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Precambrian time |
Also found in: Wikipedia | 0.03 sec. |
Precambrian timeInterval of geologic time from c. 4 billion years ago, the age of the oldest known rocks, to 542 million years ago, the beginning of the Cambrian Period. This interval represents more than 80% of the geologic record and thus provides important evidence of how the continents evolved. The Precambrian is divided into the Archean and Proterozoic eons, with the boundary between them at 2.5 billion years ago. It was originally defined as the era that predated the emergence of life in the Cambrian Period. It is now known, however, that life on Earth had begun by the early Archean Eon. Soft-bodied organisms without skeletons began to appear toward the end of the Precambrian during the Ediacaran Age. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| A totally ice-covered globe may appear extreme, but the hypothesis gives little trouble to researchers who study the Precambrian time. A third explanation arises from studies of the ratio of two carbon isotopes, which reveal an abrupt change in seawater chemistry at the end of Precambrian time. The oldest fossilized creatures hail from the Vendian period at the end of Precambrian time, roughly 565 million years ago. |
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