Red jasper block

3D Model

Red jasper is a sedimentary rock that derives from the accumulation on the bottom of the Jurassic Ligurian-Piedmont Ocean of the siliceous skeletons of planktonic unicellular marine microorganisms, known as radiolarians, visible at the microscope.

From this rock prehistoric men made chipped stone tools, especially arrowheads. This block, whicj is parte of the DISTAV collections at the University of Genoa, comes from the Lagorara Valley, an area where it is still possible to observe the extraction surfaces as they were abandoned by the ancient quarrymen. Jasper quarries have been mainly exploited since the 4th millennium BC. corresponding to the Copper Age up to part of the Bronze Age. From the quarry, prehistoric man extracted the raw material to make chipped stone tools, in particular arrowheads.

This model was realized by Glenda Cantale and Bahareh Chichahi during the Universal Civil Service (SCU) at the Genoa University