The most common stone used for scarabs was a form of steatite, a soft stone which becomes hard when fired ( forming enstatite ).
32.
More exotic materials such as dover chert and steatite are seen in this phase which indicated a greater degree of complexity in trade and communication.
33.
Among the highlights are soapstone figures formed by artisans from the village of Tabaka in western Kenya, where there is a large deposit of steatite.
34.
Steatite is used primarily for its dielectric and thermal insulating properties in applications such as tile, substrates, washers, bushings, beads and pigments.
35.
These figurines were carved from soft stone ( such as steatite, calcite or limestone ), bone or ivory, or formed of clay and fired.
36.
In 1752 these cliffs were part of a quarry site from which the mineral soapstone, a talc, known then as soaprock, or steatite was extracted.
37.
Various sculptures, seals, bronze vessels pottery, gold jewellery, and anatomically detailed figurines in terracotta, bronze, and steatite have been found at excavation sites.
38.
By mass, steatite is approximately 67 % silica and 33 % magnesia, and may contain minor quantities of other oxides such as CaO or Al 2 O 3.
39.
There are mineral reserves of gold, iron, coal, steatite, fluorite, and molybdenum, as well as marble and limestone in the northern part of the province.
40.
The early statues were made of limestone, steatite and alabaster; later, when wide-ranging trade-connections had been established, the more costly exotic diorite was used.
