Editing Soapstone (section)

==Historical use==
=== Africa ===
Ancient Egyptian [[Scarab (artifact)|scarab]] signets and amulets were most commonly made from glazed steatite.<ref name=aldred>{{cite book |last=Aldred |first=Cyril |date=1971 |title=Jewels of the Pharaohs Egyptian Jewellery of the Dynastic Period |publisher=Thames and Hudson |pages=160–161 |isbn=0500231389}}</ref> The [[Yoruba people]] of West [[Nigeria]] used soapstone for several statues, most notably at [[Esie]], where archaeologists have uncovered hundreds of male and female statues about half of life size. The Yoruba of [[Ife]] also produced a miniature soapstone obelisk with metal studs called "the staff of [[Oranmiyan]]".

[[Soapstone mining in Tabaka, Kenya]] occurs in relatively shallow and accessible quarries in the surrounding areas of Sameta, Nyabigege and Bomware.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Akama |first=John |date=2018-08-14 |title=The Evolution and Resilience of the Gusii Soapstone Industry |journal=Journal of African Cultural Heritage Studies |language=EN |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=1–17 |doi=10.22599/jachs.31 |issn=2513-8243 |s2cid=169646064 |doi-access=free}}</ref> These were at the time open to all to access provided they had the labor resources to do so. This mostly meant the men did the mining as they were custodian to the community land, meaning ancestral lands in Riamosioma, Itumbe, Nyatike etc.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Akama |first=John |date=2018-08-14 |title=The Evolution and Resilience of the Gusii Soapstone Industry |journal=Journal of African Cultural Heritage Studies |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=1 |doi=10.22599/jachs.31 |issn=2513-8243 |s2cid=169646064 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Americas ===
[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] have used soapstone since the Late Archaic period. During the [[Archaic period in the Americas|Archaic archaeological period]] (8000–1000 BC), bowls, cooking slabs, and other objects were made from soapstone.<ref>{{cite book |author=Kenneth E. Sassaman |title=Early Pottery in the Southeast: Tradition and Innovation in Cooking Technology |date=1993-03-30 |publisher=University Alabama Press |isbn=978-0-8173-0670-0}}</ref> The use of soapstone cooking vessels during this period has been attributed to the rock's thermal qualities; compared to clay or metal containers, soapstone retains heat more effectively.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frink |first1=Liam |last2=Glazer |first2=Dashiell |last3=Harry |first3=Karen G. |date=October 2012 |title=Canadian Arctic Soapstone Cooking Technology |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2190/NA.33.4.c |journal=North American Archaeologist |language=en |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=429–449 |doi=10.2190/NA.33.4.c |issn=0197-6931}}</ref> Use of soapstone in native American cultures continue to the modern day. Later, other cultures carved soapstone [[Smoking pipe (tobacco)|smoking pipe]]s, a practice that continues today. The soapstone's low heat conduction allows for prolonged smoking without the pipe heating up uncomfortably.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Witthoft |first=J.G. |year=1949 |title=Stone pipes of the historic Cherokees |journal=Southern Indian Studies |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=43–62}}</ref>

[[File:Mythological figures by Kayasark, Inuit, Pelly Bay, Canada, steatite, HAA.JPG|thumb|Mythological figures carved in soapstone by Kayasark, Inuit carver, held in the [[Honolulu Academy of Arts]]]]

[[Indigenous peoples of the Arctic]] have traditionally used soapstone for carvings of both practical objects and art. The [[qulliq]], a type of oil lamp, is carved out of soapstone and used by the [[Inuit]] and [[Dorset culture|Dorset]] peoples.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Erwin |first=John C. |date=2016 |title=A Large-Scale Systematic Study of Dorset and Groswater Soapstone Vessel Fragments from Newfoundland and Labrador |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26891240 |journal=Arctic |volume=69 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.14430/arctic4592 |jstor=26891240 |issn=0004-0843}}</ref> The soapstone oil lamps indicate these people had easy access to oils derived from marine mammals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civilization.ca - Life and Art of an Ancient Arctic People - The Dorset People |url=https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/archeo/paleoesq/ped01eng.html |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=www.historymuseum.ca}}</ref>

In the modern period, soapstone is commonly used for carvings in [[Inuit art]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nuttall |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Swr9BTI_2FEC&dq=%22inuit+art%22+soapstone+common&pg=PA162 |title=Encyclopedia of the Arctic |date=2005-09-23 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-78680-8 |language=en}}</ref>

In the United States, locally quarried soapstone was used for gravemarkers in 19th century northeast [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], around [[Dahlonega, Georgia|Dahlonega]], and [[Cleveland, Georgia|Cleveland]] as simple field stone and "slot and tab" tombs.

