Did Civilization Rise Because of a Comet Impact?

Did Civilization Rise Because of a Comet Impact?

Credit: Vladislav Tchakarov

Human beings unexpectedly changed around 13,000 years ago. Hunter-gatherer societies began to transform their lifestyle quickly. They began to construct permanent settlements and focused their efforts on farming. The earliest man-made megalithic structures around were also constructed around this period. Was a comet collision the reason behind this fast advancement of human civilization?

An international group of researchers has provided a new study with evidence that a comet impact can have caused a change in the advancement of human civilization towards rapid progress around 13,000 years ago.

Did a comet collision affect the rise of civilization?

The research group assessed data from excavations conducted worldwide. In particular, distinctive black layers were identified during archaeological excavations in Arizona (USA), suggesting substantial changes in the environment.

Calculations showed that these changes started to occur from about 10 800 BC. Archaeologists also found space debris in the location.

Comparable discoveries have been made throughout the globe before. Researchers think that almost 13 thousand years ago, a stream of debris from an exploding comet struck the Earth or the whole comet did, with the collision creating a catastrophe on a planetary scale. Scientists think that the only collision more powerful than that one is the asteroid that put an end to the dinosaurs approximately 66 million years ago.

The archaeological site in Arizona, where you can spot a black layer that shows sudden and significant environmental changes. Scientists believe that this event was associated with a comet debris impact around 10,800 BC. Credit: Comet Research Group

The brand-new study emphasizes the reality that the destructive cosmic collision chronologically coincides with major changes in the self-organization of human societies. A little over 12 thousand years ago, humanity really rapidly began to transform its lifestyle. It was then that the first established settlements appeared.

Gobekli Tepe

An instance of this is Gebekli Tepe, located on the territory of modern Turkey. Incidentally, lately, the world’s earliest open-air temple was found throughout excavations in this settlement. Specialists have actually speculated for several years that the symbols carved right into its gigantic rock pillars may be an effort to perpetuate a global cosmic catastrophe.

In the past, scientists utilized computer simulations. They found that the art of Gobekli Tepe could be describing a significant cosmic event (that seems a comet impact) that took place around 10,950 BCE, a period remarkably near the latest estimates.

In Addition, Gobekli Tepe is the oldest (to date) man-made temple/complex and has actually been dated to approximately 12,000 years ago, making it the earliest known architectural achievement after the unexpected hypothetical development of humanity.

Aerial view of Gobekli Tepe. Credit: DAI, Gobekli Tepe Project

Rise of civilization

The scientists likewise write in their brand-new work that the analysis revealed that the impact of comet fragments happened prior to the start of the Neolithic period in southwestern Asia. Particularly in the area that covers parts of modern Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon.

It is known that in this extensive region, more than 12 thousand years ago, hunter-gatherer societies began to alter their lifestyle quickly. They started to develop permanent settlements and directed their efforts on farming. It was there that the first powerful civilizations of the world developed.

Scientists write that the collision of the comet most likely erased numerous species of huge animals and noted the start of a small ice age that lasted a little over 1000 years. By the way, this theory was first proposed in 2007. It seems that it is just since she has actually received the first solid proof.

Researchers assessed geological data from four continents, particularly North America and Greenland, where the largest variety of traces of a cosmic disaster was discovered. Amongst them, professionals involve a raised amount of deposits of platinum and signs of melting of materials, which could just happen at incredibly high temperatures. They also discovered nanodiamonds that existed inside comets and formed high-energy explosions.

According to the authors of the work, all this convincingly verifies the theory of the impact of comet debris on the Earth’s surface almost 13 thousand years ago. More research is certainly needed. Scientists suggest that a comet impact can provoke climate change, and also individuals had to adapt to brand-new conditions for their own survival swiftly. This inspired the development of technology, and further technical progress was raised.


Read the original article on Curiosmos.

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