Sure (but I warn you, this will be a long reply, lol), as itās a big topic and a lot is happening in research at a very fast pace.
Here are some ancient and mideival textual references, and some modern ones. It is important to note that in the ancient texts (which is the primary focus of my research, as contextualized with modern science) the authors, and likely the actual stone producers or lapidaries, are clearly not aware of the specific details of the biological or amorphous processes involved (none, for example, state the producer of said mineral/stone is āintroducing biotic processes to precipitate calcitesā, or such, of course, but in many cases, the processes are clearly described, involving material like uric acid (easily available, lol), āfermentationā, and similar processes over time, and the introduction of bacterial sources and often enzymes (from various sources, including soil, mushrooms, decomposed organic matter, etc). Many are even reproducible, I can show you some crazy results Iāve gotten attempting to replicate (not pretty, but pretty cool to me). Also, the names and classifications of ancient gemstones changes so much over time, what is described, although often explicitly described as a āpreciousā stone, is not described in modern terms, but there is often good physical descriptions of colors, features, etc.
To be sure, if such references were rare and not consistent in many such descriptions, one could say (I would say) itās simply āalchemyā, but they are neither, they are quite widespread across cultures and for many millennia. In this regard, the ancients have us beat by a long shot, lol.
Finally, as per my original post, it seems clear that we are learning more and more, at an increasing rate, of the central role of biotic processes in the formation of minerals that until recently, were considered purely abiotic. Is anyone brewing diamond or emeralds today? Of course not, but the more we learn, the more it become clear that crystaline structures regularly form through biological interactions at temps and pressures that can be, in many cases, ambient (or not at all extreme). I donāt know what the limit is for such things, that is, I have no clue how extensive such processes are, but if you consider the ancient record and both current research and the trajectory of insights it has produced, it seems quite certain that these processes (whether microbial mediation, and/or involving biogenic silica precursors at ambient temps) will be seen as central to more and more crystalline minerals. I could be wrong on that, but the trend seems to suggest it inevitable.
Ancient (the stuff I research):
Indian RasaÅÄstra and lapidary texts detail not just heating, but soaking, fermenting, and fluxing stones to alter or improve them.
Pliny the Elder (Natural History, Book 37) explicitly describes
- Dyes applied to emeralds and opals.
- Heating carnelian to deepen color.
- Fakes made from colored glass and treated quartz.
- Also mentions various people of central Arabia using urine and other processes to harden soft materials to produce stone for construction.
Bį¹hat Saį¹hitÄ (VarÄhamihira)
- Though often interpreted as astrological, it also includes technical descriptions of gemstones, including mentions of stones that are manipulated or imitated.
Al-BÄ«rÅ«nÄ« (973ā1050 CE) - goldmine of such descriptions.
- Text: KitÄb al-JamÄhir fÄ« MaŹærifat al-JawÄhir (Book of Precious Stones)
- Describes several human produced precious āmoldedā gemstones (āAdhrakā for example, resembling), often produced by earlier peoples, and various treatments involving such processes.
- Describes various treatments to enhance color or features, or convert various raw materials into precious stones/precious stone-like features; regularly involving heating, but not to high temperatures, and regularly involving urine (often from specific animals), burying the combined substances for extended periods of time (which would invariably introduce naturally occurring bacteria and facilitate fermentation or de/recomposition process), etc.
JÄbir ibn įø¤ayyÄn (Geber, 8thā9th ce)
- Text: KitÄb al-AsrÄr (Book of Secrets), KitÄb al-KhamsÄ«n, and others in the JÄbirean Corpus.
- Content: Includes numerous recipes for the artificial generation of gemstones, crystals, and metals, including descriptions of combining earths, soaking materials, heating with sulfur or mercury, and long periods of ācookingā or āburying.ā
Bencao Gangmu (ę¬čē¶±ē®) ā Li Shizhen (16th c.)
- Content: An encyclopedic Ming dynasty materia medica. Lists hundreds of stones, minerals, and synthetic preparations used in medicine, construction, and art. Notable examples - Descriptions of āstone powdersā mixed with animal glue to make polished tablets or imitation jades.Processes where āearths are baked and steamedā to become hard like stone, sometimes for moxibustion or writing tablets. Some entries clearly describe heat-treated or chemically altered materials, not simply mined stones.
Pseudo-Democritus / Apollonius of Tyana (Arabic reception)
ā¢ Text: KitÄb al-Madkhal al-KabÄ«r (The Great Introduction) as translated/adapted in Arabic
ā¢ Content: Early Greek alchemical texts received into the Islamic world describe methods for growing or forming stones, often for magical or ornamental purposes. These were sometimes preserved in alchemical manuals focused on āartificial stonesā (įø„ajar į¹£inÄŹæÄ«).
Modern:
Opal production at ambient pressures/temps:
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/14/10/969
Biotic processes in agate synthesis
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/11/1037
Biogenic contribution to the process of quartz formation:
- Microbial Mediation: Certain bacteria can facilitate the transformation of amorphous silica into crystalline quartz.
- Biogenic Silica Precursors often involved
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chemmater.4c01087
