HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH:

Scientists estimate that Multicellular organisms developed only a

the earth came into few billion years later.
existence approximately Life on earth started 3,8
4,6 billion years ago (4 600 billion years ago with a
million!) unicellular, prokaryotic cell
similar to a bacterial cell.
A number of factors and forces have shaped the way
life on earth developed over geological time:

1. Climate change:
- oxygen and carbon dioxide levels
- ice ages
2. Geological events (e.g. continental drift)
INCREASE IN OXYGEN LEVELS:

When the earth formed, O2 levels in the earth’s

atmosphere was very low and carbon dioxide levels
were very high.

[The first life forms (i.e. prokaryotes) did not need O2 -

they obtained energy from their food without using O2
]
3,5 to 2,5 billion years ago different types of bacteria
arose, which could produce their own food through
photosynthesis

Carbon dioxide, which occurred in large quantities in

the atmosphere, was used and O2 was released

O2 levels in the atmosphere started to increase

and O2 –dependent organisms (e.g land plants)
developed.
The increase in O2 levels in the atmosphere
resulted in an increase variety of living organisms.
As photosynthetic organisms used CO2 for photosynthesis,
the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere decreased…

This led to a cooling of the earth – eventually the summer

temperatures were not hot enough to melt the previous
winter’s snow in the polar regions.
Deep snowfields grew, eventually forming glaciers and
leading to the…
ICE AGE
 ICE AGE (a.k.a glaciations)
A major period during which continental ice sheets
(glaciers) covered a significant portion of the earth’s
surface.

• Sea levels drop as the water freezes

• Moisture in air is removed in the form of snow and
locked up in glacial ice
• Lost moisture in the air is replaced by evaporation
from the sea surface and sea levels drop more
Falling global temperature limited plant growth

Increased O2 levels increased frequency of fire-storms caused by

lightning which burnt the dead, dry plant matter

CO2 levels increased again which reversed the cooling effect and
caused warming of the earth
• During the ice ages, many species that could not adapt to
the low temperatures died out (went extinct).

• Some species were forced to migrate towards the equator

where temperatures were higher. The climate was drier
because most of the water was trapped in snow and ice.
Many terrestrial species became extinct due to the dry
climate.

• Due to ice formation, the sea level dropped – this resulted in

decreased habitats and the extinction of many aquatic
species.
Warmer periods of time resulted allowed for the
evolution of many species

E.G Cambrian explosion

• Ice ages and warm
ages (climate
changes) therefore
affected life on earth
due to the extinction,
redistribution and
evolution of species.
GEOLOGICAL EVENTS: E.G. CONTINENTAL
DRIFT
• Up until 200 million years ago, all the continents were fused
together to form one giant continent = Pangaea.

• Owing to the movement of the Earth’s tectonic plates,

Pangaea broke up into two super continents: Laurasia in the
North and Gondwanaland in the South.

• Approximately 120 million years ago these two super

continents broke up even further into the continents we
know today.

• As a result of continental drift the climate changed. Habitats also

changed or were destroyed. A large number of life forms became
extinct or had to adapt to the changing environment.
 EVIDENCE FOR CONTINENTAL DRIFT:
1.The shape of the continents (e.g east coast of South America
and the west coast of Africa fit together like a jigsaw puzzle)
 EVIDENCE FOR CONTINENTAL DRIFT:
2.Geology (e.g. mineral content and age of rocks on the east
coast of Brazil are exactly the same as those found in Ghana
on the west coast of Africa).
3. Fossils (e.g. fossil reptiles found in South Africa are also
found in Brazil and Argentina)

Biogeography:
the study of the
distribution of existing
and extinct plant and
animal species in
specific geographical
regions on earth.
THE GEOLOGICAL TIMESCALE:

• Scientists have divided the history of earth

into a number of periods of time according to
the rock types and sorts of fossils found in
each time period.

• The purpose of a geological timescale is to

represent a timeline of life on earth, from the
origin of the earth

• Time units are divided according to the age of

the fossils have been discovered. Each time
unit is characterised by a specific group of
fossils.
 THE GEOLOGICAL TIMESCALE:
Geological time is divided into three
long periods of time called eras:
• (Archean – 1st life forms appeared)
• Palaeozoic *
• Mesozoic *
• Cenozoic *

Each era is divided into periods

• Quaternary, Tertiary,
Cretaceous etc.
 CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION:
• The Cambrian period is an
important point in the
history of life on earth. It
marks the beginning of the
Palaeozoic era. It lasted
nearly 53 million years.
CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION:
• The early forms of
most animal groups
appeared at this time.

• This occurrence is
known as the
Cambrian explosion
due to the relatively
short time in which
the large diversity of
life forms appeared.
 1. As the earth’s climate grew 2. During the Cambrian period, there
warmer, the seas became a good was an explosion of life forms. Most of
place for many species to live. The these were in water. Many animals with
land had no plant or animal life yet. no backbones (invertebrates) lived in
shallow seas

Trilobites were
extremely
plentiful. They
were arthropods
with a tough outer
skin.

