Why Are Fossils of Early Life on Earth Rarer Than

Multiple Choice

Why are fossils of early life on Earth rarer than fossils of plants and animals from the past few hundred million years?

A) Life was far less abundant prior to a few hundred million years ago.
B) Fossils could not form before there was oxygen in the atmosphere.
C) Early organisms were microscopic and lacked skeletons and other hard structures that are most likely to be fossilized.
D) We find fossils in sedimentary layers, and no sediments were deposited until just a few hundred million years ago.