Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Earth's oldest stromatolites and the search for life on Mars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The earliest morphological traces of life on Earth are often highly controversial, both because non-biological processes can produce relatively similar structures and because such fossils have often been subjected to advanced alteration and metamorphism. Stromatolites, layered organo-sedimentary structures reflecting complex interplays between microbial communities and their environment, have long been considered key macrofossils for life detection in ancient sedimentary rocks; however, the biological origin of ancient stromatolites has frequently been criticized.

Anthropology: Cultures Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

A stone age child buried with bird feathers, plant fibers and fur      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Archaeological researchers have identified human remains as a child, who may have been laid on a bed of down in a Stone Age burial site discovered in Eastern Finland. There may also have been a canid at the child's feet. It reveals interesting details of how Stone Age humans buried their dead about 8000 years ago.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology
Published

500 million year-old fossils reveal answer to evolutionary riddle      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An exceptionally well-preserved collection of fossils discovered in eastern Yunnan Province, China, has enabled scientists to solve a centuries-old riddle in the evolution of life on earth, revealing what the first animals to make skeletons looked like.