The were no animals with backbones

(vertebrates) living in the Cambrian period
but there was an early type of chordate living
during this period = Pikaia

3. Vertebrates evolved from the

from the first simple chordates
Life forms past and present:
Many life-forms changed
over millions of years to
look like the modern forms
that we know today:
ANCIENT LIFE FORMS CAN HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW SPECIES OF TODAY MIGHT HAVE
EVOLVED:
Coelacanth:
(related to the fish that is Archaeopteryx: Thrinaxodon:
believed to be the ancestor of all (Link between Dinosaurs + (Link between reptiles +
land animals) birds) mammals)
• The most recent species to evolve was humans.

• The story of human evolution takes place mainly in

Africa.

• The first humans evolved about 2,3 million years ago

(mya) and since then humans have evolved rapidly into
the modern form that exists today.
 extinction = a species dies out
MASS EXTINCTIONS: and there are no individuals left to
reproduce and continue that
species
• A mass extinction
occurs when MANY
species disappear
over the same
relatively short period
of time

• FIVE important
mass extinctions
have occurred
since the creation
• They have all had physical causes e.g. climate changes,
of life on earth
volcanic eruptions, continental drift
(age 278 Textbook
summary)

(K-T=
Cretaceous-
tertiary
boundary)
WHY DID DINOSAURS GO EXTINCT??
CRETACEOUS-TERTIARY BOUNDARY MASS
EXTINCTION:

Meteorite impact theory:

Proposes that a giant meteorite or asteroid
crashed into the earth 65 mya
• dust and debris that were pushed up into the atmosphere from the collision
• would have blocked the sunlight for months
• leading to the death of many plant species,
• causing oxygen levels to drop.
• it would have also lowered global temperature and
• caused acid rain.

Vulcanism in India:
Immense volcanic activity, especially in the
region of India.
6th MASS EXCTINCTION: Extinction of
many species is
now being
caused by
human activities!
The rate of
extinction is
higher than at
any time in the
past.
 FOSSIL EVIDENCE for the history of life on
earth:
• Fossils = complete organisms or the remains, imprints or
traces/tracks of organisms, usually preserved in rock. A
paleantologist is someone who studies fossil remains.

• Fossils provide evidence of earlier life (extinct organisms)

on earth and give information regarding the history of life
on earth

• Fossils also give indications of the climate and the

environment of millions of years ago.
HOW FOSSILS ARE FORMED:
1. Organism dies and falls to the ground.

2. Flesh and soft tissue rots away but the bones

remain

3. Over time water may wash over the bones and

they slowly become covered in sediment (layers
of solid particles, such as sand, that settle at the
bottom of lakes, rivers and sea)

4. Layers of sediment are compressed and

squashed and eventually form a thick layer that
covers the bones.

5. The bones and teeth start to fossilise =

permineralisation (the bone and teeth are
replaced by minerals such as silica and calcium
carbonate from the surrounding sediment).

6. Fossils are exposed as layers of sedimentary

rock erode away.
METHODS OF DATING FOSSILS:
1.RELATIVE DATING:

• Uses a combination of fossil study and a study of the layers

of rock in which the fossils are found.
• Relies on the comparison of two or more things to establish
relative age.

Stratiographic Flourine dating

dating
Stratigraphic dating
• uses the depth at which something is found to determine its
relative age (deeper rock is generally older than rock closer to
the surface).
• e.g. if two fossils are found at the same site but at different
depths, scientists assume that the fossil found at the greater
depth is older (stratigraphic dating).
• Not always 100% accurate because volcanic activity,
earthquakes and the unpredictability of rock formation can
cause rock layers not to occur in order of age, with older rocks
sometimes being forced up above younger rocks.
Flourine dating
• used to date bone. Ground water usually contains
fluorine which accumulates within bones in the earth as
they fossilise.
• By comparing the fluorine content of two or more
fossilised bones found at the same site, scientists can
show which bones are older and which are more recent.
• Older bones will contain more fluorine than younger
bones.
• Limited - can only be used to determine age of bones
from the same site.
Relative dating does not give fossils an exact age
– they establish a relative timeline and allow
scientists to determine the order of life on earth.
2. RADIOMETRIC DATING:

• Works with radioactive material in rocks to determine

when something was alive.
• Relies on methods of radioactive decay – the known
and predictable rate at which an isotope changes into
another element.
(an isotope is a different form of a chemical element
e.g
carbon-14 is an isotope of carbon)
• The more the isotope in a fossil has decayed, the older
the fossil
• Potassium-argon dating – used to date inorganic
material only (e.g rocks) – has been used to date the age
of the earth.

• Carbon-14 dating – used to date organic (e.g. bone) and

inorganic material.

• 14C decays much quicker than potassium-argon, which

makes it better for dating later material (ie. Human
fossils rather than dinosaurs).