![]() ![]() Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) compiled the Naturalis Historia (Natural History) from a reported two thousand sources. The Roman author and historian Gaius Plinius Secundus, a.k.a. The following is a brief chronology of these milestones in gem literature. As the understanding of the natural sciences grew, so did the sciences of mineralogy and gemology. Along the way, a mix of science and pseudo-science filled the works produced. The first writings were attempts to compile all that was known at the time. The study of gems and minerals began with the recording of observations, documenting of sources, and the cataloging of legends and folklore. Gems could then be classified and described in these terms and their properties recorded. These elements were earth, water, air, fire, and ether. The natural world also was divided into parts or elements. Aristotle’s division of philosophy into separate branches- logic, metaphysics, physics, ethics, politics, and art led to the systematic study of nature. It was not until the writings of Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) that the physical world and its constituent parts became worthy topics of study and documentation. In these earliest records, the gem was auxiliary to the primary topic and not a subject in and of itself. They may be mentioned as decoration, a means of barter, a symbol of wealth, the source of power and magic or the objects of adoration. References to gemstones appear in many ancient writings. From Gems in Myth, Legend and Lore by Bruce G. ![]()
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