Did a 'doomsday comet' unleash catastrophe in US 12,800 years ago? Scientists say...
North America was covered by a centuries-long winter after a catastrophic event 12,800 years ago. Scientists have found evidence that proves this event killed the Ice Age animals and led to a decline in the population of people who lived here.
Catastrophic event devastated United States around 12,800 years ago
Scientists have unearthed evidence of a catastrophic event in the United States around 12,800 years ago that wiped out a thriving civilisation. According to the researchers, an airburst or an impact of some kind, such as from a meteor, likely occurred, devastating North America, triggering a chain reaction that led to an extinction-level event.
Shocked quartz discovered shows a sudden intense event
Sediment samples in California, Arizona and New Mexico carry proof of that something happened around 10,800 BC. The presence of shocked quartz, tiny mineral grains deformed under extreme pressure, has been cited as proof. Notably, shocked quartz forms when minerals are subjected to sudden, intense pressures. A meteorite impact or an aerial explosion can contribute to such an environment.
Sudden disappearance of Clovis people
The researchers said in the study published in PLOS ONE that the time the quartz appeared coincides with another historical event. This was also the time the Clovis people started disappearing rapidly. This species belonged to a hunter-gatherer culture and used technologically advanced weapons, which helped it dominate much of North America for centuries.
Huge Ice Age animals died
However, scientists have found evidence that their advanced weapons vanished suddenly right after this unknown catastrophe struck the region. This event triggered a wave of devastation, sparking wildfires, shifting the climate and killing a majority of the Ice Age animals that lived in North America.
What was the catastrophe that struck North America 12,800 years ago?
This is not the first time that experts have raised suspicion that something like this happened in the region thousands of years ago. Most of them pin the blame on a 'Doomsday comet' that they say passed through Earth's atmosphere. The cosmic rock brought on a winter, as it blocked sunlight and disrupted ocean currents. The entire Northern Hemisphere was plunged into a sudden cooling.
Beginning of the Younger Dryas
This winter that enveloped Earth following this supposed visit by a comet is said to have marked the beginning of the Younger Dryas. The study stated that the onset of the Younger Dryas "closely coincided with two significant events: the sudden extinction of >70% of North American megafauna (35 genera), including mammoths, camels, horses, and sabre-toothed cats and the collapse of the Clovis technocomplex."
Clovis artefacts were found just below a 12,800-year-old black mat
The samples for the study were taken from several sites, including Blackwater Draw, where the first Clovis artefacts were found just below a 12,800-year-old black mat. Scientists have found evidence at this site that suggests a major environmental disruption, megafaunal extinctions and a significant decline in the human population.
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