Petrification involves the turning of something into stone.
Petrification is the process and result of the action of petrifying . The verb petrify, for its part, refers to the transformation into stone or the hardening of a thing in such a way that it resembles a rock .
Organic substances can undergo petrification when they spend a long time underground . While the matter decomposes and rots, the spaces that remain are occupied by minerals dissolved in the water found in these geological layers. Thus, little by little, the body buried under these conditions can develop petrification.
Petrification can be understood as a type of fossilization . This last notion is broader and refers to the conversion that is generated in all those organisms that, based on a transformation of chemical characteristics, replace their organic components with other minerals.
petrification process
The process begins with the death of an organism. Erosion decomposes its soft components and sediments cover it until it is buried. The water , meanwhile, drains through the layers of soil, carrying minerals that pass through the remains of the organism in question.
With the compaction of minerals, fossilization occurs and, if the replacement of organic components by minerals is absolute, petrification.
tree fossils
The meaning at hand also allows us to talk about what is known as a petrified forest . This is a paleontological site composed, as its name suggests, of fossils of trees that, long ago, were subject to a petrification process that took place mainly underground.
Examples of these types of forests can be found in many corners of the world such as Greece , Brazil , Australia , Ecuador , Canada , El Salvador and the United States . Without forgetting, of course, the famous petrified people of Santa Cruz in Patagonia .
Petrification is a type of fossilization.
Petrification in fiction
A case of petrification that occurs within the world of graphic literature is well known. And in the comics sector, and being part of the group of superheroes called The Fantastic Four , there is a character who has that peculiarity of turning into a rock.
We are referring to Ben Grimm . This is a former test pilot of the United States Air Force who, during a trip in a ship designed by a scientist friend, along with him and two other members, suffers an accident. Specifically, what happens is that they are subject to a strong cosmic ray storm that will change their lives forever.
Thus, in the case of this character, what happens is that his appearance is completely modified: his skin turns orange and his appearance resembles that of a rock. All this without overlooking that it acquires a supernatural force.
The concept beyond science
Beyond science , there is a symbolic use of the concept of petrification, referring to what happens when a person is shocked by news or an event and cannot react.
For example: “Watching that scene made the children petrified,” “I was petrified when I heard the news.”