Abstract
Valid claims for reliable recognition of Earth’s earliest biological remnants or by-products must be based on the following minimum requirements: i) geologically correctly identified rocks; ii) correctly and precisely dated rocks; iii) accurately localised rocks of which a type specimen is keptinacollection accessible tointernational researchers; iv) chemical, isotopic or morphological data which can discriminate between a biological and non-biological origin; v) samples which have been totally decontaminated from extraneous, unrelated biomatter.
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Moorbath, S., Kamber, B.S. (2004). Searching for Oldest Life on Earth: A Progress Report. In: Seckbach, J., Chela-Flores, J., Owen, T., Raulin, F. (eds) Life in the Universe. Cellular Origin and Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1003-0_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1003-0_8
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