What is the Proterozoic Eon?
The Proterozoic Eon is one of four eons of time making up the history of this planet. It is the third of four eons, the first two with little preserved life, the last two with it. The eons include the Hadean, the Archean, the Proterozoic, and the Phanerozoic. Proterozoic means “early life” and extends from 2500 million to approximately 542 million years ago. Traditionally, all eras prior to the Cambrian period (which began 542 million years ago) were informally referred to as the “Pre-Cambrian”, but more recently these time periods were divided up and named. Originally, the Proterozoic Eon referred to the era prior to the emergence of numerous multicellular fossils. However, relatively recent discoveries of complex pre-Cambrian organisms called the Ediacaran biota have thrown this convention into disarray. These only appeared a few tens of millions of years before the Cambrian, however, so the rough outline of the Proterozoic is still correct. The Proterozoic Eon is split into three ge
The Proterozoic Eon is one of four eons of time making up the history of this planet. It is the third of four eons, the first two with little preserved life, the last two with it. The eons include the Hadean, the Archean, the Proterozoic, and the Phanerozoic. Proterozoic means “early life†and extends from 2500 million to approximately 542 million years ago. Traditionally, all eras prior to the Cambrian period (which began 542 million years ago) were informally referred to as the “Pre-Cambrian†, but more recently these time periods were divided up and named. Originally, the Proterozoic Eon referred to the era prior to the emergence of numerous multicellular fossils. However, relatively recent discoveries of complex pre-Cambrian organisms called the Ediacaran biota have thrown this convention into disarray. These only appeared a few tens of millions of years before the Cambrian, however, so the rough outline of the Proterozoic is still correct. The Proterozoic Eon is split into t
