magazine in February 2022 Scientific Reports published an article claiming that about 1,500 years ago, a comet exploded over modern-day Cincinnati, raining fire on the area and destroying villages and farm fields, possibly leading to a rapid decline of the ancient indigenous population. Hopewell culture.
University of Cincinnati archaeologist Dr. The research, led by Kenneth Tankersley, reported “evidence of airbursts at 11 Hopewell archaeological sites in three states spanning the Ohio River Valley.” Evidence included the presence of meteorites, iron- and silica-rich microspheres said to be meteorite-derived, and spikes of iridium and platinum—all allegedly related to the burnt coal rich in Hopewell’s settlement.
Ball State University Director of the Applied Anthropology Laboratory and Senior Archaeologist Dr. Kevin S. Nolan reviewed and accepted this evidence, along with several experts in the Hopewell culture and eleven other scientists from various backgrounds, including the Smithsonian Meteorite Curator. Verification of such an extraordinary claim is absolutely insufficient.
The results of their review were published as a response in issue 13 of the journal. Scientific ReportsPublished on August 9th. Dr. Nolan had worked with very few other researchers before, but Dr. They all banded together to break the record for Tankersley’s questionable investigation.
“There is no evidence of badly burned dwellings at any of the 11 Hopewell sites investigated by the Tankersley team,” said Dr Nolan. “The burnt surfaces identified by University of Cincinnati researchers are either localized burning events for ceremonial purposes, such as the cremation of the venerated dead, or they are not burnt surfaces at all.
“Any meteorite found at these sites was collected by ancient indigenous peoples – possibly from various places – and brought to these Hopewell sites to make ceremonial clothing,” he continued. “The iron and silica-rich microspheres don’t have the chemical composition typical of meteorites, nor do they have natural products of local soil chemistry.”
Dr. Additional evidence uncovered by Nolan and his team suggests that the available radiocarbon dates for all Hopewell sites claimed to have been destroyed by a comet explosion are not close to the same age.
Dr. “There is no evidence of any devastating comet airbursts,” Nolan concluded. “And there is no evidence of any supposed decline in the Hopewell culture supposedly following the devastation caused by the air blast.
“Many features of Hopewell culture, including the construction of monumental earthen fortifications and the accumulation of unusual raw materials from places as far away as the Gulf Coast and the Rocky Mountains, ceased to exist around AD 400. However, there was no reduction in the local population, so these cultural shifts were what united them for a time. This reflects changes in the social and religious structure of indigenous societies.”
Dr Nolan said the numerous cases of possibly deliberate manipulation of data to support the comet impact are more worrying than the numerous errors in the interpretation of the evidence, and the study’s response clearly details them. Source
Source: Port Altele
