Pertaining to rocks or strata that are normally below those of later formations of the same subdivision of rocks. The adj. is applied to the name of a chronostratigraphic unit (system, series, stage) to indicate position in the geologic column and corresponds to early as applied to the name of the equivalent geologic-time unit; e.g., rocks of the Lower Jurassic System were formed during the Early Jurassic Period. The initial letter of the term is capitalized to indicate a formal subdivision (e.g., Lower Devonian) and is lowercased to indicate an informal subdivision (e.g., lower Miocene). The informal term may be used where there is no formal subdivision of a system or of a series. Compare: upper; middle.