The Rich History of Glass Making

In today’s world, technologically advanced glass is just about everywhere. There are entire buildings made out of the stuff. There are cars with specially treated glass that’s hydrophobic. There are even galleries of amazing glass artwork and glass sculptures.

However, there once was a time before humanity knew how to make or even use glass.

Before We Could Make Glass…
Before people knew how to make it, they used naturally occurring glass, particularly the volcanic glass obsidian. This sort of glass was used to make knives, arrowheads, jewelry, and even money.

The Invention of Glass Making
According to the ancient Roman historian Pliny, the Phoenician merchants in the region of Syria around 5000 BCE were the first ones to realize that by taking raw materials and heating them up to about 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit, you could make glass. Thanks to the timeliness of its invention, which occurred during the establishment of the Roman Empire, glassblowing, the two major methods of which are free-blowing and mold-blowing, enhanced the spread and dominance of the new technology.

Modern Archaeological Evidence
However, archaeological evidence suggests that the first man made glass came out of Eastern Mesopotamia and Egypt around 3500 BCE with the first man made glass vessels being made around 1500 BCE. For the next 300 following years, the production of glass flourished.

The history of humanity’s time spent working with glass is as interesting as it is long. It’s amazing to think that there was a point in time when people used naturally made glass rather than making their own, when nowadays there are amazing contemporary glass artists like Steve Linn and Toots Zynsky, who can seemingly make just about anything when they’re working with glass.

If you have any thoughts you’d like to share, feel free to do so in the comments.