The Precambrian Era!

By Kahli Veys
 When we say “Precambrian,” what time
period are we talking about?

The Precambrian era spans from the formation of Earth, 4.5

billion years ago, to the evolution of abundant macroscopic
hard-shelled animals, about 500 million years ago.
 The Precambrian Era
actually spans several eras
 What Happened During the
Precambrian Era?
• Earth formed
• Life arose
• First tectonic plates arose
and began to move
• Eukaryotic cells evolved
• Atmosphere became
enriched in oxygen
• And, just before the end of
the Precambrian, complex
multicellular organisms,
including the first animals,
evolved.
If we represent Earth’s history on
a 24 hour clock…

= Precambrian era
Precambrian Earth Video: Click Here!!
 The Precambrian Era Broken Down
•Hadean: 4.6 billion years ago to roughly 3.8 billion years ago

•Archaean:
•3.8 - 2.5 billion years ago
•Started off very hot
•Lots of volcanic activity—so much geologic activity that there were
only protocontinents (not large continents that we have today)
•The Archean atmosphere is thought to have lacked free oxygen.
•Temperatures estimated to be near modern levels
•liquid water present
•Life: Stromatalites and bacterial fossils have been found from this era

•Proterozoic:
•2.5 billion - 542 million years ago
•An eon that spans three eras: Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic,
Neoproterozoic
•Period before the first abundant complex life on Earth
•Featured massive, rapid continental accretion
•Large increase in atmospheric oxygen
•Life: herbivorous eukaryotes (algae)
•First glaciation
Our Activity: Precambrian Board Game!
1. Get in groups of 2-3
2. Collect a piece of large (heavy-weight)
construction paper, a notecard, a few pieces of
colored paper, colored pencils, clay, a glue stick,
scissors, markers, and crayons
3. Work with your group to come up with a simple
board game concept (think Candyland!)
4. Your game will span the length of the
Precambrian era
5. Use the art supplies to create your board game
6. Write out the rules to your game on the
notecard
7. Make sure to make the game playable by 2+
players
8. Be sure to include the time periods within the
precambrian era, using the information found
on the previous page of this slideshow!
9. When everyone is done, we will play each
other’s games.
Picture Sources by Slide:

1. http://www.karencarr.com/auto_image/auto_image_mid/Field_Museum_pre_cambrian_mural.jpg
2. http://www.dailygalaxy.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/04/22/precambrian_era.jpg
http://www.answersingenesis.org/assets/images/articles/ee/v2/geological-time-scale.jpg
3. http://www.ideofact.com/archives/trilobite.jpg
4. http://www.sharkbay.wa.gov.au/tourism/what_to_see_and_do/images/stromatolites_lge.jpg
http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/gould/gifs/burg.jpg
5. http://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/link/images/hist_img_01_prec.jpg
http://www.geology.wisc.edu/homepages/g100s2/public_html/Geologic_Time/Time_Clock.gif
6. http://www.wipsppc.com/symposium_poster.gif
http://www.mainsgate.com/spacebio/modules/lu_resource/ArcheanLandscape.jpeg
http://www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/Precambrian.html
7. http://www.arcadiastreet.com/cgvistas/earth/images/earth_ancient_volcano_600.jpg
8. http://joshreads.com/?p=1204

Information Sources:

http://www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/Precambrian.html
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/precambrian/precambrian.html
http://www.palaeos.com/Timescale/Precambrian.htm