[meteorite-list] Tibetanites

[MexicoDoug 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