New research suggests that Earth’s first crust, formed over 4.5 billion years ago, already carried the chemical traits we associate with modern continents. This means the telltale fingerprints of continental crust didn’t need plate tectonics to form, turning a long-standing theory on its head.

Using simulations of early Earth conditions, scientists found that the intense heat and molten environment of the planet’s infancy created these signatures naturally. The finding shakes up how we understand Earth’s evolution and could even influence how we think about crust formation on other planets.

A surprising shift in earth’s history.