Precambrian

Relatively little is known about the Precambrian, despite it making up roughly seven-eighths of the Earth's history, and what is known has largely been discovered from the 1960s onwards. The Precambrian fossil record is poorer than that of the succeeding Phanerozoic, and fossils from the Precambrian (e.g. stromatolites) are of limited biostratigraphic use.{{cite book |first1=James S. |last1=Monroe |first2=Reed |last2=Wicander |title=The Changing Earth: Exploring Geology and Evolution |edition=2nd |location=Belmont |publisher=Wadsworth Publishing Company |year=1997 |page=492 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=48aiAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA492|isbn=9781285981383 }} This is because many Precambrian rocks have been heavily metamorphosed, obscuring their origins, while others have been destroyed by erosion, or remain deeply buried beneath Phanerozoic strata.{{cite book |last1=Levin |first1=Harold L. |title=The earth through time |date=2010 |publisher=J. Wiley |location=Hoboken, N.J. |isbn=978-0470387740 |pages=230–233 |edition=9th}} Outlined in {{cite web |first1=Pamela J.W. |last1=Gore |title=The Earliest Earth: 2,100,000,000 years of the Archean Eon |url=http://higheredbcs.wiley.com/legacy/college/levin/0471697435/chap_tut/chaps/chapter08-01.html |date=25 October 2005}}{{cite book |chapter=The Precambrian Era |chapter-url=http://geo.msu.edu/extra/geogmich/precambrian.html |publisher=Michigan State University |last=Davis |first=C.M. |year=1964 |title=Readings in the Geography of Michigan}}

It is thought that the Earth coalesced from material in orbit around the Sun at roughly 4,543 Ma, and may have been struck by another planet called Theia shortly after it formed, splitting off material that formed the Moon (see Giant-impact hypothesis). A stable crust was apparently in place by 4,433 Ma, since zircon crystals from Western Australia have been dated at 4,404 ± 8 Ma.{{cite web |url=http://geoscience.wisc.edu/geoscience/people/faculty/john-valley/zircons-are-forever/ |title=Zircons are Forever |access-date=28 April 2007 |year=2005 |work=Department of Geoscience |archive-date=18 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518054145/http://geoscience.wisc.edu/geoscience/people/faculty/john-valley/zircons-are-forever/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite journal |last1=Cavosie |first1=Aaron J. |last2=Valley |first2=John W. |last3=Wilde |first3=Simon A. |title=Chapter 2.5 The Oldest Terrestrial Mineral Record: A Review of 4400 to 4000 Ma Detrital Zircons from Jack Hills, Western Australia |journal=Developments in Precambrian Geology |date=2007 |volume=15 |pages=91–111 |doi=10.1016/S0166-2635(07)15025-8|bibcode=2007DevPG..15...91C |isbn=9780444528100 }}

{{anchor|supereon}}The term "Precambrian" is used by geologists and paleontologists for general discussions not requiring a more specific eon name. However, both the United States Geological Survey{{citation |author=U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Names Committee |title=Divisions of geologic time – major chronostratigraphic and geochronologic units |publisher=United States Geological Survey |work=U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2010–3059 |pages=2 |year=2010 |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2010/3059/ |access-date=20 June 2018}} and the International Commission on Stratigraphy regard the term as informal.{{cite web |work=International Commission on Stratigraphy |publisher=International Chronostratigraphic Chart |date=February 2017 |url=https://stratigraphy.org/chart |first1=Junxuan |last1=Fan |first2=Xudong |last2=Hou |title=Chart |access-date=10 May 2018}} Because the span of time falling under the Precambrian consists of three eons (the Hadean, the Archean, and the Proterozoic), it is sometimes described as a supereon,{{cite journal |last1=Senter |first1=Phil |title=The Age of the Earth & Its Importance to Biology |journal=The American Biology Teacher |date=1 April 2013 |volume=75 |issue=4 |pages=251–256 |doi=10.1525/abt.2013.75.4.5|s2cid=85652369 }}{{cite journal |last1=Kamp |first1=Ulrich |title=Glaciations |journal=International Encyclopedia of Geography: People, the Earth, Environment and Technology |date=6 March 2017 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg0612|isbn=9780470659632 }} but this is also an informal term, not defined by the ICS in its chronostratigraphic guide.{{cite web |title=Stratigraphic Guide |url=https://stratigraphy.org/guide/chron |website=International Commission on Stratigraphy |at=Table 3 |access-date=9 December 2020}}

