10 The oldest things on Earth

In an age of "only" 4.5 billion years, compared with the 14 billion years of the universe, as long as it is estimated that production has moved from the Big Bang, the Earth might seem like a teenager among his sisters the immensity of the cosmos. Yet, compared to a lifetime, these impressive figures make us look like a venerable old Earth with incredible age. How small we are in relation to universal time and how old is the planet on which we live, we invite you to find the next top of the oldest things on Earth.

10.The oldest mountain
Nobody knows exactly when he began to form crust. Geologists estimate that Earth's first supercontinent, Vaalbara would be born from about 3.6 billion years, it disappeared to leave room for a another huge continent, Ur, about 3 billion years ago.In the same vein, the remains of Vaalbarei can be seen today in so-called Barberton belt in South Africa.
Rock formations are impressive old, 3.5 billion years, and says that the entire Earth's geological history can be "read" from these early sedimentary layers of Earth's mountains. Only in Greenland Isua belt and hilly area of ​​Australia Jack Hills rocks older there than in Africa (rocks with an age of 3.9 to 4,400,000,000 years), but they are the result of volcanic activity in the early years on Earth.




9. The oldest rock
Most scientists agreed that the most ancient rocks on Earth were those discovered in 2008 in northern Quebec. Their age? 4.28 billion years.
Zirconium silicate, with 4.404 billion years old, was brought to light in Australia, called the Jack Hills region, and is the oldest known terrestrial material. It preceded the formation of the first rocks and in meteorites originated in volcanic activity.




8. The oldest form of life on Earth
When it comes to life, there is no doubt among scientists. The oldest "creatures" of the Earth were archeobacteriile - primitive unicellular organisms with no nucleus and cell organelles. The first "residents" of the Earth had no oxygen needed (in fact, oxygen was toxic to these organisms).
Archeobacteriile appeared 3.5 billion years ago and have been identified in layers of rock dating from the period. Compared with them, eukaryotes, organisms whose cells were first equipped with a nucleus, occur only in 1.8 billion years ago and the first animals appear not earlier than 600 million years ago. In conclusion, we can say, rightly, that the world was and is a planet microoganismelor.




7. Earth's first animal
Life appeared in the primordial ocean immensity. It would have been impossible for it to appear on land, where it was subjected to UV bombardment. Scientists were convinced that the first organisms animals were the sponges (sponges) prehistoric. A recent study conducted in 2008 shows, however, that was a wrong assumption.




6. The oldest primate
The emergence of proto-primates now about 60-55 million years, small animals (about 500 grams weight), similar to squirrels or Loris today, was considered for a long time, as the starting point of the evolution of primates and then the men. Fossils, rare and fragmented, leading to the identification of only 60 species, grouped in two families paleontologists major Adapidae and Omomyidae. As recently as 2009, a sensational discovery, was labeled as "Ida" old fossil 50 million years of a life completely unknown until now, has ruined all theories about the emergence of primates.
Animal, no bigger than a cat seems to be that missing link so sought by anthropologists and throw the whole long history of human evolution in a whole new light. Opposable thumb, no claw, and other advanced features highly for such animal, a perfect competitor make Ida the first proto-primate title known to the world.




5. The earliest traces of Homo sapiens
Two human skulls, unearthed by archaeologists in 1967 in Ethiopia, were found the oldest fossils of the species Homo sapiens. Their antiquity is practically the one that led to the hypothesis of modern man 200,000 years ago since, no other fossil, older than this period, were not discovered until now.
Paleoantropologii Witwaterstrand the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, did however, identify in coproliti (fossilized excrement) of hyena, traces of human hair dating back about 257,000 years. However, we can not say with certainty whether the hair belonged to a Homo sapiens, a contemporary of the period, Homo heidelbergensis, or other yet unknown hominid. Thus, the title of the oldest known human fossil remains of the two skulls Ethiopian won.




4. The oldest living tree
Dates back to the end of last ice age, and has a mind-blowing old, 9,550 years. It is a spruce in Sweden discovered a year ago. The tree was identified in a compact group of forest in the mountains of Dalarna province Fulu. Experts have found this place a total of four generations of aged spruce matusalemice dated. Were thus categorized as trees aged 375, 5660, 9000 and 9550 years. Their age was determined using Carbon 14 dating already classic by a laboratory in Miami, United States.





3. The oldest human civilization
It is inappropriate to talk about the oldest human civilization that has ever been born on Earth, as long as the data older than 6000 years, that could identify an unknown civilization possible, missing. Historians believe that the Sumerians founded the first civilization, though does not deny that there may have been before them and other advanced cultures. Human history begins practically with the Sumerians. They are the ones who made the transition from prehistory to history, the invention of writing and mention the first time, all knowledge and beliefs they had.
It would be enough, perhaps, to mention, in a random order, as in ancient Sumer were invented: writing, the wheel, mathematics, astronomy, calendars, irrigation systems, armor, chariot, swords, harness horses, nails, mills , sandals, potter's wheel, harpoon, chisels, rings, saddles or needle. All of us have come and Sumer the first polytheistic religion data. Thus even when archaeological discoveries will show that there were other civilizations older than six millennia, researchers must give credit to its founders as the Sumerians considered the first civilization on Earth.




2. The oldest sculpture
May be the subject of good jokes but yes, the first sculpture in the world is a naked woman. It is a statue with only 6 inches long, made from a piece of mammoth ivory, which is 35,000 years old.
Called "Venus" sculpture is probably the image of ancient deities of fertility, and was discovered in Germany along with fragments of bone, stone tools and fragments of prehistoric remains. The creators of the statue is none other than the ancestors of today's Europeans, people of Cro-Magnon, who entered the western and northern Europe from about 35,000 to 40,000 years.




1.Cel oldest city in the world
Not only is the oldest city in the world, but it is the oldest continuously inhabited city on Earth, with an age of 11,000 years. It was founded the first agricultural communities in the Middle East, and traces its continuity is evidenced by numerous archaeological layers. This is Jericho, a city located in Palestine today. Jericho is at present highly controversial topic, as long as it looks to overcome during the millennia best.
The first evidence of establishing a permanent community in this location dating back 11,000 years, because after only a thousand years, ie 10,000 years ago, Jericho already be equipped with defensive walls, a religious shrine and a high tower in July meters equipped with internal staircase. If we think that in Europe that time there were only groups of hunter-gatherers, we can get an idea of ​​the technological advances of those who founded this city prehistoric, but we raise serious questions about the mysterious origin those who had attacked the settlement and which had been raised against such impressive defense systems. In competition with Jericho and Damascus in Syria is today. Authorities say the age of the city of Damascus is even higher than the settlement in Palestine and that its real age would be no less than 12,000 years.Existing controversies have led, however, historians assign the Syrian capital, until the advent of conclusive evidence of an older "only" 10 millennia.