There is new evidence in The Journal of Geology which suggests the origin of the catastrophe discussed in the previous post--the Younger Dryas big freeze 13,000 years ago--was not volcanic but "extraterrestrial", that is, an impact by something from space, an asteroid or the like.
The evidence comes from that same thin layer of stuff which is found a few yards down all over the world. The initial small, random sample set did suggest volcanic debris, but over the years a larger sample set has been accumulated which shows differences among regions, and further study found a region--roughly including most of North America, some of South America, and some of Western Europe--which included in the layer an increased abundance of materials such as melt glass, carbon nano-particles, and nano-diamonds, all of which discount the volcanic theory, and suggest the impact theory.
Once again, when we think we have it figured out, we don't. But now we do. This time it is different.
So, now we attribute the sudden extinction of the
great fauna to an asteroid. We used to think it was due to a volcanic
eruption. Before that, we used to think it was on account of predatory paleolithic
hunters; the self-righteous used to beat us up about that. So, yay for
volcanoes and asteroids. Let's see you blame Men for those!