{{vanchor|Eozoic}} (from {{wikt-lang|en|eo-}} "earliest") was a synonym for pre-Cambrian and Precambrian,{{cite book|last=Hitchcock|first=C. H.|title=The Geology of New Hampshire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zCWO-P0txYYC&pg=PA511|year=1874|page=511|quote= The name Eozoic seems to have been proposed by Dr. J.W. Dawson, of Montreal, in 1865. He did not fully define the limits of its application at that time; but it seems to have been generally understood by geologists to embrace all the obscurely fossiliferous rocks older than the Cambrian.}}{{cite book|title=Bulletin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YngeAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA3-PA28|volume=767|year=1925|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=3|quote= [1888] Sir J. W. Dawson prefers the term "Eozoic" [to Archean], and would have it include all the Pre-Cambrian strata.}} or more specifically Archean.{{cite book|last=Salop|first=L.J.|title=Geological Evolution of the Earth During the Precambrian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SmX7CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA9|year=2012|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-642-68684-9|page=9|quote= a possibility of dividing the Precambrian history into two eons: the Eozoic, embracing the Archean Era only, and the Protozoic, comprising all the remaining Precambrian Eras.}}

{{Further|Origin of life|Avalon explosion|Earliest known life forms}}

A specific date for the origin of life has not been determined. Carbon found in 3.8 billion-year-old rocks (Archean Eon) from islands off western Greenland may be of organic origin. Well-preserved microscopic fossils of bacteria older than 3.46 billion years have been found in Western Australia.{{cite book |last1=Brun |first1=Yves |author-link=Yves Brun |first2=Lawrence J. |last2=Shimkets |title=Prokaryotic development |publisher=ASM Press |date=January 2000 |page=114 |isbn=978-1-55581-158-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wRxrAAAAMAAJ}} Probable fossils 100 million years older have been found in the same area. However, there is evidence that life could have evolved over 4.280 billion years ago.{{cite journal |author=Dodd, Matthew S. |author2=Papineau, Dominic |author3=Grenne, Tor |author4=slack, John F. |author5=Rittner, Martin |author6=Pirajno, Franco |author7=O'Neil, Jonathan |author8=Little, Crispin T. S. |title=Evidence for early life in Earth's oldest hydrothermal vent precipitates|journal=Nature |volume=543 |issue=7643 |pages=60–64 |date=2 March 2017 | doi=10.1038/nature21377|pmid=28252057 |bibcode=2017Natur.543...60D |doi-access=free }}{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Zimmer |title=Scientists Say Canadian Bacteria Fossils May Be Earth's Oldest |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/science/earths-oldest-bacteria-fossils.html |date=1 March 2017 |work=The New York Times |access-date=2 March 2017 }}{{cite web |last=Ghosh |first=Pallab |title=Earliest evidence of life on Earth 'found' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39117523 |work=BBC News |date=1 March 2017 |access-date=2 March 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Dunham |first1=Will |title=Canadian bacteria-like fossils called oldest evidence of life |url=http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN16858B?sp=true |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302114728/http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN16858B?sp=true |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 2, 2017 |date=1 March 2017 |work=Reuters |access-date=1 March 2017 }} There is a fairly solid record of bacterial life throughout the remainder (Proterozoic Eon) of the Precambrian.

