Eoarchean

Eoarchean
Eoarchean
Chronology
−4500 — – — – −4000 — – — – −3500 — – — – −3000 — – — – −2500 — – — – −2000 — – — – −1500 — – — – −1000 — – — – −500 — – — – 0 —	Precambrian Hadean Archean Proterozoic Phaner; ozoic Eoarchean Paleoarchean Mesoarchean Neoarchean Paleoproterozoic Mesoproterozoic Neoproterozoic Paleozoic Mesozoic Cenozoic
	Vertical axis scale: Millions of years ago
Etymology
Name formality	Formal
Alternate spelling(s)	Eoarchaean
Usage information
Celestial body	Earth
Regional usage	Global (ICS)
Time scale(s) used	ICS Time Scale
Definition
Chronological unit	Era
Stratigraphic unit	Erathem
Time span formality	Formal
Lower boundary definition	Ten oldest U-Pb zircon ages
Lower boundary GSSA	Along the Acasta River, Northwest Territories, Canada; 65°10′26″N 115°33′14″W / 65.1738°N 115.5538°W
Lower GSSA ratified	2023
Upper boundary definition	Defined Chronometrically
Upper GSSA ratified	1991[citation needed]

The Eoarchean (IPA: /ˌiːoʊ.ɑːrˈkiːən/ EE-oh-ar-KEE-ən; also spelled Eoarchaean) is the first era of the Archean Eon of the geologic record. It spans 431 million years, from the end of the Hadean Eon 4031 Mya to the start of the Paleoarchean Era 3600 Mya. Some estimates place the beginnings of life on Earth in this era, while others^[2] place it earlier. Evidence of archaea and cyanobacteria date to 3500 Mya, comparatively shortly after the Eoarchean. At that time, the atmosphere was without oxygen and the pressure values ranged from 10 to 100 bar (around 10 to 100 times the atmospheric pressure today).^[3]^[4]^[5]

^ "Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point". International Commission of Stratigraphy. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
^ Moody, Edmund; Álvarez-Carretero, Sandra; Mahendrarajah, Tara (12 July 2024). "The nature of the last universal common ancestor and its impact on the early Earth system". Nat. Ecol. Evol. doi:10.1038/s41559-024-02461-1. PMC 11383801. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
^ Mulkidjanian, Armen Y. (August 2009). "On the origin of life in the zinc world: 1. Photosynthesizing, porous edifices built of hydrothermally precipitated zinc sulfide as cradles of life on Earth". Biol. Direct. 4: 26–. doi:10.1186/1745-6150-4-26. PMC 3152778. PMID 19703272.
^ Mulkidjanian, A. Y.; Bychkov, A. Y.; Dibrova, D. V.; Galperin, M. Y.; Koonin, E. V. (2012). "Origin of first cells at terrestrial, anoxic geothermal fields". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 109 (14): E821–30. Bibcode:2012PNAS..109E.821M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1117774109. PMC 3325685. PMID 22331915.
^ Mulkidjanian, A. Y. (2011). "Energetics of the First Life". In Egel, R.; Lankenau, D.-H.; Mulkidjanian, A. Y. (eds.). Origins of Life: The Primal Self-Organization. Heidelberg: Springer Verlag. pp. 3–33. ISBN 978-3-642-21625-1.