CHINGA METEORITE — COMPLETE SPECIMEN

CHINGA METEORITE — COMPLETE SPECIMEN

Iron Nickel, ataxite 

Discovered in 1913 by gold prospectors 

Eastern Siberia, Russia, near the border with Tibet

Measuring 4 ½ x 4 x 1 ½ inches (11.43 x 10.16 x 3.81 cm) and weighing 3 ibs. (1,350 grams).

From a fall with limited specimens, this complete Chinga exhibits the small thumbprint-like depressions, known as regmaglypts, which were caused by burning and melting during the meteorite's descent through the atmosphere. Believed to have collided with the Earth approximately 15,000 years ago, meteorites from this fall were carved by the Tibetans into religious ornaments and deities, eliciting an infamous chapter in the Indiana Jones movies about one such statue. Chingas are a rare type of iron meteorite known as an ataxite. Ataxites have a very high nickel content (this meteorite contains 16% nickel), which explains its lustrous appearance. When cut and sliced, ataxites lack any visible crystal pattern but they do polish into a beautiful mirror like finish.