Complex multicellular organisms may have appeared as early as 2100 Ma.{{cite journal |last1=Albani |first1=Abderrazak El |last2=Bengtson |first2=Stefan |last3=Canfield |first3=Donald E. |last4=Bekker |first4=Andrey |last5=Macchiarelli |first5=Roberto |last6=Mazurier |first6=Arnaud |last7=Hammarlund |first7=Emma U. |last8=Boulvais |first8=Philippe |last9=Dupuy |first9=Jean-Jacques |last10=Fontaine |first10=Claude |last11=Fürsich |first11=Franz T. |last12=Gauthier-Lafaye |first12=François |last13=Janvier |first13=Philippe |last14=Javaux |first14=Emmanuelle |last15=Ossa |first15=Frantz Ossa |last16=Pierson-Wickmann |first16=Anne-Catherine |last17=Riboulleau |first17=Armelle |last18=Sardini |first18=Paul |last19=Vachard |first19=Daniel |last20=Whitehouse |first20=Martin |last21=Meunier |first21=Alain |title=Large colonial organisms with coordinated growth in oxygenated environments 2.1 Gyr ago |journal=Nature |date=July 2010 |volume=466 |issue=7302 |pages=100–104 |doi=10.1038/nature09166|pmid=20596019 |bibcode=2010Natur.466..100A |s2cid=4331375 }} However, the interpretation of ancient fossils is problematic, and "... some definitions of multicellularity encompass everything from simple bacterial colonies to badgers."{{cite journal |last1=Donoghue |first1=Philip C. J. |last2=Antcliffe |first2=Jonathan B. |title=Origins of multicellularity |journal=Nature |date=July 2010 |volume=466 |issue=7302 |pages=41–42 |doi=10.1038/466041a|pmid=20596008 |s2cid=4396466 }} Other possible early complex multicellular organisms include a possible 2450 Ma red alga from the Kola Peninsula,{{cite journal |last1=Rozanov |first1=A. Yu. |last2=Astafieva |first2=M. M. |title=A unique find of the earliest multicellular algae in the Lower Proterozoic (2.45 Ga) of the Kola Peninsula |journal=Doklady Biological Sciences |date=1 March 2013 |volume=449 |issue=1 |pages=96–98 |doi=10.1134/S0012496613020051|pmid=23652437 |s2cid=15774804 }} 1650 Ma carbonaceous biosignatures in north China,{{cite journal |last1=Qu |first1=Yuangao |last2=Zhu |first2=Shixing |last3=Whitehouse |first3=Martin |last4=Engdahl |first4=Anders |last5=McLoughlin |first5=Nicola |title=Carbonaceous biosignatures of the earliest putative macroscopic multicellular eukaryotes from 1630 Ma Tuanshanzi Formation, north China |journal=Precambrian Research |date=1 January 2018 |volume=304 |pages=99–109 |doi=10.1016/j.precamres.2017.11.004|bibcode=2018PreR..304...99Q }} the 1600 Ma Rafatazmia,{{cite journal |last1=Bengtson |first1=Stefan |last2=Sallstedt |first2=Therese |last3=Belivanova |first3=Veneta |last4=Whitehouse |first4=Martin |title=Three-dimensional preservation of cellular and subcellular structures suggests 1.6 billion-year-old crown-group red algae |journal=PLOS Biology |date=14 March 2017 |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=e2000735 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.2000735|pmid=28291791 |pmc=5349422 |doi-access=free }} and a possible 1047 Ma Bangiomorpha red alga from the Canadian Arctic.