Fig Tree Formation
Stratigraphic range: Paleoarchean
~3280–3220 Ma[1]

Had'n

Archean

Proterozoic

Pha.

Type| Geological formation
Unit of| Barberton Supergroup
Underlies| Moodies Group
Overlies| Onverwacht Group
Lithology
Primary| Sandstone
Other| Shale
Location
Location| Kaapvaal craton
Coordinates|  [ ⚑ ] : 25°48′S 31°00′E﻿ / ﻿25.8°S 31.0°E﻿ / -25.8; 31.0
Region| Barberton Greenstone Belt, Mpumalanga
Country| South Africa

Location of the Barberton Greenstone Belt

The Fig Tree Formation, also called Fig Tree Group, is a stromatolite-containing geological formation in South Africa dated to around Template:Gigaannum.[1] The rock contains fossils of microscopic life forms that are about 3.26 billion years old.[2] Identified organisms include the bacterium Eobacterium isolatum and the algae-like Archaeosphaeroides barbertonensis. The fossils in the Fig Tree Formation are considered some of the oldest known organisms on Earth, and provide evidence that life may have existed much earlier than previously thought. The formation is composed of shales, turbiditic greywackes, volcaniclastic sandstones, chert, turbiditic siltstone, conglomerate, breccias, mudstones, and iron-rich shales.[3]

## Contents

* 1 Meteorite impact
* 2 See also
* 3 References
* 4 Further reading

## Meteorite impact

This formation also contains evidence of the biggest known meteorite impact on Earth.[4]

## See also

* Archean life in the Barberton Greenstone Belt
* Warrawoona Group

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Drabon, Nadja; Lowe, Donald R. (1 May 2022). "Progressive accretion recorded in sedimentary rocks of the 3.28–3.23 Ga Fig Tree Group, Barberton Greenstone Belt". GSA Bulletin 134 (5-6): 1258–1276. doi:10.1130/B35973.1. ISSN 0016-7606. Bibcode: 2022GSAB..134.1258D.
2. ↑ 2015 - Brown - Exploring the Evolution of Oxygen on the Early Earth: Constraining the Evolution of Oxidative Phosphorylation Through the Utilization of Uranium Isotopes
3. ↑ Barberton geological field mapping report 2012
4. ↑ Drabon, Nadja; Knoll, Andrew H.; Lowe, Donald R.; Bernasconi, Stefano M.; Brenner, Alec R.; Mucciarone, David A. (29 October 2024). "Effect of a giant meteorite impact on Paleoarchean surface environments and life". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121 (44). doi:10.1073/pnas.2408721121. e2408721121. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 39432780.

## Further reading

* "Fig Tree microfossils". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.. 2016. https://www.britannica.com/science/Fig-Tree-microfossils. Retrieved Oct 9, 2016.
* Byerly G.R., Lower D.R. & Walsh M.M. (1986). Stromatolites from the 3300–3500-Myr Swaziland Supergroup, Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa. Nature, 319: 489–491.

Template:Geology of South Africa

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