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What is it?
Dinosaurs
roamed the earth during an early period of time called the Mesozoic Era, between 70 to 225 million years ago. Geologists have
mapped and recorded the ages of most rock formations. However, in many cases rock ages can only be general in time. Specifically
this prospect is underlain by rock that was originally a calcic sedimentary limestone sea bed deposited during the
Paleozoic Era in Northwestern
Georgia between 225 to 600 million years ago. It is now a silica rock that has an overburden showing signs
of Mesozoic origin which may or may not have been transported into the area from adjacent lands.
The ancient seabed shows evidence of geologic high pressure
folding and slip faulting processes by producing fragmented rock called breccia. Huge dimensional limestone shaped boulders
were chemically altered into beautiful multicolored jaspers and agates with shades of red, burnt orange, mustard yellow, black,
rust, purple and white, sometimes all in one outcropping. Examination of some of the cut specimens show markings of minor
fractures. The color patterns do not extend across the fracture marks. This helps to identify replacement processes of the
original limestone. A lot of the jasper and agate show brecciated color patterns indicating it was once a fault zone. Evidence
of ancient streams appears in the overburden as mudstone, sandstone and conglomerates. A rock showing rounded pebbles in its
matrix. Many fossil shapes which are also agatized but whiter in color resemble teeth, tusks, plates, knotty skin, horns,
bone parts and eggs. A large amount was found at the first site above the agate in this overburden. Skin impressions discovered
mean that the carcass was completely covered with mud very soon after its death. Its body was subsequently replaced by agate
stone.
Interestingly, we have gastroliths (Gizzard Stones) found in Utah
and Wyoming in 1940 dinosaur sites and documented by a former
Smithsonian Foreman. These same stones are identical microscopically and have the same color features as those taken from
the Georgia location. Although this Georgia sample is not an actual Gastrolith the combination of fossill shapes, extensive ancient
sea bedrock area and identical stone makes it a very likely source from which Wyoming and
Utah dinosaur Gastroliths originated. When wet or polished
the samples usually resemble raw meat or red berries. These would have been tempting meals to either the carnivorous, herbivorous,
or omnivores! It should be noted that these locations also have identical climate, vegetation and food sources along similar
latitudes from the equator.
Until now, according to a local paleontologist, there was no
easy way of knowing where Georgia Dinosaurs came from.1 We may now possibly link another route that dinosaurs could have taken across North America
due to what C.R. Smith calls the "Gastrolith Connection".
Consulting paleontologists indicate
that in rare cases dinosaur bone can be replaced in nature without leaving signs of bone internal structure. We feel this
find to be rare.
1 The Atlanta Journal/Constitution,
Dixie Living, June 6, 1993
© C.R. Smith 1993
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