{{cite journal|doi=10.1130/G39829.1|title=Precise age of Bangiomorpha pubescens dates the origin of eukaryotic photosynthesis|journal=Geology|volume=46|issue=2|pages=135–138|year=2017|last1=Gibson|first1=Timothy M|last2=Shih|first2=Patrick M|last3=Cumming|first3=Vivien M|last4=Fischer|first4=Woodward W|last5=Crockford|first5=Peter W|last6=Hodgskiss|first6=Malcolm S.W|last7=Wörndle|first7=Sarah|last8=Creaser|first8=Robert A|last9=Rainbird|first9=Robert H|last10=Skulski|first10=Thomas M|last11=Halverson|first11=Galen P|url=https://authors.library.caltech.edu/83811/3/2018030.pdf}} The earliest fossils widely accepted as complex multicellular organisms date from the Ediacaran Period.{{cite journal |last1=Laflamme |first1=M. |title=Modeling morphological diversity in the oldest large multicellular organisms |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=9 September 2014 |volume=111 |issue=36 |pages=12962–12963 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1412523111|pmid=25114212 |pmc=4246935 |bibcode=2014PNAS..11112962L |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Kolesnikov |first1=Anton V. |last2=Rogov |first2=Vladimir I. |last3=Bykova |first3=Natalia V. |last4=Danelian |first4=Taniel |last5=Clausen |first5=Sébastien |last6=Maslov |first6=Andrey V. |last7=Grazhdankin |first7=Dmitriy V. |title=The oldest skeletal macroscopic organism Palaeopascichnus linearis |journal=Precambrian Research |date=October 2018 |volume=316 |pages=24–37 |doi=10.1016/j.precamres.2018.07.017|bibcode=2018PreR..316...24K |s2cid=134885946 }} A very diverse collection of soft-bodied forms is found in a variety of locations worldwide and date to between 635 and 542 Ma. These are referred to as Ediacaran or Vendian biota. Hard-shelled creatures appeared toward the end of that time span, marking the beginning of the Phanerozoic Eon. By the middle of the following Cambrian Period, a very diverse fauna is recorded in the Burgess Shale, including some which may represent stem groups of modern taxa. The increase in diversity of lifeforms during the early Cambrian is called the Cambrian explosion of life.{{cite book|last1=Fedonkin|first1=Mikhail A.|author-link=Mikhail A. Fedonkin|last2=Gehling|first2=James G.|last3=Grey|first3=Kathleen|last4=Narbonne|first4=Guy M.|last5=Vickers-Rich|first5=Patricia|author5-link=Patricia Vickers-Rich|others=Foreword by Arthur C. Clarke|date=2007|title=The Rise of Animals: Evolution and Diversification of the Kingdom Animalia|location=Baltimore, Maryland|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0-8018-8679-9|lccn=2007061351|oclc=85162342|ol=17256629M}}{{cite book |last1=Dawkins |first1=Richard |author-link=Richard Dawkins |title=The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution |year=2005 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=9780618619160 |first2=Yan |last2=Wong |url=https://archive.org/details/ancestorstale00rich_0 |url-access=registration |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ancestorstale00rich_0/page/n696 673]}}

