Around 12,900 years ago, the planet groaned. As an abrupt and dramatic shift in climate dragged it back to the ice-age. From which it had been slowly emerging. Known to us all as the Younger Dryas. This seemingly sedate geological period is, in fact, very much alive in the hearts and minds of archaeologists and alternative researchers alike. Who passionately debate the event’s causes and consequences. With new papers published with astonishing frequency, anyone from either side pretending this is settled science is falling victim to hyperbole.
As the earth surfaced from the last ice-age, the glaciers drained into the oceans and sea-levels rose by over 100 meters. Then, for reasons nobody can sufficiently yet explain, temperatures suddenly plummeted to lows as chilling as the ice-age itself and didn’t improve for the next 1,200 years. This upheaval coincided with both the acceleration of megafauna extinctions and human cultural changes, such as the end of the Clovis culture in North America and the beginning of farming at Abu Hureyra, Syria.
While the causes of this reversal remain the subject of debate, there are essentially two schools of thought: those who think the Younger Dryas can be explained by gradual geological processes, and those who don’t. Within the latter, two leading hypotheses have emerged: the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis (YDIH) and the Solar Flare Theory.
The Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis
Proponents argue that 12,900 years ago, a comet airburst exploded above ground, starting wildfires and kicking up enough dust to trigger something akin to a nuclear winter. Crucially, this airburst removes the need for a crater. Instead, researchers point to the infamous “black mat” of ash, dated to this period and found on four continents, which appears in conjunction with impact proxies such as platinum, nanodiamonds and quench-melted materials, all telltale signatures of a cosmic impact. North American megafauna remains are only rarely found above this black mat, fingering that continent as ground zero for the airburst and strongly suggesting the impact drove its large animals to extinction.
YDIH Proponents
Prominent advocates of this theory, such as Graham Hancock, elaborate that if the comet struck the North American ice sheet, the glacier would have been vaporized instantly. Millions of cubic liters of freshwater would have been dumped into the oceans, almost overnight. Again, the sticky issue of the crater is sidestepped, so Hancock points to Meltwater Pulse 1B, dated to the Younger Dryas, as secondary evidence. This event coincides with a sea-level rise of 10 – 20 meters over a century. While this low yearly figure is often used to debunk the catastrophe. It is important to note that these averages are, by their very nature, open to intense year on year fluctuation, making huge rises in sea-level potentially possible within short periods of time, even days or weeks. While controversial, it is highly compelling.
Furthermore, if such a massive event occurred, we would expect to see it memorialized somewhere on the planet. Perhaps in the global flood myths, or even, as Dr Martin Sweatman proposes, at Gobekli Tepe. Sweatman’s statistical analysis of the Gobekli Tepe carvings, eliminates the possibility that his conclusions are mere chance. Pointing to the alignment of the ancient symbols with astronomical events. He interprets the famous Vulture Stone as a record of a comet impact 12,900 years ago.
YDIH Evidence
From Turkey, the trail of evidence leads to Syria, and Tell Abu Hureyra. Inhabited 13,000 years ago by hunter-gatherers foraging wild plants and hunting gazelles. Researchers discovered the presence of high-temperature impact materials at the site. Including glass melted at 2,200°C coupled with unusually high levels of platinum and nanodiamonds – all considered impact markers. Yet, Abu Hureyra has a further significance – it is one of the earliest known sites in the advent of agriculture. Thus suggesting we switched to farming because cosmic events demanded we secure our food from more stable sources.
Solar Flare Theory
Similarly, Robert Schoch’s Solar Flare Theory points the finger at the heavens, but this time squarely at our sun. Solar flares are sudden and intense bursts of energy and radiation from the Sun’s surface after magnetic energy reaches “boiling point.” They release energy equivalent to millions of hydrogen bombs, hammering the earth with devastating effect. Schoch posits that these solar flares could have caused the rapid melting of the glaciers at the poles while igniting wildfires everywhere else.
This seeming paradox, where the melting of ice cools the planet. Is caused by the rapid influx of meltwater into the Atlantic. Shutting off Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Which drives warm water to the Arctic and raises global temperatures. Indeed, this chilling effect on the northern climate, while the southern hemisphere remains largely unchanged; is exactly what we see in the Younger Dryas. This disruption of AMOC is considered for the Impact Hypothesis.
Schoch is no stranger to controversy. He was instrumental in re-dating the Sphinx in the 1990s. Schoch advocates for cycles of civilization, believing the Younger Dryas marked the end of that particular cycle of civilization. He goes as far as suggesting that the rarer basalt Moai of Easter Island are the monumental remnants of this previous cycle. Citing the lack of a definitive basalt quarry location for these Moai. This presents an insurmountable problem for the most isolated inhabited island in the world. As it’s unlikely the Moai arrived by boat. Instead, Schoch believes they were mined from quarries now submerged beneath the Pacific, drowned by the melting glaciers.
Could It Be Both?
It’s possible that the Younger Dryas could have been triggered by a combination of both cosmic and solar events. In this vision, a comet impact destabilizes the climate, while subsequent solar flares exacerbate the cooling and warming cycles. This dual-trigger hypothesis remains speculative. But offers a comprehensive explanation for the observed phenomena and deals with the weaknesses of each. Perhaps the presence of a trigger is more important than its specific details…
Genetic Evidence
Genetic studies appear to support these catastrophic theories. With a 2019 study revealing a significant bottleneck in human populations on the Iberian Peninsula. And another 2024 study showing the same thing in northwest Europe. It seems that the privations of the Younger Dryas were a deadly upheaval for those in the northern hemisphere. But conclusive genetic evidence continues to escape the YDIH.
The Other Side of the Story
Perhaps because of this, and certainly for many other reasons, many scientists remain highly skeptical to the point of hostility. Critics argue that the evidence for a cosmic impact is inconsistent and see no need for the cosmic intervention. Alternative explanations, the mainstream view goes, do not need the extravagance of cosmic impact to justify what known geological processes already explain. The slow and steady melting of the ice sheets, for example, is more than sufficient to explain the disruption of the AMOC and the subsequent collapse of global climate. As all followers of current climate science know, the real danger lies not in total increases, but in breaching critical tipping points.
Some researchers have even questioned the reliability of the impact proxies cited by YDIH proponents. Suggesting that they could result from natural processes or that the alleged impact science is inconsistent with its own conclusions. The refutations are lengthy and can easily be found online. Likewise, the solar flare hypothesis lacks direct evidence linking solar activity to the specific climatic changes observed during the Younger Dryas.
Where We Stand
The Younger Dryas remains a complex and hotly debated period in Earth’s history. The catastrophic theories for its existence remain stubborn in the face of intense scrutiny. Neither side has yet to hammer the nail in their opponent’s coffins. But its clear which team has the initiative and momentum. There are now over 200 published papers supporting the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis. While the 2023 paper entitled “A Comprehensive Refutation” remains a rehash of older arguments from the 2011 “Requiem” paper. The facts are the findings, and the battleground is over interpretations and conclusions. You’re invited to delve into this topic for yourself. It remains one of the most dynamic, interesting and potentially explosive periods in the human story. Even if that story is riddled with amnesia.
