Hobbies And Interests
Petosky Stone
In the late 18th century, trinkets and other souvenirs crafted from polished stones were common in the Petoskey area of Michigan. The stone now known as the Petoskey stone is actually a fossil of colonial coral from warm Michigan seas more than 350 million years ago. During the Devonian time, what is now Michigan was near the equator and covered with warm seawater. This stone is exclusive to Michigan, located at the rock strata called the Gravel Point Formation.
Grindstone
The now ghost town of Grindstone City, Michigan was once home to rock quarries that produced the world's finest grindstones, scythe stones and hone stones. The name, Grindstone City, is synonymous with the abrasive stone that exists nowhere else in the U.S. After 103 years, in 1929, the invention of artificial carborundum replaced the grindstone market and the pioneer city soon thereafter died.
Greenstone
Chlorastrolite, known as greenstone, resembles asterism and its name mean "green star stone." The shores of Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale, Michigan are home to the semi-precious stone. Thousands of greenstones have also been recovered from exploration mines throughout the state. Small, polished greenstones provide jewelers with gemstones for pins, rings, cufflinks and pendants. Artisans incorporate larger greenstones into inlays and mosaics, along with other gem minerals.
Flaked Stone
Anthropologists excavated fire-cracked rock and flaked stone from the cliff-top of Trout Point 1 on Grand Island, Michigan. The theory is that the area was a flaking station for the crafting of stone tools. An experimental study conducted by Bradley R. Handson, Anthropology and James M. Skibo, Faculty Adviser from Illinois State University, concluded that quartzite cobbles were heat treated at the site. They demonstrated that Trout Point 1 was a heat-treatment and lithic manufacturing station during the Late Archaic Period of Michigan.
Limestone
Limestone is sedimentary rock made from animal shells that form deep in the ocean during different times throughout history. The state of Michigan, as well as many other states in the U.S., was once the ocean floor. The ocean floor is a graveyard for millions of shelled creatures. Sediment on the ocean floor, called lime mud, mixed with shells and later became shales and limestones, once the waters receded. Of course, this process took millions of years.