While land seems to have been devoid of plants and animals, cyanobacteria and other microbes formed prokaryotic mats that covered terrestrial areas.{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.paulselden.net/uploads/7/5/3/2/7532217/elsterrestrialization.pdf |title=Terrestrialization (Precambrian–Devonian) |last=Selden |first=Paul A. |year=2005 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Life Sciences |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |doi=10.1038/npg.els.0004145 |isbn=978-0470016176 }}

Tracks from an animal with leg-like appendages have been found in what was mud 551 million years ago.{{cite web| url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/oldest-fossil-footprints-china-found-discovered-yangtze-virginia-tech-a8386911.html| title = Scientists discover 'oldest footprints on Earth' in southern China dating back 550 million years| website = Independent.co.uk| date = 7 June 2018}} The Independent{{cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Zhe |last2=Chen |first2=Xiang |last3=Zhou |first3=Chuanming |last4=Yuan |first4=Xunlai |last5=Xiao |first5=Shuhai |title=Late Ediacaran trackways produced by bilaterian animals with paired appendages |journal=Science Advances |date=June 2018 |volume=4 |issue=6 |pages=eaao6691 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aao6691|pmid=29881773 |pmc=5990303 |bibcode=2018SciA....4.6691C }}

The RNA world hypothesis asserts that RNA evolved before coded proteins and DNA genomes.{{cite journal |vauthors=Fine JL, Pearlman RE |title=On the origin of life: an RNA-focused synthesis and narrative |journal=RNA |volume=29 |issue=8 |pages=1085–98 |date=August 2023 |pmid=37142437 |pmc=10351881 |doi=10.1261/rna.079598.123 }} During the Hadean Eon (4,567–4,031 Ma) abundant geothermal microenvironments were present that may have had the potential to support the synthesis and replication of RNA and thus possibly the evolution of a primitive life form.{{cite journal |vauthors=Salditt A, Karr L, Salibi E, Le Vay K, Braun D, Mutschler H |title=Ribozyme-mediated RNA synthesis and replication in a model Hadean microenvironment |journal=Nat Commun |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=1495 |date=March 2023 |pmid=36932102 |pmc=10023712 |doi=10.1038/s41467-023-37206-4 |bibcode=2023NatCo..14.1495S }} It was shown that porous rock systems comprising heated air-water interfaces could allow ribozyme-catalyzed RNA replication of sense and antisense strands that could be followed by strand-dissociation, thus enabling combined synthesis, release and folding of active ribozymes. This primitive RNA replicative system also may have been able to undergo template strand switching during replication (genetic recombination) as is known to occur during the RNA replication of extant coronaviruses.{{cite journal |vauthors=Su S, Wong G, Shi W, Liu J, Lai AC, Zhou J, Liu W, Bi Y, Gao GF |title=Epidemiology, Genetic Recombination, and Pathogenesis of Coronaviruses |journal=Trends Microbiol |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=490–502 |date=June 2016 |pmid=27012512 |pmc=7125511 |doi=10.1016/j.tim.2016.03.003 }}

File:Temagami greenstone belt pillow lava.jpg in the Temagami Greenstone Belt of the Canadian Shield]]

Evidence of the details of plate motions and other tectonic activity in the Precambrian is difficult to interpret. It is generally believed that small proto-continents existed before 4280 Ma, and that most of the Earth's landmasses collected into a single supercontinent around 1130 Ma. The supercontinent, known as Rodinia, broke up around 750 Ma. A number of glacial periods have been identified going as far back as the Huronian epoch, roughly 2400–2100 Ma. One of the best studied is the Sturtian-Varangian glaciation, around 850–635 Ma, which may have brought glacial conditions all the way to the equator, resulting in a "Snowball Earth".{{Cite journal |last1=Hoffman |first1=Paul F. |last2=Abbot |first2=Dorian S. |last3=Ashkenazy |first3=Yosef |last4=Benn |first4=Douglas I. |last5=Brocks |first5=Jochen J. |last6=Cohen |first6=Phoebe A. |last7=Cox |first7=Grant M. |last8=Creveling |first8=Jessica R. |last9=Donnadieu |first9=Yannick |last10=Erwin |first10=Douglas H. |last11=Fairchild |first11=Ian J. |last12=Ferreira |first12=David |last13=Goodman |first13=Jason C. |last14=Halverson |first14=Galen P. |last15=Jansen |first15=Malte F. |display-authors=8 |date=2017-11-08 |title=Snowball Earth climate dynamics and Cryogenian geology-geobiology |journal=Science Advances |volume=3 |issue=11 |pages=e1600983 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.1600983 |pmc=5677351 |pmid=29134193|bibcode=2017SciA....3E0983H }}{{Cite journal |last=Parnell |first=John |date=2022-06-01 |title=Snowball Earth to Global Warming: Coupled vanadium-carbonaceous deposits in the Cryogenian-Cambrian |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169136822001846 |journal=Ore Geology Reviews |volume=145 |pages=104876 |doi=10.1016/j.oregeorev.2022.104876 |bibcode=2022OGRv..14504876P |issn=0169-1368|hdl=2164/18433 |hdl-access=free }}

The atmosphere of the early Earth is not well understood. Most geologists believe it was composed primarily of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and other relatively inert gases, and was lacking in free oxygen. There is, however, evidence that an oxygen-rich atmosphere existed since the early Archean.{{cite journal |last1=Clemmey |first1=Harry |first2=Nick |last2=Badham |title=Oxygen in the Precambrian Atmosphere |journal=Geology |date=1982 |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=141–146 |doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1982)10<141:OITPAA>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode = 1982Geo....10..141C }}

