How old is the oldest life we can really defend?
First life?
Dresser Formation stromatolites, ~3.48 billion years · Western Australia, and contested sites elsewhere · Drawing. Not a photograph.
Generated interpretation. The real evidence is rock: stromatolites, microfossils, and chemical signatures, some of them contested.
First look
First life?
Wonder. Then look. This is not a test.
We do not publish a single birthday for life.
Stromatolites about 3.48 billion years old are among the oldest widely discussed body evidence.
Older chemical claims exist. Some are still argued. That argument is part of the science.
First look is enough. Keep looking is if you want more.
Keep looking
How would we know? Open only if you want the evidence.
Keep looking · What counts as evidence
A shape in stone might be biology, or it might be mineral. Scientists ask for texture, chemistry, and a plausible environment together. Uncertainty here is not a failure. It is the honest edge of the record.