A new study asserts the banging of a fragmented comet into the atmosphere of the Earth may have spurred the start of agriculture in Syria, as hunter-gatherers needed more ways to survive.
Cosmic Impact May Have Started Agriculture in Syria
The ancient settlement of Abu Hurerya is known in the archaeological circle for hosting the earliest known foraging-farming transition. At present, the settlements and its archaeologically rich record are situated beneath Lake Assad, which is a reservoir that was created by the Taqba Dam construction in the 1970s.
The impact explosion and the resulting changes in the environment may have forced hunter-gatherers in ancient Abu Hurerya to utilize agricultural practices for survival.
This was an assertion posed in one out of four related published studies. All of these studies are the most updated results regarding the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis investigation. This hypothesis holds that the cooling of the Earth around 13 millennia ago resulted from a celestial impact.
James Kennett, an earth scientist and professor emeritus from the University of California Santa Barabra, explains that, in this area, there was a distinct change that took place. Previously, humid and forested conditions were prominent, while there were several food sources for hunter-gatherers. Things changed, however, and turned into cooler and drier conditions where subsistence as hunter-gatherers was no longer possible.
With this, inhabitants had to cultivate wheat, legumes, and barley for survival. Such notions are clearly suggested by the evidence.
Before the flood of the Euphrates River, archaeologists were able to gather material for further study. The researchers explain in the study that the inhabitants of the village left continuous and abundant records of legumes, seeds, and other types of foods.
The scientists looked into the layers of remains and were, thus, able to identify the plant types gathered in humid and warmer days prior to the period of climate change referred to as the Younger Dryas.
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Diet Change
Prior to the cosmic impact, the diet of these inhabitants were wild grains, wild legumes, and some fruits and berries. However, in the sample layers that match the post-cooling period, fruits and berries left the picture. Their diets were then more focused on lentils and grains that were more domestic.
Roughly after a thousand years, all the founder crops of the Neolithics were cultivated in what is called the Fertile Crescent. These crops include hulled barley, einkorn wheat, peas, rye, emmer wheat, bitter vetch, flax, chickpea, and lentils. Plants that were resistant to drought also became more prominent.
The proof also shows that the population in the area had a significant drop. The architecture changes in the settlement also depict a lifestyle that is more agrarian.
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