In Canada, soapstone was quarried in the Arctic regions like the western part of the Ungava Bay and the Appalachian Mountain System from Newfoundland.<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=The application of trace element geochemistry to determine the provenance of soapstone vessels from Dorset Palaeoeskimo sites in western Newfoundland |url=https://research.library.mun.ca/7028/ |publisher=Memorial University of Newfoundland |date=2003 |degree=masters |language=en |first=Cynthia Marie |last=O'Driscoll}}</ref>

=== Asia ===
[[File:Idi-ilum Louvre AO 19486 n01.jpg|thumb|upright|The 21st-century BC [[statue of Iddi-Ilum]] of [[Mari, Syria|Mari]], Syria, is made of soapstone.]]

The ancient trading city of [[Tepe Yahya]] in southeastern [[Iran]] was a center for the production and distribution of soapstone in the 5th to 3rd millennia BC.<ref>"Tepe Yahya," ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', 2004. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 3 January 2004, [http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9380473/Tepe-Yahya Britannica.com]</ref>

Soapstone has been used in India as a medium for sculptures since at least the time of the [[Hoysala Empire]], the [[Western Chalukya Empire]] and to an extent [[Vijayanagara Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |title=UGC NET History Paper II Chapter Wise Notebook {{!}} Complete Preparation Guide |date=1 September 2022 |publisher=EduGorilla |page=485 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4nqKEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA485 |access-date=26 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

Even earlier, steatite was used as the substrate for Indus-Harappan [[Seal (emblem)|seals]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pruthi |first1=R. K. |title=Indus Civilization |date=2004 |publisher=Discovery Publishing House |isbn=978-81-7141-865-7 |page=225 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XgFu-9UF0TYC&pg=PA225 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Soapstone sculptures">{{cite web |title=Soapstone sculptures|url=http://www.hoysala.in/soapstone-sculptures-of-hoysala-temples.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215023908/http://www.hoysala.in/soapstone-sculptures-of-hoysala-temples.shtml|archive-date=15 February 2009|date=2008|website=hoysala.in |access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref> After the intricate carvings of icons and (yet undeciphered) symbols, the seals were heated above {{convert|1000|°C|°F}} for several days to make them hard and durable to make the final seals used for making impressions on clay.

In China, during the [[Spring and Autumn period]] (771–476 BC), soapstone was carved into ceremonial knives.<ref>[http://collections.meaa.org.uk/view-item?i=634&WINID=1613799854338 "Steatite Knife" at the Bath Museum of East Asian Art]</ref> Soapstone was also used to carve [[Seal (East Asia)|Chinese seals]].

Soapstone was used as a writing pencil in [[Myanmar]] as early as the 11th-century Pagan period. After that, it was still used as a pencil to write on Black [[Folding-book manuscript|Parabaik]] until the end of the Mandalay period (19th century).

=== Australia ===
Pipes and decorative carvings of local animals were made out of soapstone by [[Australian Aboriginal]] artist [[Erlikilyika]] ({{Circa|1865|1930}}) in [[Central Australia]].<ref name="Megg">{{cite web |last=Kelham |first=Megg |date=November 2010 |title=A museum in Finke: An Aputula Heritage project |url=http://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/jspui/bitstream/10070/230199/1/Aputula_Heritage_Final_Report_Megg_Kelham.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510110909/http://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/jspui/bitstream/10070/230199/1/Aputula_Heritage_Final_Report_Megg_Kelham.pdf |archive-date=2019-05-10 |website=Territory Stories |pages=1–97 |access-date=11 May 2019}}</ref>

=== Europe ===
The [[Minoan civilization]] on [[Crete]] used soapstone. At the Palace of [[Knossos]], a steatite [[libation]] table was found.<ref>C.Michael Hogan (2007) [http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/10854/knossos.html#fieldnotes "Knossos Fieldnotes"], ''The Modern Antiquarian''</ref> Soapstone is relatively abundant in northern Europe. [[Vikings]] hewed soapstone directly from the stone face, shaped it into cooking pots, and sold these at home and abroad.<ref>Else Rosendahl, ''The Vikings'', The Penguin Press, 1987, page 105</ref> In [[Shetland]], there is evidence that these vessels were used for processing marine and dairy fats.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.shetlandamenity.org/assets/files/Viking%20Unst/Belmont%20Steatite%20Vessel%20Residues%20Report.pdf|title=Report on the analysis of residues from steatite and ceramic vessels from the site of Belmont, Shetland|last=Steele|first=Val|website=Shetland Amenity}}</ref> Several surviving medieval buildings in northern Europe are constructed with soapstone, amongst them [[Nidaros Cathedral]].<ref name=hansen />