Abstract
Meteorites, Fe and Si-rich microspherules, positive Ir and Pt anomalies, and burned charcoal-rich Hopewell habitation surfaces demonstrate that a cosmic airburst event occurred over the Ohio River valley during the late Holocene. A comet-shaped earthwork was constructed near the airburst epicenter. Twenty-nine radiocarbon ages establish that the event occurred between 252 and 383 CE, a time when 69 near-Earth comets were documented. While Hopewell people survived the catastrophic event, it likely contributed to their cultural decline. The Hopewell airburst event expands our understanding of the frequency and impact of cataclysmic cosmic events on complex human societies.
Highlights
Direct positive evidence of catastrophic cosmic airburst and impact events have been found in the Western Hemisphere at the Cretaceous and Tertiary (KT) boundary ~ 65 million years ago and at the Younger Dryas (YD) boundary ~ 12,800 years ago[1,2]
Our interdisciplinary research focused on five comet airburst-related proxies including meteorites, Fe and Si-rich microspherules, positive Ir and Pt anomalies, and burned carbonrich habitation surfaces on Hopewell archaeological sites in the Ohio River valley
Of the eleven archaeological sites, which we investigated, meteorites were found at the Turner earthworks and village in Hamilton County, Ohio and the Marietta earthworks and mounds in Washington County, Ohio
Summary
Direct positive evidence of catastrophic cosmic airburst and impact events have been found in the Western Hemisphere at the Cretaceous and Tertiary (KT) boundary ~ 65 million years ago and at the Younger Dryas (YD) boundary ~ 12,800 years ago[1,2]. Both of these events are associated with global mass extinctions and they occurred before humans culturally evolved into complex, sedentary, agricultural-based societies. In the western Hemisphere, Hopewell archaeological sites in the Ohio River valley contain an anomalously high concentration and diversity of meteorites when compared to all other cultural periods. Distinctive symbols, artwork, and exotic goods, which have been traced
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