Lower Proterozoic Stromatolite Paperweight

Precambrian stromatolite is the oldest of all fossils, and with much labor (cutting and polishing), it is most beautiful. The banding that commonly appears in stromatolite is a record of the growth patterns of colonies of microorganisms, principally photosynthetic prokaryotes (e.g, cyanobacteria). The colors that are often expressed are the result of the interaction of biological and sedimentary processes, together with subsequent chemistry and mineral exchange.

This stromatolite is at once, ancient (Precambrian), beautiful, and unusually colored. Coming from the Chocolay Group in an area know as the Chocolay Hills located southeast of Ishpeming, Michigan, it dates to the Lower Proterozoic, some 2.2 to 2.4 Billion years old.

The specimen, rather than slabbed, has been left in an irregular form, and then hand-polished to a mirror finish all all surfaces except the flat base. The polishing bring to intricate detail the banding and a spectrum of colors of the laminae that I think resemble the colors in the sky during an approaching storm.

I use a similar specimen as an eye-catching, conversation-stimulating paperweight on my desk.