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Science Forum Index » Anthropology - Paleo Forum » Guns, Germs, Steel and Comets?
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| Guest |
 Posted: Tue May 29, 2007 7:07 pm |
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OK, so we got this new theory that says a small comet hit the
Laurentian Ice shield doing away with lots of Clovis peeps and the
mega-fauna at that time. Just for fun, let's assume its true and then
for more fun assume it hadnt happed. Would we then have had a techno
society in the Americas? |
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| Day Brown |
| Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:28 am |
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On May 29, 7:07 pm, oldfrogs...@gmail.com wrote:
Quote: OK, so we got this new theory that says a small comet hit the
Laurentian Ice shield doing away with lots of Clovis peeps and the
mega-fauna at that time. Just for fun, let's assume its true and then
for more fun assume it hadnt happed. Would we then have had a techno
society in the Americas?
No. There were too few DNA lines that came over from the Old World.
Genetic diversity produces ethnic diversity, which produces
innovation. |
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| Clipper the Horse |
| Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 4:10 am |
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Day Brown wrote:
Quote: On May 29, 7:07 pm, oldfrogs...@gmail.com wrote:
OK, so we got this new theory that says a small comet hit the
Laurentian Ice shield doing away with lots of Clovis peeps and the
mega-fauna at that time. Just for fun, let's assume its true and then
for more fun assume it hadnt happed. Would we then have had a techno
society in the Americas?
No. There were too few DNA lines that came over from the Old World.
Genetic diversity produces ethnic diversity, which produces
innovation.
Did you develop this theory 'all by yourself' ? |
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| Clipper the Horse |
| Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 4:11 am |
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oldfrogster@gmail.com wrote:
Quote: OK, so we got this new theory that says a small comet hit the
Laurentian Ice shield doing away with lots of Clovis peeps and the
mega-fauna at that time. Just for fun, let's assume its true and then
for more fun assume it hadnt happed. Would we then have had a techno
society in the Americas?
Meaning what? Nuclear power plants and Hardees? |
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| John Roth |
| Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 6:29 pm |
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On May 29, 6:07 pm, oldfrogs...@gmail.com wrote:
Quote: OK, so we got this new theory that says a small comet hit the
Laurentian Ice shield doing away with lots of Clovis peeps and the
mega-fauna at that time. Just for fun, let's assume its true and then
for more fun assume it hadnt happed. Would we then have had a techno
society in the Americas?
Let's look at that a bit. First, the impactor notion comes from a
layer found in around 50 sites scattered over North America with some
additional sites elsewhere, one as far away as Belgum. It's going to
be relatively easy to confirm or refute: just do more digs and then do
the lab work on what's found. I'm expecting a small tidal wave of
papers through the next couple of years.
So we've got two results. One is a hypothetical firestorm over much of
North America that contributed to the demise of the mega-fauna and
knocked the Clovis culture out, eventually to be replaced by whoever
did the Folsom points, etc.
The second is the contribution to / cause of the fresh water surge
that shut down one of the main ocean currents in the North Atlantic,
causing the Younger Dryas.
Both of these are going to take a lot more work to confirm or refute.
In fact, the second one has a perfectly satisfactory explanation right
now; it's going to take real work to establish that the Younger Dryas
wouldn't have occured except for the impactor. I don't expect a
resolution on that question for several years, if then.
As far as what would have happened, only the Deity knows for sure. And
I've never found any way of getting reliable answers from that source.
The one thing we can be sure of is that history would have been quite
different in the rest of the world. I've seen some recent speculation
that the Younger Dryas is implicated in the early stages of
agriculture: no Younger Dryas, no agriculture. Maybe. Lots of arm
waving from the armchair there, IMO.
John Roth |
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