A stone, fossil, or mineral object that was historically believed to be a fallen thunderbolt, such as a meteorite or ancient artifact.
From Greek 'keraunos' (thunderbolt) + '-ite' (stone, object). Named by ancient and medieval people who interpreted mysterious stones and fossils as literal evidence of lightning strikes.
Ceraunites include some of the most important scientific discoveries in history—what ancient people thought were thunderstones were actually meteorites from space, fossils of extinct creatures, and prehistoric tools that revolutionized our understanding of Earth's history.
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