October 14th, 2007, 03:06 PM
This new paper,which is open access at PNAS (i.e. dowloadable free) presents what its title says.Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions
and the Younger Dryas cooling
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/104/41/16016
October 15th, 2007, 10:33 AM
Ooooh! So the current theory that it was due to human incursions (particularly in the Americas with the Clovis people implicated) may actually be wrong! Oh my word. Thanks for that.Originally Posted by Bunbury
Actually... it still wouldn't account for the megafaunal extinctions in Australasia...
October 15th, 2007, 10:37 AM
or in south america
October 15th, 2007, 10:40 AM
You've lost me. I thought the main megafaunal extinction in the Ameriicas as a whole had been linked to that period (including giant sloths and the like, of the South American megafauna). Have I got my dates wrong?or in south america
The paper only considers North America because that's where their research was done, at 50 Clovis sites. This doesn't necessarily mean there's no connection with extinctions on other continents but the authors wouldn't make this claim since they only have evidence from North America.
This paper is controversial and exciting, according to my bro-in-law archeologist, who is going to look for evidence of the event at his own site in Florida.
The Australian megafauna went extinct about 46,000 YA, amazingly close the time of the first human settlement which is highly suggestive of a link between the two events, but clearly nothing to do with this much more recent bolide theory.
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