Oldest Rocks News Today

“Rocks in the Nilgiris are prehistoric and oldest in the country, say 2.56 billion years old,” said Paul Hockings, professor emeritus of anthropology

Earth is currently the only planet known to harbor life—thanks in large part due to the operation of plate tectonics, which cycles critical biogeochemical elements and maintains a planetary thermostat. Subduction—the destructive force of plate tectonics that pushes one plate beneath another—is the most telltale sign of plate tectonics' great recycling program.

The rocks in question are stromatolites situated in the Pilbara Craton of the region.

Ancient rocks on relatively young ocean floor could upend long-held ideas about Earth’s mantle, lead author of recent study notes.