Warrawoona Group

The Warrawoona Group is a geological unit in Western Australia containing putative fossils of cyanobacteria cells. Dated 3.465 Ga, these microstructures, found in Archean chert, are considered to be the oldest known geological record of life on Earth.^[1][2][3]

Warrawoona Group
Stratigraphic range: Paleoarchean ~3465 Ma Pha. Proterozoic Archean Had. ↓
Warrawoona and Western Australia showing geological classification
Type	Geological group
Unit of	Pilbara Supergroup
Lithology
Primary	Chert
Other	Archean felsic volcanic rocks
Location
Coordinates	21°42′S 118°0′E
Region	Western Australia
Country	Australia
Extent	Pilbara craton
Type section
Named for	Warrawoona
Named by	Arthur Hugh Hickman
Year defined	1983
Warrawoona Group (Australia) Show map of Australia Warrawoona Group (Western Australia) Show map of Western Australia

Description

The fossils in this group were discovered by Arthur Hugh Hickman in 1983 in Warrawoona, 21°42′S 118°0′E, a region on the Pilbara craton in the northern part of Pilbara province.

Whether or not the fossils were authentic was disputed in the past, as abiotic processes could not be ruled out.^[4][5] Currently the fossils are thought to be of biological origin, however there is no conclusive evidence of fossilized organisms in the formation, and whether the lines in the rock are fossilized stromatolites.^[6]

The rocks also include felsic volcanic rocks.^[7]

See also

• North Pole, WA for similar issues
• Origin of life
• Timetable of the Precambrian
• Geology of Australia
• Fig Tree Formation