Earliest Life - North Pole Dome Stromatolite - Classic Riker Box Specimen

New at Mini Museum! Limited Availability! 3,481,000,000 years old!

Above: The front of the Specimen Card.

The struggle of life on our dynamic planet is a tale of boom and bust reflected by countless cycles of life in the geological record. We generally think of large, fossilized bones as the best evidence of ancient life, but even microscopic bacteria have left an indelible mark in the form of laminated sediments we call stromatolites.

Above: Layers of time from the earliest days of life on Earth. The Rough 4.

While we have several stromatolite specimens in the Mini Museum collection, North Pole Dome stromatolites of the Dresser Formation in Western Australia are the oldest known fossil material on the planet. They date to 3,481,000,000 years old.

Above: A beautiful 12" Polished Slice.

Access to this material is exceedingly rare. We are fortunate enough to work with one of the only private mining companies with licenses to export this material from Australia. As such, all specimens were collected on private land and exported from Australia in accordance with all heritage and mining laws.

Above: Single specimens displayed on a small slab of rough material.

Earliest Life Specimens:

• Classic Single Specimen - Hand cut from rough material, these small specimens measure ~5mm across. They are enclosed inside acrylic specimen jars and housed inside our classic, glass-topped riker display cases. The cases measure 4 1/2" x 3 1/2". A small information card is also enclosed that also serves as the certificate of authenticity. Color varies from gray to red as do shapes and thickness.
• Rough Material - These large chunks of rough stromatolite material are priced and sold individually. They will come with individual certificates of authenticity and ship in a sturdy carton.
• Polished Slabs - These showcase specimens have one side that is highly polished to reveal layers upon layers of ancient life. Priced and sold individually, they come with individual certificates of authenticity as well as the small stands you see pictured.