What is the oldest place on earth?

Today, science considers that a land 4.54 billion years – which is a long time if you think about the time we live in. During this period, our planet underwent several transformations and was molding itself until it became a land capable of supporting life.

This also means that at some point in history, the first habitable place on our planet appeared. But can we pinpoint where this is happening? As much as science has made many advances in technology, this topic still divides opinions among experts. you understand!

Possibility 1: Antarctica

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Friss Hills is located 60 km from the coast of Antarctica, died completely and dried up for generations, leaving only the remains of gravel, sand and rocks. During the winter, temperatures in the region reach -50°C and do not exceed -5°C in summer.

In 2005, researchers Adam Lewis and Alan Ashworth, both of North Dakota State University, found that ridge ice sheets hide hundreds of dead beetles, wood twigs, and bits of dry moss and other plants.

All that life died out over 20 million years ago, despite the level of preservation. This gives evidence that this area was once home to a lot of green terrain full of living creatures. Shady tree forests covered the land, likely including what is now Antarctica. According to scientists, trees grew up to 30 meters in height 300 million years ago – which indicates that this would be the first place on Earth before the division into several continents.

Possibility 2: Pilbara

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

In other recent studies, researchers have shown that Indigenous Australians inhabited the Pilbara region Australia, long ago, and thus this would be one of the oldest places on earth. Pilbara began to form more than 3.6 billion years ago, and its vast landscapes of deep red colors and endless panoramas bring a thought-provoking mystery.

Despite being twice the size of Great Britain, it is one of the most densely populated regions on our planet. Scientists have determined that the huge iron-rich Pilbara rock formations, which formed before the presence of oxygen and life itself, are the best-preserved example of the world’s oldest crust.

According to Martin van Kranendonk, professor of geology at the University of New South Wales, the Pilbara rocks are so old that they do not have fossils in their structure, but do contain stromatolites – fossilized evidence of the oldest life forms on Earth.

Conclusions

(Source: Pixabay)

Although the topography of both regions shows evidence of very ancient life formations, not to mention highly preserved rock models, determining which place on Earth is the oldest of all is somewhat complex. To this day, our paleontological and geographical studies do not allow us to delve into this limit.

In this way, it is all just predictions. It is possible to identify the most conserved fields and deep biological groups, but an exact estimate of the starting point for everything remains elusive. Who knows, we might not know more about the topic with the following tech classes!