Synonyms
Definition
The Archaean is the period of geological time between 3.8 and 2.5 billion years ago when life is thought to have emerged on Earth. Traces of Archaean life are preserved in rare, fragmentary, and often highly altered rock sequences. Morphological evidence for Archaean life is provided by microfossils, stromatolites, and microbially induced sedimentary structures. Chemical evidence for life is recorded by stable isotope ratios of carbon and sulfur in particular. These various biosignatures provide insights into the nature of early Archaean ecosystems and much remains to be learned about the predominant microbial metabolisms at this time and their distribution. Recognizing and distinguishing abiotic mimics from bona fide microbial also remains an important challenge. The effort to refine our understanding of microbial biosignatures in the Archaean rock record is essential to designing strategies for seeking life elsewhere in our universe and for...
References and Further Reading
Allwood AC, Rosing MT, Flannery DT, Hurowitz JA, Heirwegh CM (2018) Reassessing evidence of life in 3,700-million-year-old rocks of Greenland. Nature 563(7730):241–244
Banerjee NR, Simonetti A, Furnes H, Staudigel H, Muehlenbachs K, Heaman L, Van Kranendonk MJ (2007) Direct dating of Archean microbial ichnofossils. Geology 35:487–490
Bengtson S, Rasmussen B, Ivarsson M, Muhling J, Broman C, Marone F et al (2017) Fungus-like mycelial fossils in 2.4-billion-year-old vesicular basalt. Nat Ecol Evol 1(6):1–6
Brasier MD, Green OR, Jephcoat AP, Kleppe AK, van Kranendonk MJ, Lindsay JF, Steele A, Grassineau NV (2002) Questioning the evidence for Earth’s oldest fossils. Nature 416:76–81
Brasier MD, Green OR, Lindsay JF, McLoughlin N, Jephcoat AP, Kleppe AK, Steele A, Stoakes CP (2005) Critical testing of Earth’s oldest putative fossil assemblage from the ~3.5 Ga Apex chert, Chinaman Creek, Western Australia. Prec Res 140:55–102
Brasier MD, McLoughlin N, Wacey D (2006) A fresh look at the fossil evidence for early Archaean cellular life. Phil Trans R Soc B 361:887–902
Djokic T, Van Kranendonk MJ, Campbell KA, Walter MR, Ward CR (2017) Earliest signs of life on land preserved in ca. 3.5 Ga hot spring deposits. Nat Commun 8(1):1–9
Fedo CM, Whitehouse MJ (2002) metasomatic origin of quartz-pyroxene rock, Akilia, greenland, and its implications for Earth’s earliest life. Science 296:1448–1452
Furnes H, Banerjee NR, Muehlenbachs K, Staudigel H, de Wit M (2004) Early life recorded in Archean pillow lavas. Science 304(5670):578–581
García-Ruiz JM, Hyde ST, Carnerup AM, Christy AG, Van Kranendonk MJ, Welham NJ (2003) Self-assembled silica carbonate structures and detection of ancient microfossils. Science 302:1194–1197
Grassineau NV, Nisbet EG, Bickle MJ, Fowler CMR, Lowry D, Mattey DP, Abell P, Martin A (2001) Antiquity of the biological sulphur cycle: evidence from sulphur and carbon isotopes in 2700 million-year old rock of the Belingwe Belt, Zimbabwe. Proc Royal Soc Lond B 268:113–119
Grosch EG, McLoughlin N (2013) Paleoarchean sulfur cycle and biogeochemical surface conditions on the early Earth, Barberton, South Africa. Earth Planet Sci Lett 377:142–154
Grosch EG, McLoughlin N (2014) Reassessing the biogenicity of Earth’s oldest trace fossil with implications for biosignatures in the search for early life. Proc Natl Acad Sci 111(23):8380–8385
Grosch EG, Muñoz M, Mathon O, McLoughlin N (2017) Earliest microbial trace fossils in Archaean pillow lavas under scrutiny: new micro-X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy, metamorphic and morphological constraints. Geological Soc London Special Pub 448(1):57–70
Grotzinger JP, Rothman DH (1996) An abiotic model for stromatolite morphogenesis. Nature 383(6599):423–425
Heubeck C (2009) An early ecosystem of Archean tidal microbial mats (Moodies Group, South Africa, ca. 3.2 Ga). Geology 37(10):931–934
Hofmann HJ, Grey K, Hickman AH, Thorpe RI (1999) Origin of 3.45 Ga coniform stromatolites in Warrawoona Group, Western Australia. Geolog Soc Am Bullet 111:1256–1126
Javaux E (2019) Challenges in evidencing the earliest traces of life. Nature 572:451–459
Javaux EJ, Marshall CP, Bekker A (2010) Organic-walled microfossils in 3.2-billion-year-old shallow-marine siliclastic deposits. Nature 463:934–938
