» Home > In the News

New thoughts on Abu Hureya

12 October 2023
Archaeology, Catastrophism

At https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231003173447.htm … The journal, Science Open, ‘Airbursts and Cometary Impacts’ says there are four new research papers, the latest results in the investigation into the Younger Dryas Boundary event. In North Syria, the environment switched from a forested region to drier and cooler conditions as the Younger Dryas kicked in. It is thought this led to hunter gatherers at the site left suddenly with depleted food resources. Or that is the theory. The settlement at Abu Hureya is known for its transition from foraging to farming. Barley, wheat, and legumes were cultivated – such as peas and beans, chick peas and lentils etc. However, prior to the Younger Dryas the hunter gatheres were eating wild versions of legumes and grains, as well as fruit and berries. During the Younger Dryas cooling period they began to cultivate plants rather than relying on the wild versions. Or this is what was established around a thousand years after the boundary event. In other words, they cultivated in a similar way to other people in the early Holocene throughout what is known as the Fertile Crescent. At the boundary there was a significant drop in the population numbers. Evidence of the penning of livestock may suggest the arrival of newcomers. The interesting point homed in by the researchers is that at the boundary event, 12,800 years ago, Abu Hureya displays evidence of massive burning. It also has a black mat layer, one of the signal points of a catastrophic event at the boundary. It is claimed it represents evidence of landscape fires – and black mat layers have been found on a global scale. The view of the researchers is that an airburst event destroyed Abu Hureya at the boundary, flattening trees and splashing melt glass on to cereal grains, buildings, tools and animal bones.

The Younger Dryas boundary event team, because of negative criticism, and the absence of cratering, looked around for something to compare an airburst explosion with, a bit more tangible if you like. They turned to nuclear testing sites in New Mexico and Kazakhstan, from 1949 and 1953. The nuclear explosions took place above the ground and sent shock waves towards the surface. A number of similarities were immediately apparent – such as the discovery of shocked quartz, common at Abu Hureya and other sites where airbursts are suspected. In other words, as guessed by Nicholas Costa, in his book, ‘Adam to Apophis‘, D’Aleman:2013, where he discusses the after effects on humans as a result of heat, blast, and shock waves, recorded as Biblical leprosy. James Kennet now claims shock metamorphism in quartz grains exposed to an atomic detonition is essentially the same as occurred during a low altitude lower pressure cosmic airburst.

Skip to content