Scientists think that the very first continents formed between 2.5 billion and 4 billion years ago, during the Archean period. To study this period, researchers often examine rare mineral deposits ...

In the Archean, long before rooted land plants were ... Low-latitude glaciations in the Paleoproterozoic era. Nature 386, 262–266 (1997). Farquhar, J., Bao, H. & Thiemans, M.

Hernández Uribe looked for magmas that match the compositional signature of rare mineral deposits called zircons that date back to the Archean period of 2.5 to 4 billion years ago, when ...