81 / 150
75
V. STONES – ORIGIN AND USE
Definition of Stone:
A stone is any type of rock that has been selected
or processed by cutting shaping, or sizing for use
as building material or for decorative purposes.
Characteristic of Stone in General:
Rocks are the result of a constant and endless
cycle that spans hundreds of millions of years.
The rocks and their constituent minerals are
constantly changing form in a prescribed pattern
as traced above. This cycle summarizes the
relationship between the different rock forms:
igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.
Not all rocks proceed through each step,
however. The cycle merely describes the
possible avenues of change that rock can follow.
James Hutton wrote: “
no vestige of a beginning –
no prospect of an end.”