Abstract
We know that planet Earth is about 4.5 billion years old but what is less clear is when it first became home to life. Locating the first evidence for life on Earth is a question of considerable complexity and controversy. Biogeochemical signals or examples of cellular preservation from the early Archean (greater than ~3 billion years in age) are scarce and vigorously debated. Understanding the relationship between a specific signature in the terrestrial rock record and a specific organism and/or environment is a key issue that astrobiologists must address in order to succeed in any search for life, extinct or extant, on other planets. We here present an overview of putative biogenic signals described from some of Earth’s oldest rocks and highlight the most promising areas for future research.
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Wacey, D., Mcloughlin, N., Brasier, M.D. (2009). Looking Through Windows onto the Earliest History of Life on Earth and Mars. In: Seckbach, J., Walsh, M. (eds) From Fossils to Astrobiology. Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8837-7_3
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