What is a Coal Ball?
Q: What is a Coal Ball?
A: A Coal Ball is a permineralised life form that contains calcium, magnesium and occasionally iron sulfide. They generally have a round shape and are not made of coal, despite the name.
Q: Who discovered Coal Balls?
A: In 1855, two English scientists, Joseph Dalton Hooker and Edward William Binney, found coal balls in England. Marie Stopes and D.M.S. Watson also examined coal ball samples later on.
Q: Where can Coal Balls be found?
A: Coal balls can be found in coal seams across North America and Eurasia with more places in North America than Europe. The oldest coal balls were found in Germany and former Czechoslovakia.
Q: How does the quality of preservation depend on burial process?
A: The quality of the preservation of organic material depends on the speed of the burial process and the degree of compression before undergoing permineralisation. Generally, coal balls resulting from remains that have a quick burial with little decay and pressure have a higher preservation degree compared to those with slower burials or more decay/pressure before permineralisation.
Q: What theories exist about how Coal Balls form?
A: Several theories on their formation have been proposed since they were first identified in 1922; however Marie Stopes and DMS Watson agreed that interaction with a marine environment was necessary for them to form as well as forming 'in situ'.
Q: What did Sergius Mamay & Ellis Yochelson find when examining North American Coal Balls?
A: In 1962, Sergius Mamay & Ellis Yochelson found signs of marine animal remains in North American coal balls during their examination.
