Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, director and senior archaeologist of the Applied Anthropology Laboratories at Ball State University. Credit: Ball State University.
Critique of the Original Research.
Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, director and senior archaeologist of the Applied Anthropology Laboratories at Ball State University, along with eleven other scholars with varied knowledge– including a number of experts in the Hopewell culture and the Smithsonian Institutions Curator of Meteorites– have evaluated that evidence and found it to be completely inadequate to support such an extraordinary claim. The outcomes of their evaluation are published as an action in problem 13 of Scientific Reports, released on August 9. Dr. Nolan had actually worked with very few of the other researchers prior, however they all came together through this effort to set the record straight on Dr. Tankersleys doubtful research.
” There is no proof for catastrophically burned habitations at any of the 11 Hopewell websites studied by Tankersleys group,” Dr. Nolan said. “The burned surface areas identified by the University of Cincinnati scientists are either localized episodes of burning for ceremonial purposes, such as cremating the honored dead, or are not even burned surfaces at all.
” Whatever meteorites exist at these websites were gathered by ancient Indigenous peoples– most likely from numerous locations– and brought to these Hopewell sites to be crafted into ceremonial regalia,” he continued. “The iron and silica-rich microspherules do not have the chemical structure normal of meteorites, and so are natural products of regional soil chemistry.”.
More Evidence and Conclusion.
More proof found by Dr. Nolan and his group indicates that the readily available radiocarbon dates for all the Hopewell websites claimed to have actually been destroyed by the results of a comet airburst do not come close to being the exact same age.
” There is no evidence of any catastrophic comet airburst,” Dr. Nolan concluded. “And there is no evidence of any expected decline in the Hopewell culture that supposedly followed in the wake of the destruction brought on by the alleged airburst.
” Many functions of the Hopewell culture, consisting of the building and construction of monumental earthworks and the accumulation of uncommon basic materials gotten from locations as far-off as the Gulf Coast and the Rocky Mountains, did cease by around 400 CE. However there was no decline in local populations, so these cultural shifts merely reflect changes in the spiritual and social fabric of these Indigenous societies that, for a time, had knitted them together.”.
Dr. Nolan kept in mind the many instances of possibly intentional information manipulations to support the comet impact claim are much more unpleasant than the myriad errors in translating the evidence. The research response clearly information these issues.
Reference: “Refuting the sensational claim of a Hopewell-ending cosmic airburst” by Kevin C. Nolan, Andrew Weiland, Bradley T. Lepper, Jennifer Aultman, Laura R. Murphy, Bret J. Ruby, Kevin Schwarz, Matthew Davidson, DeeAnne Wymer, Timothy D. Everhart, Anthony M. Krus and Timothy J. McCoy, 9 August 2023, Scientific Reports.DOI: 10.1038/ s41598-023-39866-0.
Dr. Nolans research group includes:.
A team of scholars has actually refuted the claim that a comet surge 1,500 years ago caused the decline of the ancient Indigenous Hopewell culture, finding the proof to be inconsistent and inadequate. (Artists illustration of a comet explosion in Earths atmosphere.).
Dr. Kevin C. Nolan and a team of scholars refuted a paper claiming a comet explosion triggered the decrease of the Hopewell culture 1,500 years earlier. The group found the evidence insufficient and identified no catastrophic occasion or decline in the culture, likewise noting possible intentional information manipulations in the original research.
In February 2022, the journal Scientific Reports released a paper with the claim that a comet blew up over what is now Cincinnati around 1,500 years ago. This event was said to have actually rained fire over the area, destroying villages and farm fields, and apparently resulting in the fast decline of the ancient Indigenous Hopewell culture.
Research study led by University of Cincinnati archaeologist Dr. Kenneth Tankersley claimed “proof of a cosmic airburst at 11 Hopewell archaeological sites in three states extending throughout the Ohio River Valley.” His proof consisted of the presence of meteorites, iron, and silica-rich microspherules declared to be from meteorites, and spikes in iridium and platinum– all of which are allegedly associated with scorched charcoal-rich Hopewell habitations.
Kevin C. Nolan, Applied Anthropology Laboratories, College of Sciences and Humanities, Ball State University.
Andrew Weiland, Midwest Archaeological Center, National Park Service.
Bradley T. Lepper, World Heritage Program, Ohio History Connection.
Jennifer Aultman, World Heritage Program, Ohio History Connection.
Laura R. Murphy, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Washburn University.
Bret Ruby, Hopewell Culture National Historic Park, National Park Service.
Kevin Schwarz, ASC Group, Inc
. Matthew Davidson, Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky.
DeeAnne Wymer, Susquehanna River Archaeological.
Timothy D. Everhart, Hopewell Culture National Historic Park, National Park Service.
Anthony M. Krus, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of South Dakota.
Timothy J. McCoy, Curator of Meteorites, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
