<p>The oldest undisputed fossil are Stromatolites, bacterial mats, the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27580034" rel="nofollow noreferrer">oldest</a> of which are dated ay 3.7 billion years ago. The key term here is undisputed, there are other possible fossils but it is very hard to have certainty with chemical or cellular fossils. The oldest uncertain fossils trace back to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21377" rel="nofollow noreferrer">4.28 billion years</a> and are possible bacteria trapped in hydrothermal vent products.  </p>

<p>The oldest fossil of a creature with a brain is weird. it is actually several creatures from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ediacaran_biota" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ediacaran biota</a>. These are also some of the oldest multicellular life fossils, lacking any hard parts fossilization of early small animals is incredibly rare event even considering how rare fossilization already is. There are several bilaterally symmetrical animals capable of movement, this combined with the fact they are more than two cells thick means they almost certainly had a brain.</p>

<p><em>Kimberella</em> and <em>Spriggina</em> and their relatives are both almost certainly mobile, with some form of nervous system based on phylogenetic bracketing, others are also likely since the ancestor of chordates may in there somewhere. We know there were moving creatures from the ediacara because we actually have <a href="https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/38/2/123/130173/first-evidence-for-locomotion-in-the-ediacara?redirectedFrom=fulltext" rel="nofollow noreferrer">trace fossils</a> that are consistent with a muscular moving organism like anemone.  </p>

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2018-08-08T01:49:41.307Z
2018-08-08T15:28:45.387Z
2018-08-08T15:28:45.387Z
John
<p>What is the oldest fossil ever found on Earth? Where and when was it found? What was the oldest fossil with a brain with 2 hemispheres ever found?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-07T14:29:16.433Z
And once you get into micro-fossils and chemical fossils, then there's a lot of debate and disagreement. Eg. Carbon isotope anomalies around 4Ga have been interpreted as being possibly due to life, but that is controversial. There is generally wide agreement that we have micro-fossils by 3Ga. Varying amounts of disagreement cover micro-fossils in the 4Ga-3Ga range...
winwaed
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-08-08T04:20:59.917Z
@winwaed sounds like start to a great answer!
Muze
<fossils><paleontology><dating>
What is the oldest fossil on Earth?
Muze
# What is the oldest fossil on Earth?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-08-07)

What is the oldest fossil ever found on Earth? Where and when was it found? What was the oldest fossil with a brain with 2 hemispheres ever found?

**Tags:** fossils, paleontology, dating

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: And once you get into micro-fossils and chemical fossils, then there's a lot of debate and disagreement. Eg. Carbon isotope anomalies around 4Ga have been interpreted as being possibly due to life, but that is controversial. There is generally wide agreement that we have micro-fossils by 3Ga. Varying amounts of disagreement cover micro-fossils in the 4Ga-3Ga range...  
> **username_0**: @username_1 sounds like start to a great answer!  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-08-08. Score: 9 | Accepted answer

The oldest undisputed fossil are Stromatolites, bacterial mats, the [oldest](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27580034) of which are dated ay 3.7 billion years ago. The key term here is undisputed, there are other possible fossils but it is very hard to have certainty with chemical or cellular fossils. The oldest uncertain fossils trace back to [4.28 billion years](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature21377) and are possible bacteria trapped in hydrothermal vent products.

The oldest fossil of a creature with a brain is weird. it is actually several creatures from [Ediacaran biota](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ediacaran_biota). These are also some of the oldest multicellular life fossils, lacking any hard parts fossilization of early small animals is incredibly rare event even considering how rare fossilization already is. There are several bilaterally symmetrical animals capable of movement, this combined with the fact they are more than two cells thick means they almost certainly had a brain.

*Kimberella* and *Spriggina* and their relatives are both almost certainly mobile, with some form of nervous system based on phylogenetic bracketing, others are also likely since the ancestor of chordates may in there somewhere. We know there were moving creatures from the ediacara because we actually have [trace fossils](https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/38/2/123/130173/first-evidence-for-locomotion-in-the-ediacara?redirectedFrom=fulltext) that are consistent with a muscular moving organism like anemone.


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