Diverse and large Archean microfossil assemblage from the Pilbara Craton -its origin and significance in the early evolution of life-

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Morphologically diverse microfossils from the ca. 3.0 Ga Farrel Quartzite in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia were studied comprehensively, including accumulation of photo data of microfossils, palynological extraction of microfossils, reconstruction of 3-D images, reconstruction of life cycle and taxonomic analyses, analyses of rare-earth elements in host cherts, and Nano-SIMS elemental mapping. The results of these studies are consistent with the biogenicity of the Farrel Quartzite microstructures, and suggest that the surface ecosystem in the Archean was much more diverse than currently postulated and the possibility that the assemblage includes oxygen-producing photosynthetic bacteria and even eukaryotes.