Life is understood to be both the result and the engine of Darwinian evolution. Darwinian evolution, also known as evolution by natural selection, occurs when three key ingredients are present: (1) Variation: a population of individuals exhibits different traits. (2) Inheritance: these individuals reproduce and pass on their traits, at least in part, to their offspring. (3) Differential reproduction: some traits lead to greater survival and reproductive success than others. When these conditions are present, natural selection can occur, leading to changes in the population over time. In modern life forms, the mechanisms underlying variation, inheritance, and differential reproduction are complex and themselves the products of billions of years of Darwinian evolution. At the origin of life, however, Darwinian evolution must have emerged from simpler processes. What were these processes? We approach this question from a physics perspective, aiming to identify fundamental physical and chemical processes that could potentially give rise to Darwinian-like evolutionary dynamics beyond the specific pathway that led to life on Earth.