Critical testing of earth's oldest putative fossil assemblage from the similar to 3.5 Ga Apex Chert, Chinaman Creek, western Australia by Brasier, M, Green, O, Lindsay, J, McLoughlin, N, Steele, A, Stoakes, C

“…Structures resembling cyanobacterial microfossils from the ca. 3465 Ma old Apex chert of the Warrawoona Group in Western Australia have until recently been accepted as providing the oldest morphological evidence for life on Earth, and have been taken to support an early beginning for oxygen-releasing photosynthesis. …”

Fossils and astrobiology: new protocols for cell evolution in deep time by Brasier, M, Wacey, D

“…We combine these ideas into a robust protocol for demonstrating ancient or extra-terrestrial life, drawing examples from Earth's early geological record, in particular from the earliest known freshwater communities of the 1.0 Ga Torridonian of Scotland, from the 1.9 Ga Gunflint Chert of Canada, from the 3.4 Ga Strelley Pool sandstone of Australia, and from the 3.46 Ga Apex Chert also of Australia Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012.…”

Pumice from the similar to 3460 Ma Apex Basalt, Western Australia: A natural laboratory for the early biosphere by Brasier, M, Matthewman, R, McMahon, S, Kilburn, MR, Wacey, D

“…We report abundant clasts of pumice from within a volcaniclastic breccia bed immediately above the ∼3460. Ma 'Apex chert' unit of the Apex Basalt, Pilbara region, Western Australia. …”

Archean (3.3 Ga) paleosols and paleoenvironments of Western Australia. by Gregory J Retallack, Mark D Schmitz

“…The same sequence of sedimentary facies and paleosols was newly recognized unconformably above the locality for microfossils in chert of the Apex Basalt (3.5 Ga) near Marble Bar. The fossiliferous Apex chert was not a hydrothermal vein but a thick (15 m) sedimentary interbed within a sequence of pillow basalts, which form an angular unconformity capped by the same pre-Strelley paleosol and Strelley Pool Formation facies found elsewhere in the Pilbara region. …”
Get full text

A fresh look at the fossil evidence for early Archaean cellular life. by Brasier, M, McLoughlin, N, Green, O, Wacey, D

“…Earth's oldest putative 'microfossil' assemblages within 3.4-3.5 Gyr carbonaceous cherts, such as the Apex Chert, are likewise self-organizing structures that do not pass tests for biogenicity. …”

Earth's oldest (approximately 3.5 Ga) fossils and the 'Early Eden hypothesis': questioning the evidence. by Brasier, M, Green, O, Lindsay, J, Steele, A

“…We question the biogenicity of putative bacterial and cyanobacterial 'microfossils' from 3465 Ma Apex cherts of the Warrawoona Group in Western Australia. …”

Questioning the evidence for Earth's oldest fossils. by Brasier, M, Green, O, Jephcoat, A, Kleppe, A, Van Kranendonk, M, Lindsay, J, Steele, A, Grassineau, N

“…Structures resembling remarkably preserved bacterial and cyanobacterial microfossils from about 3,465-million-year-old Apex cherts of the Warrawoona Group in Western Australia currently provide the oldest morphological evidence for life on Earth and have been taken to support an early beginning for oxygen-producing photosynthesis. …”