Lot 121
North America, Southwestern United States, Arizona, Late Triassic, ca. 225 million years ago. A slab of fossilized wood from a petrified tree trunk that has been thinly sliced crossways, and one side is highly polished to a mirror finish to showcase the incredible coloration. The once organic material fossilized- replaced by silica stone that has become colorful quartz and agate. This is a good size for displaying on a shelf and can also function as a large tabletop coaster! Size: 8.5" Diameter x 0.5" W (21.6 cm x 1.3 cm)
Fossilized trees from this time period come from the Chinle Formation of the southwestern USA, and the beautiful colors found in this formation - exemplified by the colors of this fossilized tree - give the Painted Desert of Arizona its name. Due to plate tectonics, this area was near the equator on the supercontinent Pangaea during the Late Triassic, which gave it a humid, sub-tropical climate. It was a floodplain below mountains to its south and a sea to its west; as a result, massive trees washed down from the mountains and came to rest in sediments that preserved them and fossilized them. The petrification process involves the rapid burial of the tree or pieces under sediment which prevents the usual decay. Flooding and volcanic activity are usually responsible for the layers of sand, silt, and ash needed to create the right types and amount of sediment. Mineralized water can then permeate through the wood, coating cell walls and filling the intercellular cavities which then fossilizes into stone. The detailed preservation of the wood, including knots, rings, and bark, are possible because the organic wood molecules become coated and surrounded with smaller silica molecules. Nine different species of tree have been identified in the fossilized deposits in the region; this example may be Araucarioxylon arizonicum, an extinct conifer tree (and the state fossil of Arizona). Fascinatingly, the Ancestral Puebloan people who lived in the region approximately 1000 years ago used petrified wood for making tools and even building houses!
Provenance: Private Berthoud, Colorado, USA collection
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#183202
- Condition: Professionally cut and polished on both faces. Protective sealant on planar face added to verso face for stability. Stable fissures from fossilization. Amazing coloration throughout.
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