Long ago these wonders were revered and understood to be clues to the parallel natures of the animal and mineral worlds. Stone figures were seen as relics of ancient transformations between flesh and stone, or as rare glimpses of the rich flora and fauna living under the earth — as a surfacing whale gives us a momentary view of the world hidden under the sea. The boundaries between these realms had not yet hardened, and life flowed freely between humans, animals, plants and stones.
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