According to the Archaea-first hypothesis, the Archaea diverged from a stem line of descent that later on gave rise to the ancestors of Bacteria and Eukarya

. This hypothesis is supported by evolutionarily highly conserved molecular features such as tRNA and 5S rRNA.

What came first bacteria or Archaea?

The fossil record indicates that the first living organisms were prokaryotes (Bacteria and Archaea), and eukaryotes arose a billion years later. Study Tip: It is suggested that you create a chart to compare and contrast the three domains of life as you read.

Is Archaea older than bacteria?

And it is no longer believed that Archaea are any older than Bacteria, as their name and the New York Times headline might imply. ... Now, probably all textbooks show Life as comprising the domains Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya, with the last two the more closely related.