Petrified life-forms compose the chondrites (which represent 86% of the total number of collected meteorites to date) proposed Otto Hahn in his book, The Meteorite (Chondrite) and its Organisms, containing 142 microphotographs to serve as his proof. Published in 1880 this work took the academic community by surprise. David Weinland wrote in Das Ausland:
The result of this study is the full conviction that, at least in these structures, we are really dealing with the remnants of corals, most of which belong to the Favositidae, a family that has so far only been found as fossils in the Paleozoic, the ancient layers of Earth.
Das Ausland, 1881, No. 16, Article 1
And also,
Well-preserved forms are, of course, quite rare; it is mostly debris, e.g. quite similar to that observed in young ocean limestone of the Mexican Gulf. After acquiring some practice and comparing many cuts, certain recurring forms can be restored quite easily. Especially developed are the sponges of which I have already determined three specific genera.
Das Ausland, 1881, No. 16, Article 1
Reading this in Das Ausland must have ruffled the feathers of directors of zoology and paleontology, especially coming from Weinland, who responded to Anton Rzehak’s criticism with:
This may still seem like a venturesome statement today, but my peers, who have known me for twenty-five years, will probably know that I do not easily pronounce my conviction.
Das Ausland, 1881, No. 26, Article 1
And indeed, Weinland went on to express his conviction by establishing in a treatise 16 genera each with multiple species, submitting his work to the Leopoldina and Acta, and proclaiming that:
Not ten years will pass before we will have a small universally recognized fauna of the meteorites.
Das Ausland, 1881, No. 26, Article 1
Certainly this is a fascinating story and a book worthy of reading! And regarding Hahn’s ideas about the iron meteorites, you will want to research the ironically named Chondrites.
Read: The Meteorite (Chondrite) and its Organisms
Read: Das Ausland Articles
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