48] Politics and Geology, H. Andrew Ireland, Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science (1903-),Vol. 67, No. 2 (Summer, 1964), pp. 288-295, (article consists of 8 pages). Published by: Kansas Academy of Science . Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3626660.
afgeopol@gmail.com
Lapis Lasuli was cherished thousands of years ago by the peoples of Mesopotamia (where the blue stone symbolized the heavens and was used to decorate the ceilings of temples), Persia, Greece and Rome. In Egypt, it was used to adorn statues of the gods. Lapis was first mined 6,000 years ago. In those days, the stones were mined in what is now Afghanistan. In other cultures, Lapis lazuli was also worshipped as a holy stone. In far Eastern countries, Lapis was considered to be a gemstone with magical powers. Numerous seals, rings, scarabs, and other objects were crafted from the blue stone (for more information see [47]).
The discovery, exploitation, ownership, and barter of minerals is very important in the cultural development of Man, such as in the past when the use of gemstone, nonmetallic minerals, and metallic minerals changed the life forms and styles of peoples. In history, Egyptian and Greek cultures discovered and praised minerals and gaining multiple capabilities by using them the right way. This way, during thousands of years, large portions of the human culture have used the mineral power to enhance their traditions, history and meanings.
The use and mining of gemstones reached a high art among the early Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Indian cultures. It was not just a matter of culture, but also a central part of economic development.
The only mineral of Afghanistan that is familiar for its cultural use, is lapis lazuli, as it was an economic commodity in the ancient Egyptian culture. Lapis lazuli is very famous because of its blue color, and even today it is extracted in Afghanistan, but by very ignorant and brutal methods and only to be used for decorations, cf. Figure A above.
The importance of minerals today is paramount - they are central in the production of almost every product. But some governments like Afghan governors do not know that the production of everything from food to clothing, and even housing construction and transport and liquid medicine, army tools, etc. are all depending upon the minerals.
Already tens of years ago the United States government developed many controls, subsidies, and agencies designed for the conservation of natural resources, encouragement of research and production of mineral deposits, stockpiling of strategic minerals, and other efforts to provide an adequate supply of minerals for defense, private industry, and consumption [48].
If we need to know the effect and power of minerals in our everyday life, it may be enough to remember the historical periods and the mineral operations developed during human civilization and how it changed with the minerals, such as the Stone Age changed to the Copper Age when man began hammering tools out of native copper. This age long preceded the Bronze Age, when Mesopotamians learned that instead of adding arsenic to copper to form the earliest bronze, adding a little tin to a lot of copper made a much harder metal, which we call bronze. If you would like to know more about when which mineral was extracted, see table (2-1) in ([46]).
Now, if Afghanistan sold all their mines, as Mr. Wahidullah Sharani (Mining Minister of Afghanistan 2011) would have us do, it would also sell all the future of the Afghan people. And even if the price was sky high, as the corrupted government wants, what would it imply for the progress of Afghanistan?
---
[45] P. Bellwood, First Farmers: The origins of agricultural societies (2004), pp. 68-69.
[46] Jensen, Mead L. & Alan M. Bateman, 1981. Economic Mineral Deposits 3rd edition, New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
[47] http://www.canequest.com/lapis.asp.
[48] Politics and Geology, H. Andrew Ireland, Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science (1903-),Vol. 67, No. 2 (Summer, 1964), pp. 288-295, (article consists of 8 pages). Published by: Kansas Academy of Science . Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3626660.
afgeopol@gmail.com
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