NEW YORK, BRONX (ORDO News) — A groundbreaking study has found that the ancient Syrian settlement of Abu Hureyra experienced a significant shift from hunting and gathering to farming after a cataclysmic comet struck. The study, known as the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis, suggests that an environmental catastrophe that occurred about 12,800 years ago led to a dramatic change in human livelihoods.
It is believed that the cause of the Younger Dryas, a sudden global cooling, was a fragmentary comet that crashed into the Earth‘s atmosphere. This event led to a dramatic change in the environment, turning the once wet and forested area of Abu Hurayra into a colder and drier one. As a result, villagers were forced to adapt and innovate.
James Kennett, an earth scientist and professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara, highlights the importance of Abu Hureyra in the archaeological record. The settlement’s transition from foraging to the cultivation of barley, wheat and legumes marks a turning point in human history. Kennett explains that the transition from a wetter, more diverse habitat to a drier, cooler environment necessitated the introduction of agriculture.
Abu Hureyra, now submerged under Lake Assad, provides valuable evidence of this nutritional transition. By studying the remains, scientists were able to determine the transition from a wild diet consisting of legumes, grains, fruits and berries to a diet dominated by domesticated grains and lentils after the collision. Kennett argues that “the evidence clearly shows” that the villagers began growing barley, wheat and pulses.
The effects of the Younger Dryas not only accelerated agricultural innovation, but also led to marked changes in population, architecture, and livestock domestication in the region. Moreover, evidence found in the 12,800-year-old Abu Hureyra strata indicates a history of intense burning, indicating extreme temperatures beyond the reach of human technology at the time. Distinctive carbon-rich “black mat” layers containing nanodiamonds, platinum and metallic spherules also support the theory that the comet fragmented, causing widespread destruction.
Similar evidence of cosmic explosions has been found in other places, including the ancient biblical city of Tall el-Hammam and 50 other sites in North and South America and Europe. These areas together form the “scatter field” of the Younger Dryad era and serve as additional confirmation of the theory. The lack of terrestrial craters typically associated with such events is attributed to the airborne nature of the explosion, suggesting that low-pressure cosmic explosions may occur without visible craters.
This study sheds new light on the impact of disasters on human civilization and highlights the resilience and adaptability of ancient societies. The transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture in Abu Hurayra after the Younger Dryas comet impact marks a major turning point in human history and demonstrates the ingenuity of our ancestors in the face of environmental challenges.
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News agencies contributed to this report, edited and published by ORDO News editors.
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