In June, a young boy in the sixth grade discovered two small stones that he thought were Manganese. What he discovered after being appraised in a museum was a historic breakthrough. The museum’s honorary directors dubbed him “the boy with the ‘Eagle Eye.'” Makoto Hitani, an 11-year-old boy, and his 52-year-old father, Kei, went for a walk in June. Makoto picked up two stones in a grassy area of Senaba that appeared shiny but oddly shaped.
The boy and his father went straight to the Okinawa Stone Culture Museum to have them appraised. The two stones turned out to be “ammonite fossils” from the Paleozoic Era 400 million years ago! The Honorary Director of the Okinawa Stone Culture Museum praised the youngster, saying he had “Good Vision.” Makoto Hitani attends Wataru Keiji Elementary School and is in sixth grade. He had been fascinated by various unusual-looking stones since he was a child.
He has a collection and researches the history of the stones he finds. The most recent stones he discovered were 1.2 centimeters long and had a slight black color. According to Director Ojo, the fossils discovered by Hitani were created in Morocco, North Africa. The location where the little boy discovered them has been redeveloped as a residential area, though it was previously the Yomitani Auxiliary Airfield.
The fossils, according to Honorary Director Ojo, could have been brought in by US soldiers and their companions from another country. “At first, I mistook it for manganese because of its unusual shape.” “I thought it wasn’t unusual, so I was only surprised,” Hitani recalls, adding, “I’m happy with the sense of accomplishment I get when I find something difficult to find.”
The museum director held a press conference on June 20 at Okinawa World in Tamaki, Nanjo City, to introduce the newly discovered fossils. “I was able to recognize it because it was the eyes of a child who sees things carefully,” said Honorary Director Itsuro Ojo. “I’d like to call him “Eagle Eye.” Okinawa Stone Culture Museum now houses the ammonite fossils.