Just a short note to share with you one of the many wonders I stumbled upon at the British Museum yesterday. This is an Inuit Lance Head, displayed in the Enlightenment Gallery (in the King’s Library). It was collected in Greenland in 1811 by John Ross while searching for the North West Passage.
Inuit meteorite-tipped spear (British Museum Enlightenment Gallery)
What’s significant about this is the metal tip, which is formed not from man-made iron or steel, but from meteorite material that dropped from the sky. The whole story is here in more detail at the British Museum website.
I hadn’t thought about this rather obvious application, so the piece was doubly impressive and, while the lance tip is relatively young, much earlier examples have been found around the world that pre-date iron-making technology. The rarity of the source ensured knives and other objects fashioned from meteorites carried special value and were likely reserved for ceremonial use.
If you fancy one of these, the modern equivalent is still being made today.
Modern meteorite knife (Credit: Arizonaskiesmeteorites.com)
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Since the mid 1980s, I've worked in university and industrial research, as a manager and editor in technology and environment for an international industry association, and held senior business development, strategy, and procurement posts in industry. I hold a PhD in chemical engineering from Birmingham University, an MBA from Warwick University Business School, and an MSc in Science Communication from Imperial College. In 2008, I left industry to focus full-time on my passion for science and technology, and to share that enthusiasm with others as a freelance science communicator. I live in London with my wife Erin.
Contact me at timjones(at)communicatescience.com or through the tab above.
