Microbial Trace Fossils Dated at 3.35 Billion Years Raise Questions

Abstract

Using pillow lava samples from the Euro Basalt of Pilbara Craton in Western Australia, Canadian geochemist and petrologist Neil R. Banerjee from the University of Western Ontario and his collaborators identified microbial tunnels that they date to the Archean period. If this evidence holds up it has important implications for evolution. It not only suggests that microbial life was abundant in the deep sea 3.35 billion years ago, but also that it was endolithic and relatively advanced in terms of structure and physiology.