Supporting and Protective Skeletons

560 million years
or 137 meters to today

Geolo­gical era: Neoprotero­zoic / Ediacarian

The first fossils of clusters of inter­con­nec­ted cells date from this period. By connect­ing, they lay the found­a­tion for the divi­sion of labour among cells and the devel­op­ment of more complex living beings.

Struc­tural proteins give form and support to rapidly devel­op­ing organ­isms. The incor­por­a­tion of calcium carbon­ate into the skel­et­ons creates firm armour which not only supports the organ­isms but also provides protec­tion against injury. This allows larger life forms to develop. Many basic blue­prints of living beings were created and still exist today.

The displace­ment of land masses near the poles inter­rupts the cycle of altern­at­ing icing and over­heat­ing of the earth. The CO₂ content of the atmo­sphere stabil­izes and with it the temperature.