Could an Explosive Comet Have Exterminated Mammoths?

A Discovery That Could Change History

Researchers have found new evidence suggesting that a cosmic explosion may have shaken Earth at the end of the last Ice Age. At significant Clovis-era archaeological sites, impacted quartz crystals have been identified, indicating extreme temperatures and pressures typically associated with a comet explosion rather than volcanic activity or human influence. This event could have caused massive fires, blocked sunlight, and accelerated a return to glacial conditions.

These harsh changes could explain the sudden disappearance of megafauna such as mammoths and mastodons, as well as the collapse of the Clovis culture. At three well-known archaeological sites—Murray Springs in Arizona, Blackwater Draw in New Mexico, and Arlington Canyon in California—researchers have discovered shocked quartz, evidence of a catastrophic impact.

According to James Kennett, emeritus professor of Earth sciences, all of this evidence strengthens the hypothesis of such an explosion and suggests it played a major role in the extinction of megafauna and the disappearance of Clovis culture.