Prehistory Decoded

  Megalithomania Conference, 4th - 5th May 2024

  Urfa Man, Sanliurfa Museum Previous blog posts reviewed several sections of Holliday et al. (2023), focussing on the primary impact evidence . It turns out their "comprehensive refutation" has no refutation arguments at all. Instead, it seems Holliday et al. are intent on making as many 'gotcha!' claims as possible. That is, they actively seek as many potential inconsistencies among a wide range of YDIH publications, some not even scientific papers, as they can.  This is poor science. Good scientists, instead, focus on peer-reviewed research papers and whenever they encounter a potential conflict between sources first ask themselves if they have misunderstood. For example, it is often the case that a potential conflict is simply a misinterpretation. Or perhaps there have been updates since the first publication, in line with the scientific method. But, if the conflict persists and cannot be easily explained, a good scientist seeks to resolve the apparent conflict b

Holliday et al.'s "comprehensive refutation" of the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis (YDIH) is a highly misleading  Gish gallop. An earlier blog post addressed the presence of impact melts and microspherules in the YDB (Younger Dryas boundary). By themselves, they confirm a cosmic impact at Abu Hureyra near the YD onset. Due to the similarity of debris at the YDB across a wide range of sites, it's likely there were cosmic impacts across a wide area within a short timespan. Other blog posts examined the presence of nanodiamonds and platinum in the YDB. As they occur in the debris layer with microspherules at Abu Hureyra, they are also good impact indicators. They are present in many other YDB layers, along with apparent impact spherules, signalling a widely distributed cosmic impact. The previous blog post showed this layer of impact debris distributed across four continents within a narrow timeframe suggests a single event or highly correlated series of events wit

Holliday et al.'s "comprehensive refutation" of the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis (YDIH) is a highly misleading  Gish gallop.  Earlier blog posts have shown how Holliday et al. use false, misleading or inconsistent statements, wordplay, and an inadequate scientific methodology to make their case. Essentially, they have no refutation arguments at all. An  earlier blog post  addressed the presence of impact melts and microspherules in the YDB which, by themselves, confirm a cosmic impact at Abu Hureyra near the YD onset. Due to the similarity of debris at the YDB across a wide range of sites, it's likely there were cosmic impacts across a wide area within a short timespan, indicating a singular event or highly correlated series of events. Another blog post  examined the presence of nanodiamonds in the YDB. And another examined the presence of platinum in the YDB. In each case, microspherules, nanodiamonds and platinum are found precisely where they are expected based