At present, it is still believed that molecular oxygen was not a significant fraction of Earth's atmosphere until after photosynthetic life forms evolved and began to produce it in large quantities as a byproduct of their metabolism. This radical shift from a chemically inert to an oxidizing atmosphere caused an ecological crisis, sometimes called the oxygen catastrophe. At first, oxygen would have quickly combined with other elements in Earth's crust, primarily iron, removing it from the atmosphere. After the supply of oxidizable surfaces ran out, oxygen would have begun to accumulate in the atmosphere, and the modern high-oxygen atmosphere would have developed. Evidence for this lies in older rocks that contain massive banded iron formations that were laid down as iron oxides.{{Citation |last1=Kump |first1=Lee R. |title=8.1 The Great Oxidation Event |date=2013 |work=Reading the Archive of Earth’s Oxygenation: Volume 3: Global Events and the Fennoscandian Arctic Russia - Drilling Early Earth Project |pages=1517–1533 |editor-last=Melezhik |editor-first=Victor A. |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-29670-3_11 |access-date=2025-01-27 |place=Berlin, Heidelberg |publisher=Springer |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-29670-3_11 |isbn=978-3-642-29670-3 |last2=Fallick |first2=Anthony E. |last3=Melezhik |first3=Victor A. |last4=Strauss |first4=Harald |last5=Lepland |first5=Aivo |editor2-last=Prave |editor2-first=Anthony R. |editor3-last=Hanski |editor3-first=Eero J. |editor4-last=Fallick |editor4-first=Anthony E.}}{{Cite journal |last1=Konhauser |first1=Kurt O. |last2=Pecoits |first2=Ernesto |last3=Lalonde |first3=Stefan V. |last4=Papineau |first4=Dominic |last5=Nisbet |first5=Euan G. |last6=Barley |first6=Mark E. |last7=Arndt |first7=Nicholas T. |last8=Zahnle |first8=Kevin |last9=Kamber |first9=Balz S. |date=2009 |title=Oceanic nickel depletion and a methanogen famine before the Great Oxidation Event |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature07858 |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=458 |issue=7239 |pages=750–753 |doi=10.1038/nature07858 |pmid=19360085 |bibcode=2009Natur.458..750K |issn=1476-4687}}

{{main|Timetable of the Precambrian}}

{{Life timeline}}

A terminology has evolved covering the early years of the Earth's existence, as radiometric dating has allowed absolute dates to be assigned to specific formations and features.{{cite web| url = https://www.geosociety.org/science/timescale/| title = Geological Society of America's "2009 GSA Geologic Time Scale."| access-date = 2019-08-29| archive-date = 2020-11-05| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201105231837/https://www.geosociety.org/science/timescale/| url-status = dead}} The Precambrian is divided into three eons: the Hadean ({{Period start|Hadean}}–{{Period start|Archean}} Ma), Archean ({{Period start|Archean}}-{{Period start|Proterozoic}} Ma) and Proterozoic ({{Period start|Proterozoic}}-{{Period start|Cambrian}} Ma). See Timetable of the Precambrian.

