8.1" Polished Petrified Wood Bowl/Dish - Madagascar

Polished Petrified Wood Bowl/Dish - Madagascar #304670

This is a beautiful bowl/dish made from a solid log of petrified Araucaria wood from Ambilobe, Madagascar. It measures 8.1 by 6.25" and has been carved into a bowl, showing off the colorful mineralization and detailed wood grain preservation of this fossil. It is from the early Triassic period and approximately 220 million years old, close to the time the first dinosaurs appeared on the planet. The entire bowl has been polished to a glossy finish.

Petrified wood is the name given to wood that has been turned into stone (fossilized) through the process of permineralization. In this process, all of the organic matter becomes replaced by minerals, while much of the original structure, such as tree rings, is retained. For this to happen, the wood needs to be buried in an environment low in oxygen to prevent decomposition and with flowing, mineral-laden water, so minerals may replace structures. The coloration is caused by various minerals that present in that water during fossilization. For example, red colors are due to iron compounds, greens due to copper, and so on.