Fossils at the Speed Art Museum

I visited the Speed Art Museum in downtown Louisville next to the campus of the University of Louisville. The museum opened on January 15, 1927 as the J.B. Speed Memorial Museum. It features artworks by Rembrandt, Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, and Rockwell. My visit I was interested in the Ancient Art area. After visiting the MET in New York City, I thought looking at Egyptian limestone might yield more fossil finds. This hunch proved right.

The museum has a limestone relief of Thoth, Egyptian god of wisdom, writing, magic, and the moon. This image was probably depicting a burial ceremony where Thoth is listing the vices and virtues of the deceased as they move to the afterlife. Near the back of the head in the stone is a dark area. This appears to me to be a cross-section of a brachiopod fossil. The inner part might be filled with calcite crystals.

The artwork is from the Late Period (about 1000 B.C.). The museum acquired the piece in the 1970s.

Fossil Plant Presentation at Falls of the Ohio State Park

Here is a picture of plant fossil called Sigillaria elegans. It is from the Pennsylvanian Period and was found in Hazard, Kentucky, USA.

Herb Miracle showed this fossil at a presentation he gave today at the Falls of the Ohio State Park at Clarksville, Indiana, USA. Thanks to Kenny for image.

Visit to the White River

At the end of the year, I visited Indianapolis to see relatives. They live near the White River. When visiting, I try to walk there to see the shells of fresh water creatures.

I have not seen fossils before there but this time I found 3 on the river bank. The first is a small pebble with part of a brachiopod fossil embedded in it.

The second was a nice plate of Fenestella like bryozoan fossils. I dropped it later and broke in half revealing layers of bryozoans.

The last was a section of a small horn coral fossil that reminded me of a Heliophyllum. Interesting the horn coral and bryozoan did not show signs of being in the water that long. Usually river rock with get very rounded from tumbling in the river bed and just having water running over it. So these must have been buried or dropped in off a bank somewhere upstream.

I also pick up trash to throw away but sometimes find items like this that can be re-used.