• Proterozoic: this eon refers to the time from the lower Cambrian boundary, {{Period start|Cambrian}} Ma, back through {{Period start|Proterozoic}} Ma. As originally used, it was a synonym for "Precambrian" and hence included everything prior to the Cambrian boundary.{{Cite journal |last1=Plumb |first1=Kenneth A. |last2=James |first2=Harold L. |date=1986-07-15 |title=Subdivision of precambrian time: recommendations and suggestions by the subcommission on precambrian stratigraphy |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0301926886900318 |journal=Precambrian Research |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=65–92 |doi=10.1016/0301-9268(86)90031-8 |bibcode=1986PreR...32...65P |issn=0301-9268}} The Proterozoic Eon is divided into three eras: the Neoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic and Paleoproterozoic.
• Neoproterozoic: The youngest geologic era of the Proterozoic Eon, from the Cambrian Period lower boundary ({{Period start|Cambrian}} Ma) back to {{Period start|Neoproterozoic}} Ma. The Neoproterozoic corresponds to Precambrian Z rocks of older North American stratigraphy.
• Ediacaran: The youngest geologic period within the Neoproterozoic Era. The "2012 Geologic Time Scale" dates it from {{Period start|Cambrian}} to {{Period start|Ediacaran}} Ma. In this period the Ediacaran biota appeared.
• Cryogenian: The middle period in the Neoproterozoic Era: {{Period start|Ediacaran}}-{{Period start|Cryogenian}} Ma.
• Tonian: the earliest period of the Neoproterozoic Era: {{Period start|Cryogenian}}-{{Period start|Tonian}} Ma.
• Mesoproterozoic: the middle era of the Proterozoic Eon, {{Period start|Neoproterozoic}}-{{Period start|Mesoproterozoic}} Ma. Corresponds to "Precambrian Y" rocks of older North American stratigraphy.
• Paleoproterozoic: oldest era of the Proterozoic Eon, {{Period start|Mesoproterozoic}}-{{Period start|Paleoproterozoic}} Ma. Corresponds to "Precambrian X" rocks of older North American stratigraphy.
• Archean Eon: {{Period start|Proterozoic}}-{{Period start|Archean}} Ma.
• Hadean Eon: {{Period start|Archean}}–{{Period start|Hadean}} Ma. This term was intended originally to cover the time before any preserved rocks were deposited, although some zircon crystals from about 4400 Ma demonstrate the existence of crust in the Hadean Eon. Other records from Hadean time come from the Moon and meteorites.{{cite journal |last1=Harrison |first1=T. Mark |title=The Hadean Crust: Evidence from >4 Ga Zircons |journal=Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences |date=27 April 2009 |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=479–505 |doi=10.1146/annurev.earth.031208.100151|bibcode=2009AREPS..37..479H }}{{cite journal |last1=Abramov |first1=Oleg |last2=Kring |first2=David A. |last3=Mojzsis |first3=Stephen J. |title=The impact environment of the Hadean Earth |journal=Geochemistry |date=October 2013 |volume=73 |issue=3 |pages=227–248 |doi=10.1016/j.chemer.2013.08.004|bibcode=2013ChEG...73..227A }}

It has been proposed that the Precambrian should be divided into eons and eras that reflect stages of planetary evolution, rather than the current scheme based upon numerical ages. Such a system could rely on events in the stratigraphic record and be demarcated by GSSPs. The Precambrian could be divided into five "natural" eons, characterized as follows:{{cite book | last = Bleeker | first = W. | editor = Felix M. Gradstein | editor2 = James G. Ogg | editor3 = Alan G. Smith | title = A Geologic Time Scale 2004 | orig-year = 2004 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-78673-7 | chapter = Toward a "natural" Precambrian time scale | date = 2004}} also available at [http://www.stratigraphy.org/bak/precambrian/Bleeker_2004.pdf Stratigraphy.org: Precambrian subcommission]

1. Accretion and differentiation: a period of planetary formation until giant Moon-forming impact event.
2. Hadean: dominated by heavy bombardment from about 4.51 Ga (possibly including a cool early Earth period) to the end of the Late Heavy Bombardment period.
3. Archean: a period defined by the first crustal formations (the Isua greenstone belt) until the deposition of banded iron formations due to increasing atmospheric oxygen content.
4. Transition: a period of continued banded iron formation until the first continental red beds.
5. Proterozoic: a period of modern plate tectonics until the first animals.

