The now-extinct village of Abu Huraira in northern Syria may be the oldest known example of a human community indirectly affected and destroyed by a major cosmic event, namely a comet explosion, according to a study.

This event marked a turning point in the history of the village and led to a dramatic transition from the hunting style to agriculture and the domestication of wild animals. This transformation coincided with a significant change in the local climate, the researchers note.

• The comet in question is believed to be a centaur, a celestial body that has characteristics of both an asteroid and a comet.
• Researchers suggest that one of its fragments exploded high in the Earth’s atmosphere during a so-called airburst, sending intense shock waves into Abu Hurayra and destroying its inhabitants.
• Scientists also believe that this event, called the “Younger Dryas impact hypothesis”, may have caused the region to be covered in dust, blocking sunlight and experiencing cold weather for long periods.

The researchers also said that planting of drought-tolerant crops increased after the event, indicating a shift from a colder to a drier climate.

James Kennett, co-author of the study and retired professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara, explained that the villagers began growing barley, wheat and legumes.

These findings are consistent with the 2007 hypothesis that numerous comet explosions occurred on the continents during this period. Parts of the comet that exploded over Abu Hurayra also reached more than 50 known locations on at least five continents.

Despite the impressive impact, there are no visible craters on the ground due to the indirect nature of the comet’s “impact”. Kennett emphasized that craters are not always a necessary feature of such events, noting that “the majority of identified impacts do not have visible craters.”

This research provides valuable information about the ancient history of human civilization and how external cosmic events may have played a role in the formation of human societies.