Various fossils and artifacts surround Timmy the Trilobite- "Is that Lakewood I see?"

From the time I was a little one, I've had a fascination with rocks of all kinds. I suppose that fascination could have carried forward to my involvement in the world of rock and roll, but that might be making a real stretch.

No, the rocks that I'm referring to are the stones of the past: those fossils, arrowheads and other reminders of life on this planet many years before you and I ever came into the picture.

Over in Pennsylvania, where I was born over a half-century ago, the hills were filled with evidence of prehistoric life. Fossils and arrowheads seemed to lie everywhere. Plowed fields would quickly reveal small flint stones, quite different in character from other neighboring stones in the ancient glacial deposits that shaped the landforms around the ancient Allegheny Mountains.

A number of years ago, while going through various garage sales and antique shops, I chanced upon several small groups of stones that were supposedly discovered primarily along these southern shores of Lake Erie. It is fascinating to examine these bits of evidence of life from thousands of years ago.

Nowadays, collecting things like these can be a more complex activity, as there are laws and rulings protecting certain fossil, artifact, and archaeological sites. There are also other archaeological guidelines to follow, if new sites are uncovered that may yield multiple items of prehistorical interest. Many objects in the past, for example, were carelessly removed from areas, leaving no documentation of where those objects were found. That has unfortunately been the case with many of the efforts of those early collectors. An arrowhead by itself, for example, tells us very little. Knowing where it came from is where its real value lies. Above all, be sure that you have permission, either from the responsible governmental entities and/or from a private owner, before you go exploring. A significant and controversial issue among Native Peoples has been that of human remains taken in the past for study by different groups. Recently, more and more Native American remains are being returned to Native Peoples for proper reburial.

Within general parameters, it is possible to determine in a given area what lived there and roughly when. For example, if you are looking for T-Rex or Velociraptor bones around here, good luck. While dinosaurs no doubt rumbled around on the Ohio land, we've never found a dino fossil here, as we've found no Mesozoic-era rocks in Ohio, probably because of our land-form issues going on at the time.

Here in Lakewood, we were at times at the bottom of prehistoric waters. You'll find giant fish and stone scallop fossils, but no dinosaur stuff in this area. Around here, the fossils you will find will most often be aquatic life forms. Fossils found in Lakewood come from the Devonian period of time. Arthrodires, that is, big armored fossil fishes, have been found locally, as have the many forms of marine life that lived here during this time.

The trilobite is one of the more interesting fossils found in Ohio. This type of animal had a hard outer shell, so excellent trilobite fossils can often be located for study. The trilobite supposedly was the first creature to actually have eyes and to see the world around it. Please see the accompanying photo of "Timmy" the trilobite. (Timmy however, was not found around here.)

Just think about that for a moment... the first thing ever SEEN by little guys (or gals!) like Timmy (or by anything ELSE, for that matter) might just have been prehistoric Lakewood!

Fossil deposits are found in sedimentary rock, like limestone, shale, and sandstone, but may also be found along beaches and streams. It would be well to recall that oil, coal, and natural gas are all products of biological deterioration. That's why these are referred to as fossil fuels. Matter from once-living things will often burn, and thereby release heat and energy.

As far as other evidence of prehistoric life is concerned, Ohio's first human residents seemed to have come upon the scene about 13,000 years ago. This is considered the Paleo period, and it lasted until about 7000 BC. After that came the Archaic peoples of roughly 8000-500 BC. Then came the Woodland period of about 800 BC-1200 AD, followed by the late prehistoric groups of roughly 1200-1650 AD. Native Americans contacted by Europeans after that date are generally regarded as being in the "historic" (that is, record-kept) period of time. Native Americans lasted in Ohio until the 1840's, when the last tribe, the Wyandots, lost their land in Upper Sandusky. These days, a number of Ohioans claim Native American ancestry or some tribal affiliation.

While the Hopewell and Adena mound building cultures are generally thought of as being located well to the south of here, it is well-known among those who care that there were, and are, plenty of mounds in this area. The fact that this is not better documented is probably due to the highly commercial nature of life in an urban area. Many of these mounds were probably plowed under in the name of progress. There are clues known to the Native American community as to where mounds are located, but these clues are not commonly disclosed, as the mounds are considered sacred ground. Every now and then, you will read in the paper about some battle with a developer over these sacred grounds.

In what is now Lakewood, a variety of Native American cultures used to live. The Erie tribe was here before they were taken over by the Iroquois Nation in the late 1600's. Other groups passed through with trading or war parties over a span of many years. Warren Road was supposedly a winding trail used by these groups.

The design of the different arrowheads and tools can also provide clues as to their origin. The Erie were known to have used poisoned arrow tips. Different arrowheads have been used to identify various tribal affinities and time periods, although this type of identification can be difficult whenever objects have been removed from an area without proper documentation. Other artifacts that have been found in Ohio include stone ax heads and tools. Ironically, some of the tools having the best quality have been reportedly found from the earliest time periods.

These stones of life have outlasted just about anything that our own culture has produced, or quite possibly will produce. Timmy the trilobite has long vanished as a life form on this earth, but I can't help but wonder...if he came back and looked out and saw Lakewood, or our world...now...just what would he think?