The movement of Earth's plates has caused the formation and break-up of continents over time, including occasional formation of a supercontinent containing most or all of the landmass. The earliest known supercontinent was Vaalbara. It formed from proto-continents and was a supercontinent 3.636 billion years ago. Vaalbara broke up c. 2.845–2.803 Ga ago. The supercontinent Kenorland was formed c. 2.72 Ga ago and then broke sometime after 2.45–2.1 Ga into the proto-continent cratons called Laurentia, Baltica, Yilgarn craton and Kalahari. The supercontinent Columbia, or Nuna, formed 2.1–1.8 billion years ago and broke up about 1.3–1.2 billion years ago.{{Cite journal |first=Guochun |last=Zhao |author2 = Cawood, Peter A. |author3 = Wilde, Simon A. |author4 = Sun, M. |date=2002|title=Review of global 2.1–1.8 Ga orogens: implications for a pre-Rodinia super-continent |journal=Earth-Science Reviews |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=125–162 |doi=10.1016/S0012-8252(02)00073-9 |bibcode=2002ESRv...59..125Z}}{{Cite journal |first=Guochun |last=Zhao |author2=Sun, M. |author3=Wilde, Simon A. |author4= Li, S.Z. |date=2004|title=A Paleo-Mesoproterozoic super-continent: assembly, growth and breakup |journal=Earth-Science Reviews |volume=67 |issue=1 |pages=91–123 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2004.02.003 |bibcode=2004ESRv...67...91Z|url=http://www.gt-crust.ru/jour/article/view/518 |type=Submitted manuscript }} The supercontinent Rodinia is thought to have formed about 1300-900 Ma, to have included most or all of Earth's continents and to have broken up into eight continents around 750–600 million years ago.{{Cite journal | last1 = Li | first1 = Z. X. | last2 = Bogdanova | first2 = S. V. | last3 = Collins | first3 = A. S. | last4 = Davidson | first4 = A. | last5 = De Waele | first5 = B. | last6 = Ernst | first6 = R. E. | last7 = Fitzsimons | first7 = I. C. W. | last8 = Fuck | first8 = R. A. | last9 = Gladkochub | first9 = D. P. | last10 = Jacobs | first10 = J. | last11 = Karlstrom | first11 = K. E. | last12 = Lul | first12 = S. | last13 = Natapov | first13 = L. M. | last14 = Pease | first14 = V. | last15 = Pisarevsky | first15 = S. A. | last16 = Thrane | first16 = K. | last17 = Vernikovsky | first17 = V. | title = Assembly, configuration, and break-up history of Rodinia: A synthesis | year = 2008 | journal = Precambrian Research | volume = 160 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 179–210 | url = http://www.bdewaele.be/pdfs/Lietal_IGCP440_map_2008.pdf | access-date = 6 February 2016 | doi = 10.1016/j.precamres.2007.04.021 | bibcode = 2008PreR..160..179L | archive-date = 4 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304231035/http://www.bdewaele.be/pdfs/Lietal_IGCP440_map_2008.pdf | url-status = dead }}

File:Kenorland.jpg|Map of Kenorland supercontinent 2.5 billion years ago{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

File:Kenorland breaking up.jpg|Map of Kenorland breaking up 2.3 billion years ago{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

File:Paleoglobe NO 1590 mya-vector-colors.svg|The supercontinent Columbia about 1.6 billion years ago

File:Positions of ancient continents, 550 million years ago.jpg|Landmass positions near the end of the Precambrian{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

• {{annotated link|Phanerozoic}}
• {{annotated link|Paleozoic}}
• {{annotated link|Mesozoic}}
• {{annotated link|Cenozoic}}

• Valley, John W., William H. Peck, Elizabeth M. King (1999) Zircons Are Forever, The Outcrop for 1999, University of Wisconsin-Madison [http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~valley/zircons/zircon_home.html Wgeology.wisc.edu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316170539/http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~valley/zircons/zircon_home.html |date=2012-03-16 }} – Evidence from detrital zircons for the existence of continental crust and oceans on the Earth 4.4 Gyr ago Accessed Jan. 10, 2006
• {{cite journal |last=Wilde |first=S. A. |author2=Valley, J. W. |author3=Peck, W. H. |author4= Graham, C. M. |date=2001 |title=Evidence from detrital zircons for the existence of continental crust and oceans on the Earth 4.4 Gyr ago |journal=Nature |volume=409 |issue=6817 |pages=175–178 |doi=10.1038/35051550 |pmid=11196637 |bibcode=2001Natur.409..175W |s2cid=4319774 }}
• {{cite journal |last=Wyche |first=S. |author2=Nelson, D. R. |author3=Riganti, A. |date=2004 |title=4350–3130 Ma detrital zircons in the Southern Cross Granite–Greenstone Terrane, Western Australia: implications for the early evolution of the Yilgarn Craton |journal=Australian Journal of Earth Sciences |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=31–45 |doi=10.1046/j.1400-0952.2003.01042.x |bibcode=2004AuJES..51...31W}}

{{Commons category|Precambrian}}

• [http://www.scotese.com/precambr.htm Late Precambrian Supercontinent and Ice House World] from the Paleomap Project

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{{Geological history|c}}

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