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Science 3 March 1967:
Vol. 155. no. 3766, pp. 1096 - 1097
DOI: 10.1126/science.155.3766.1096
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Articles

Carbon Isotope Composition of Carbonaceous Matter from the Precambrian of the Witwatersrand System

Jochen Hoefs 1 and Manfred Schidlowski 2

1 Zentrallaboratorium für die Geochemie der Isotope, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
2 Geologisch-Palaeontologisches Institut, University of Göttingen

Polymerized hydrocarbons occurring in the gold-uranium conglomerates of the Witwatersrand System (South Africa) show dgrC13 values between —22.4 and —32.8 per mille, their isotopic composition thus falling into the range of sedimentary organic carbon. Accordingly, organic derivation of the material seems very probable. This conclusion is consistent with a model of the existence of organic evolution and biologic activity in times certainly older than 2.15 x 109 years.


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