[meteorite-list] Tibetanites

From: MexicoDoug_at_aol.com <MexicoDoug_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue Sep 27 14:40:15 2005
Message-ID: <8b.309ed4d3.306aebe7_at_aol.com>

Dirk R. wrote:

>I will not sell anything labeled as a "Tibetian" tektite until I or another
>scientist finds one

Hola Dirk, Michael et.al.,

This is one of those fine lines of relating to "authenticity". I personally
feel there is nothing wrong with calling the tektites Tibetan tektites, if
there is good reason to believe that they were found there. With all due
respect, the Chinese don't have a monopoly on being dishonest or clever phonies
in business dealings. I think many of us from many cultures are qualified to
speak on that subject...You should see the fabricated iron complete with 1/4
inch fused glass and rainbow metallic colors from a semi-molten scenario in a
kiln - bonded around it I just looked at here...but that is another
story...I'd stick to the science and not prejudge anything without REAL evidence
EITHER way...

We have Indochinites, Chinese tektites, Malaysian tektites, Javanites, etc.,
all refering to "Indochinites" a.k.a. the Asian tektites' event. It happens
all the time with known meteorite falls. If someone wants to call their
meteorite a meteorite from Olympia Heights instead of their Park Forest
meteorite found in Olympia Heights, and they are honest there shouldn't be much of a
problem. It is nice to know that it was part of the Park Forest fall,
though! You may be right in suspecting clever profiteers...but you may be wrong,
too, because that, also is an assumption which has no proof, just a suspicious
mind that may have been burnt once too many. Let's keep an even hand on
this. Since this is a locality issue, and there is no body like the
Meteoritical Society to standardize the names of those glasses, if I had some, I would
make sure the info that they are "Tibetan tektites" weren't lost, and if I
passed them along to anyone, I would also feel obligated to tell them ... well
... The whole story - or however our favorite reporter would call the whole
poop.
 
My bloub would be:

"Tibetan tektites" are the tektites claimed to be found in Tibet and
familiar to some monks in modern times who appreciate their tektite appearance.
They generally resemble the Indochinites (Asian Tektites) and vouchers have
apparently been analyzed and shown to be the same age as Indochinites (780,000
years old), and are chemically, apparently, indistingushible from Indochinites
based on heresay comments among analytical tektite scientists (reference -
has anything been actually published here?). For several years we have been
expecting a scientific publication regarding the Tibetan tektites and
identification of their locality, but so far none have been published. If the
locality is eventually validated in the scientific community, it would provide an
plausible northern extension of area of the already very large Asian tektite
Strewn Field, and environmental factors could conceivably give these tektites
unique characteristics that so far have not been studied or demonstrated in
peer reviewed literature."
Saludos, Doug
 
Received on Tue 27 Sep 2005 02:39:35 PM PDT