Life on Land Began 300 Million Years Earlier Than Previously Thought

Geologists Found Traces of Microorganisms in Rock Layer Several Billions of Years Old / Findings Published in "Geology". ' 389/2016 from Nov 11, 2016 According to a recent study, life on Earth took hold on land at least 3.2 billion years ago - 300 million years earlier than previously thought. Scientists at Freie Universität Berlin, the German GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) in Potsdam, and Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena found traces of microorganisms indicating that there were living organisms outside the oceans earlier than previously believed. The team led by geologist Sami Nabhan from Freie Universität Berlin investigated ancient rock formations in South Africa. The rocks of the Barberton Greenstone Belt are among the oldest known rocks on the planet. They are up to 3.5 billion years old. In a layer that has been dated at 3.22 billion years old, the scientists found tiny grains of the mineral pyrite, an iron sulfide.