Lepot K (2020) Signatures of early microbial life from the Archean (4 to 2.5 Ga) eon. Earth-Sci Rev 103296
Lowe DR (1994) Abiological origin of described stromatolites older than 3.2 Ga. Geology 22:387
McLoughlin N, Wilson LA, Brasier MD (2008) Growth of synthetic stromatolites and wrinkle structures in the absence of microbes–implications for the early fossil record. Geobiology 6(2):95–105
McLoughlin N, Staudigel H, Furnes H, Eickmann B, Ivarsson M (2010) Mechanisms of microtunneling in rock substrates: distinguishing endolithic biosignatures from abiotic microtunnels. Geobiology 8(4):245–255
McLoughlin N, Wacey D, Phunguphungu S, Saunders M, Grosch EG (2020) Deconstructing Earth’s oldest ichnofossil record from the Pilbara Craton, West Australia: Implications for seeking life in the Archean subseafloor. Geobiology 18(5):525–543
Mojzsis SJ, Arrenhius G, McKeegan KD, Harrison TM, Nutman AP, Friend CRL (1996) Evidence for Life on Earth 3,800 Million Years Ago. Nature 384:55–59
Noffke N, Eriksson KA, Hazen RM, Simpson EL (2006) A new window into Early Archean life: Microbial mats in Earth’s oldest siliciclastic tidal deposits (3.2 Ga Moodies Group, South Africa). Geology 34(4):253–256
Nutman AP, Bennett VC, Friend CR, Van Kranendonk MJ, Chivas AR (2016) Rapid emergence of life shown by discovery of 3,700-million-year-old microbial structures. Nature 537(7621):535–538
Philippot P, van Zuilen MA, Lepot K, Thomazo C, Farquhar J, Van Kranendonk MJ (2007) Early Archean microorganisms preferred elemental sulfur, not sulfate. Science 317:1534–1537
Rasmussen B (2000) Filamentous microfossils in a 3,250-million-year-old volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit. Nature 405:676–679
Schidlowski M (2001) Carbon isotopes as biogeochemical recorders of life over 3.8 Ga of Earth history: evolution of a concept. Prec Res 106:117–134
Schopf JW, Packer BM (1987) Early Archean (3.3 Billion to 3.5 Billion-Year-Old) Microfossils from Warrawoona Group, Australia. Science 237:70–73
Schopf JW, Kitajima K, Spicuzza MJ, Kudryavtsev AB, Valley JW (2018) SIMS analyses of the oldest known assemblage of microfossils document their taxon-correlated carbon isotope compositions. PNAS 115(1):53–58
Sforna MC, Brunelli D, Pisapia C, Pasini V, Malferrari D, Ménez B (2018) Abiotic formation of condensed carbonaceous matter in the hydrating oceanic crust. Nat Commun 9(1):1–8
Shen Y, Buick R (2004) The antiquity of microbial sulfate reduction. Earth Sci Rev 64(3–4):243–272
Sugitani K, Mimura K, Takeuchi M, Lepot K, Ito S, Javaux EJ (2015) Early evolution of large micro-organisms with cytological complexity revealed by microanalyses of 3.4 Ga organic-walled microfossils. Geobiology 13(6):507–521
Tice MM, Lowe DR (2004) Photosynthetic microbial mats in the 3,416-Myr-old ocean. Nature 431:549–552
Ueno Y, Yamada K, Yoshida N, Maruyama S, Isozaki Y (2006) Evidence from fluid inclusions for microbial methanogenesis in the early Archaean era. Nature 440:516–519
van Zuilen MA, Chaussidon M, Rollion-Bard C, Marty B (2007) Carbonaceous cherts of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa: Isotopic, chemical and structural characteristics of individual microstructures. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 71(3):655–669
Wacey D, McLoughlin N, Whitehouse MJ, Kilburn MR (2010) Two co-existing sulfur metabolisms in a ca. 3,400 Ma sandstone. Geology 38(12):1115–1118
Wacey D, Saunders M, Cliff J, Kilburn MR, Kong C, Barley ME, Brasier MD (2014) Geochemistry and nano-structure of a putative∼ 3240 million-year-old black smoker biota, Sulphur Springs Group, Western Australia. Prec Res 249:1–12
Wacey D, Saunders M, Kong C (2018) Remarkably preserved tephra from the 3430 Ma Strelley Pool Formation, Western Australia: Implications for the interpretation of Precambrian microfossils. Earth Planet Sci Lett 487:33–43
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
McLoughlin, N. (2022). Archaean Traces of Life. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_101-6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_101-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics
Publish with us
Chapter history
-
Latest
Archaean Traces of Life- Published:
- 03 December 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_101-6
-
Original
Archean Traces of Life- Published:
- 30 April 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_101-5