This data is related to the paper: "Artifacts resembling Ediacaran / Cambrian fossils: how to identify them and avoid their generation" submitted for publication in the "Journal of Micropaleontology" on March 24, 2023.

The reaction between hydrogen peroxide and pyrite can lead to the generation of objects very similar to Ediacaran and Cambrian fossils, such as Cloudina. This dataset and related paper provides criteria to distinguish artifacts from fossils based on their composition and structure. This dataset cotains all the Raman spectra and SEM/EDX analyses of artifacts that characterize them and are used for discussion in the related paper.

Raman spectrometry: used for identifying the mineralogical / molecular composition of artifacts. These analyses were carried out at the Brazilian Research Unit of Astrobiology (NAP/Astrobio) using a Renishaw inVia micro-Raman, with laser excitation wavelength of 785 nm, 1% power, acquisition time of 1 s and 30 accumulations.

Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analyzer (SEM/EDX): The artifacts were covered with carbon and analyzed in order to characterize their ultrastructure and elemental composition. These analyses were carried out in the Laboratory of Scanning Electron Microscopy, at the Institute of Geosciences of USP using a LEO 440 scanning electron microscope coupled with an Oxford energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer.

Raman spectra are saved in .txt and .wdf

SEM images are saved in .tif

EDX analyses are saved in .docx