Quartz

Associated with igneous and metamorphic rocks, it is the most abundant mineral on earth. Most archaeological quartz in Maryland is microcrystalline, meaning the individual silica grains are too small to see with the eye. It is known as “massive quartz” (Ebright n.d.). Highly variable in quality, it outcrops in the Maryland Blue Ridge and Piedmont, often highly fractured and breaking into blocky segments. Samples from the same vein can vary in color from clear to cloudy to milky white, as well as rose, blue, and smoky. Some archaeological quartz is the macrocrystalline six-sided version known as “quartz crystal.” Quartz is commonly found as small cobbles in streams, except in far Western Maryland, where quartz artifacts are rare (Wall 1992).