Dragonglass from 'Game of Thrones' inspired by the obsidian valued by humans for millennia

Dragonglass is a valuable material in the “Game of Thrones” franchise — but its real-world counterpart, obsidian, has been prized, gathered and traded by humans for thousands of years. When archaeologists analyze the chemical compounds of obsidian artifacts, they can trace their origins, giving them insight into the travels of ancient people.

Andrew Zipkin, an archaeologist and postdoctoral research associate at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at ASU, discusses the importance of obsidian and how archaeologists collect and study it.

“It’s easy to source obsidian and determine where it came from, but that’s only the first step, because that’s chemistry, not archaeology,” said Zipkin. “The ultimate goal is to understand what motivated these people to collect it from that location.”

Read the full article to learn more.