Abstract
THE relatively unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks of the Onverwacht Group, the lowest part of the Swaziland Sequence, may contain the oldest microfossils on Earth. The group is composed chiefly of lavas whose composition changes upwards from ultramafic through mafic to predominantly felsic with pyroclastics. The 17,000 m thick sequence includes some thin cherts and limestones together with small amounts of shale (Table 1). In the Lower Onverwacht, the cherts occur chiefly as intercalations, sometimes of wide lateral extent and sometimes lensoid, between the extrusives. Cherts are also found in the Upper Onverwacht in association with limestones and shales.
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BROOKS, J., MUIR, M. & SHAW, G. Chemistry and Morphology of Precambrian Microorganisms. Nature 244, 215–217 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/244215a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/244215a0
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