¹Robert M. Hazen,¹Shaunna M. Morrison
American Mineralogist 106, 1388–1419 Link to Article [http://www.minsocam.org/msa/ammin/toc/2021/Abstracts/AM106P1388.pdf]
¹Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science, 5251 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, D.C. 20015, U.S.A
Copyright: The Mineralogical Society of America

Part V of the evolutionary system of mineralogy explores phases produced by aqueous alteration,
metasomatism, and/or thermal metamorphism—relicts of ancient processes that affected virtually all
asteroids and that are preserved in the secondary mineralogy of meteorites. We catalog 166 historical
natural kinds of minerals that formed by alteration in the parent bodies of chondritic and non-chondritic
meteorites within the first 20 Ma of the solar system. Secondary processes saw a dramatic increase in
the chemical and structural diversity of minerals. These phases incorporate 41 different mineral-forming
elements, including the earliest known appearances of species with essential Co, Ge, As, Nb, Ag, Sn, Te,
Au, Hg, Pb, and Bi. Among the varied secondary meteorite minerals are the earliest known examples
of halides, arsenides, tellurides, sulfates, carbonates, hydroxides, and a wide range of phyllosilicates.
Keywords: Philosophy of mineralogy, classification, mineral evolution, natural kinds, meteorite