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.

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.

Earliest Life joined the Mini Museum Collection as part of the First Edition. At the time, the Strelley Pool Stromatolites were the oldest known fossil remains of life on earth. Since then, new research has placed the North Pole Dome Stromatolites into the lead by more than 50,000,000 years. 

Access to this material is exceptionally 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.

We have several different specimen types to choose from, including our classic, single specimen presentation along with several showcase 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.

"The fossil record of the earliest life on Earth is sparse, and reconstructing the most ancient biota is challenging. Current interpretations of the diversity of Earth’s earliest life come predominantly from stromatolites." ~ Dr. Nora Noffke

Doctor Ernst Louis Kalkowsky (1851-1938) is generally credited with introducing the term "stromatolith" to science in his 1908 paper "Oolith und Stromatolith im norddeutschen Buntsandstein."

In this paper, Dr. Kalkowsky studied the Early Triassic stone of northern Germany's salt lakes. He hypothesized that the structures were microbial in origin, a theory that was immediately challenged by others in the scientific community.

As it turns out, not only was Kalkowsky correct but stromatolites are still being formed today. They can be found at the edges of hypersaline lakes and marshes in many areas of the world as well as shallow, warm seas like those around the Bahamas.