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Newly published research results suggest some sort of major airburst occurred in the right time and place(s) to have initiated or aggravated the decline of the Hopewell mound builder culture.
FULL STORY: https://www.sciencealert.com/a-near...oyed-a-north-american-culture-1-500-years-agoA Cosmic Airburst May Have Devastated a Vast Native American Culture 1,500 Years Ago
More than 1500 years ago, a vast culture known as the Hopewell tradition (or Hopewell culture) stretched across what is today the eastern United States.
The cause of the culture's decline has long been debated, with war and climate change two of the possibilities, but now a new avenue of inquiry has opened up: debris from a near-Earth comet.
Researchers working across 11 different Hopewell archaeological sites covering three states have found unusual concentrations of iridium and platinum in their digging – telltale signs of meteorite fragments. Meanwhile, a charcoal layer in the sediment suggests an intense period of high heat.
The hypothesis is that debris from a passing comet may have struck close to the Ohio Hopewell communities, causing an airburst that would have profound and potentially devastating effects on the local environment.
Signs that the people collected meteorite fragments and incorporated them into their jewelry and instruments, along with hints of a calamity in local folklore, suggest there was certainly some significant event – one that the researchers suggest may have contributed to a significant upheaval in the social sphere. ...
There are other clues too: the Hopewell built a comet-shaped mound near the epicenter of the meteorite rain region, which is today called the Milford Earthworks. What's more, a calamitous event way back in history is still spoken about today amongst descendant tribes. ...