The Barberton Greenstone Belt of eastern South Africa contains some of the most widely accepted fossil evidence for Archean life. These cell-sized prokaryote fossils are seen in the Barberton fossil record in rocks as old as 3.5 billion years [1]. The Barberton Greenstone Belt is an excellent place to study the Archean Earth due to exposed sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks.
Studying the earliest forms of life on Earth can provide valuable information to help understand how life can evolve on other planets. It has long been hypothesized that life may exist on Mars due to the similarity of environmental and tectonic conditions during the Archean time [2]. By knowing the environments early life evolved in on Earth, and the rock types they are preserved in, scientists can have a better understanding of where to look for life on Mars.
- ^ Walsh, M. (1991). "Microfossils and possible microfossils from the early Archean Onverwacht Group, Barberton mountain land, South Africa". Precambrian Research. 54 (2–4): 271–293. doi:10.1016/0301-9268(92)90074-X. PMID 11540926.
- ^ Westall, F. (2000). "Extracellular polymeric substances as biomarkers in terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials". Geophisical Research. 105 (10): 24511–24527. doi:10.1029/2000JE001250.
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