Really, it is difficult to reply to this question in a few sentences.
Please see, for instance, our chapter presented in the ResearchGate:
Pilchin, A.N. and Eppelbaum, L.V., 2012. The Early Earth, Formation and Evolution of the Lithosphere in the Hadean – Middle Archean, In: (Eds. Sato, F. and Nakamura, S.) Encyclopedia of Earth Science Research (3 Volume Set), Ser.: Earth Sciences in the 21st Century, Nova Science Publishers, N.Y., USA, 1-93.