Africa Ancient Egyptian
scarab signets and amulets were most commonly made from glazed steatite. 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 of about half–life size. The Yoruba of
Ife also produced a miniature soapstone obelisk with metal studs, named "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. 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.
Americas Native Americans have used soapstone since the Late Archaic period. During the
Archaic archaeological period (8000–1000 BC), bowls, cooking slabs, and other objects were made from soapstone. 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. Use of soapstone in native American cultures continues to the modern day. Later, other cultures carved soapstone
smoking pipes, a practice that continues today. The soapstone's low heat conduction allows for prolonged smoking without the pipe heating up uncomfortably.
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 peoples. The soapstone oil lamps indicate these people had easy access to oils derived from marine mammals. In the modern period, soapstone is commonly used for carvings in
Inuit art. In the United States, locally quarried soapstone was used for gravemarkers in 19th-century northeast
Georgia, around
Dahlonega, and
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.
Asia of
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. 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. Even earlier, steatite was used as the substrate for Indus-Harappan
seals. After the intricate carvings of icons and (yet undeciphered) symbols, the seals were heated above 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. Soapstone was also used to carve
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
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 () in
Central Australia.
Europe The
Minoan civilization on
Crete used soapstone. At the Palace of
Knossos, a steatite
libation table was found. Soapstone is relatively abundant in northern Europe. During the Viking Age, soapstone was the primary cooking vessel material in Norway.
Vikings hewed soapstone directly from the stone face, shaped it into cooking pots, and sold these at home and abroad. In
Shetland, there is evidence that these vessels were used for processing marine and dairy fats. Several surviving medieval buildings in northern Europe are constructed with soapstone, amongst them
Nidaros Cathedral. == Modern use ==