The First Human Apocalypse Changed Humanity Forever

The Austronesian Tektite Field is a geographically extensive area in Southeast Asia that contains numerous tektites, which are small, irregularly shaped objects of natural glass that are believed to have formed from meteorite impacts. These tektites are thought to have been produced during a major impact event that occurred around 788,000 years ago, according to a new study. The impact event that created the Austronesian Tektite Field would have had significant effects on the environment and on any hominid inhabitants, including Homo erectus, such as the famous Peking Man and Java Man, who lived in the region at that time. The strike is thought to be the last major impact on Earth by an asteroid. The impact would have caused widespread destruction, including massive wildfires, tsunamis, and a temporary decrease in temperature due to the dust and debris thrown into the atmosphere. Remarkably, the impact may have also triggered a pole reversal. The 788,000-year-old strewn field includes most of Southeast Asia and nearby regions. The material from the impact stretches across the ocean to include the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It also reaches far west out into the Indian Ocean and south to Australia, including Tasmania, and covers about 30% of the Earth's surface. For Homo erectus, these environmental changes would have presented significant challenges. The wildfires would have decimated vegetation and animal populations, making food and shelter scarce. The tsunamis would have destroyed coastal settlements and disrupted marine food sources. The temporary cooling of the climate would have further exacerbated food shortages and could have led to increased competition for resources. Despite these challenges, Homo erectus would have adapted to the changing environment. They may have had to alter their hunting and foraging strategies, perhaps focusing more on scavenging or developing new tools and techniques to overcome the scarcity of resources. The impact event would have tested their resilience and survival skills, potentially leading to changes in their behavior and social structures. Archaeological artifacts found with these tektites in southern China indicate that a Homo erectus population was living in the area during and after the impact. Stone tools have been found within the debris field, along with a charcoal layer likely caused by fires from the impact. It has been suggested that the subsequent deforestation after the fires allowed this population easier access to stones useful for tool making. The tools demonstrate that early humans living in the region had a similar degree of technological expertise as those living in Africa. Until recently, it had been suggested that Asian Homo erectus was not as sophisticated as those living on the African continent and in Europe during the same time period. The tools were uncovered near the border with Vietnam in southern China. They are classic hand-held stone axes, teardrop-shaped with a sharp cutting edge. They were found alongside tiny scraps of charcoal and tektites, little pieces of glassy rock formed when a meteorite impact melts terrestrial rock. These were used to date the tools. In fact, it is thought that the massive meteor hit the earth, laying large areas of what is now southeast Asia to waste and setting huge areas of forest on fire. However, investigators don't know whether the meteor hit the ground and broke up or exploded just above ground level. Either way, the event was devastating. It would have killed off all life close to the impact area or entry area. It must have been an awful place to have been at the time. Investigators believe that one way in which the early humans responded to the catastrophe was by living in caves. Overall, the Austronesian tektite field impact event would have had a significant impact on Homo erectus and other life forms in the region, shaping their evolution and adaptation to a rapidly changing environment. But this wasn't their only challenge. Remarkably, the Brunis-Matuyama pole reversal occurred approximately 781,000 years ago, when the earth's magnetic field was last completely reversed. Estimates differ regarding the abruptness of the reversal. One paper estimated that it took several thousand years. A second paper estimated that it happened much faster, possibly within a human lifetime. But the most recent paper estimated that the reversal lasted 22,000 years. The 180 degrees polarity reversal at 773,000 years ago marks the end of a complex process that began with a weakening of the field at 795,000 years ago, followed by increased field intensity in sediments and ice, and finally by an excursion and weakening of intensity at 784,000 years ago. The apparent duration of the reversal at any given location can differ by an order of magnitude due to geomagnetic latitude and the local effects of components of the earth's field during the transition. A highly speculative theory connects this reversal event to the large Australasian strewn field. But according to many geologists, the causes are almost certainly unrelated, and occurred coincidentally around the same time. The causes and mechanisms of short-term pole reversals and excursions, as well as major field reversals like the Brunis-Matuyama reversal, are being studied and debated by researchers. One theory links the reversal to the impact event, but this hypothesis has been dismissed by some investigators as highly speculative. Indeed, the evidence thus far is circumstantial whether these comet impacts caused the pole reversals. Nonetheless, we find the possibility to be highly compelling. Meanwhile, a multi-institutional team of geoscientists, geologists, and mineralogists believes they have discovered the location of the crater created by the extraterrestrial impact. In their paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their multi-year study of tektites and other ejector thought to be associated with the extraterrestrial impact in southern Laos. Tektites form when fragments of molten material ejected by a meteorite strike are launched into the air, solidifying and raining down over a large area. In the absence of an impact crater, tektite-strewn fields provide the next best evidence of Earth-shattering meteorite strikes. In fact, dating of the tektites found across much of Australia and Southeast Asia indicates that it is the youngest of Earth's four major tektite-strewn fields. The date fuelled speculation that ancient Asian hominins like Homo erectus may have witnessed the explosive event. While the limited fossil record makes this difficult to prove, analysis revealed that the tektites formed at temperatures as high as 7,200 degrees Fahrenheit. You can imagine animals being blown away and then vaporized. Indeed, Thai geologists found evidence in petrified forests and fossil pits of widespread fire, mega-floods, regional extinctions, and mass animal mortality as a result of the impact. The study discovered layered and splashed tektites, as well as multiple impact craters in northeast Thailand. The area also experienced continental burns, mass extinctions of trees, elephants and mammals, and thick catastrophic loess. All of this was linked to a massive global disaster in Thailand and East Asia, as the geologists reported in their report. Another report described a rocky outcrop with the key sequence of tektites and ejector deposits above a coarse gravel base, all beneath a silty deposit. This upper layer was once again linked to a collapsed impact plume, which devastated the regional flora and fauna. Furthermore, all three layers of that outcrop contained shocked quartz, a deformed mineral also found in the famous Chicxulub impact crater in Mexico. Shocked quartz is quartz grains that have been subjected to shock waves, resulting in shock metamorphic features such as fractures or feathers, which provide additional evidence that these deposits were formed during a major meteorite strike. As mentioned, prior research has suggested that around 788,000 years ago, a large meteorite struck what is now known as the Bolavan Plateau in southern Laos. It is also believed that when the impact occurred, a large amount of ejector was thrown across southern Laos and eastern Thailand. Today, this region is known for its stunning 300-foot waterfalls. However, the exact location of the impact has never been positively identified. Researchers believe the crater has been hidden by tree growth, a blanket of soil, or both. In this new study, the research team attempted to locate the impact by inferring its position based on tektite characteristics. The maps showed a radial pattern of thickening ejector that converged around a single plateau, a clear indication, they say, of where the asteroid collided with the Earth. More research is needed, most likely in or near the proposed impact site, but the research team is confident they have found it, calling their findings all but definitive. Whatever the case, ancient humans were more resilient, mobile and adaptable than we could have ever imagined. Homo sapiens is the only human species still alive. But this does not diminish the remarkable run of the intrepid hominids, who lived outside of Africa and adapted to new environments for over a million years. It's humbling to think that our ancestors endured so much catastrophe and survived. And with that tantalizing statement, we leave you to ponder the mysteries of our shared human history. Until next time, stay curious and stay questioning. Please subscribe, share and explore our channel's other highly compelling videos.