The oldest identified piece of Earth? A 4.4 billion-year-old zircon
John Valley, College of Wisconsin-Madison
Till lately, many discounted the concept life might have existed on Earth earlier than 3.8 billion years in the past as a result of it was thought that heavy pummelling from asteroids would have made this unattainable. However a number of traces of proof are pointing to an earlier origin of life, and as we start to query whether or not the late heavy bombardment actually occurred in any respect, it’s starting to appear like life began surprisingly early in our planet’s historical past.
The earliest fossil proof – round 3.5 billion years in the past
Though…
