If it took 30,000 years to recover from "Dino-killer"...

After Dino-Killing Asteroid Impact, Life Re-Emerged Quickly

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Life came back surprisingly quickly to the site of the impact that killed the dinosaurs, new research found.

When a 6-mile (10 kilometers) asteroid slammed into the Gulf of Mexico 66 million years ago, causing the demise of the dinosaurs as part of the largest mass extinction event in the last 100 million years, it took life on the planet at least 30,000 years to bounce back. The space rock also melted the crust and mantle at the point of impact, making modern scientists suspect that life would have had a particularly challenging time recovering at that location.

With this in mind, if it took a mere few tens of thousands of years to "recover" from such an impact, is it possible that exceptionally advanced societies could have existed (or indeed, societies on par with our now modern society today).

Or, to rephrase the topic in another way, could a great cataclysm like a supervolcano (heard of "Toba" for example) or comet or asteroid collision wipe out all trace of human life, our cities, infrastructure and all technology and leave no trace of us - thus, a future civilisation (same Homo Sapiens or other future humanoid) tens of thousands of years from now in the future (e.g. 40,000 AD) would have no evidence of our existence (as we are now in 2019 and as we were before)?

Think of it as a "Unknown Ancient Great Cataclysm wiped out a modern society much like our own, leaving no trace of their existence thought experiment"...


To further add to the topic, consider these questions, in light of the above thought experiment: If cities like New York City and Shanghai and Paris etc existed 80,000 or 120,000 years ago or whatever but were somehow wiped off the face of the Earth by the above or something else, is it theoretically possible to even find *any* trace of their existence? If planes were flying 80,000 or 120,000 years, would all evidence of their existence have been wiped out? Questions like these add to the thought experiment.

How long would the remains of the materials and resources etc used to build our modern infrastracture and technology today for example last in the event of the above cataclysm so as to be discovered by some future humanoid archaeologist - or would they just eventually dissipate/dissolve/decay etc?

To add: Further questions. How long, for example, would abandoned fuselages take to decay? Vehicles? Abandoned ifrastructure? Thousands, tens of thousands of years?

a reply to: TheRepublicOfCanada

As a technologically advanced society, we produce products that would survive and be found. Not to mention just like the dinosaurs who left us many fossils to learn from, we would also leave our own remains behind.

If there were an advanced society before, the evidence would be there to show it. It does not exist. The evidence of dinosaurs did not disappear and no way could the existence of we humans disappear.

Here is one example of a situation where there would be findable evidence. It's called New York City.
LINK

skyscrapers were not being built close to downtown, but rather were mostly being constructed in midtown, 4 miles north.

This has to do in part with the depth of the bedrock underneath the city. Large buildings need to be anchored to bedrock in order to prevent potentially uneven settling. The bedrock is within a few feet of the ground surface in Midtown, and within 40 feet of the surface in Downtown.

Foundations built on and anchored to bedrock would survive. The foundations are basically man made stone.

originally posted by: Blaine91555
a reply to: TheRepublicOfCanada

As a technologically advanced society, we produce products that would survive and be found. Not to mention just like the dinosaurs who left us many fossils to learn from, we would also leave our own remains behind.

If there were an advanced society before, the evidence would be there to show it. It does not exist. The evidence of dinosaurs did not disappear and no way could the existence of we humans disappear.

I thought there'd be a mention of dinosaur fossils, yes.

But what type of evidence of our current existence would be left behind to indicate to an investigating civilisation in 40,000 AD that we were a modern technological civilisation?

originally posted by: Blaine91555
Here is one example of a situation where there would be findable evidence. It's called New York City.
LINK

skyscrapers were not being built close to downtown, but rather were mostly being constructed in midtown, 4 miles north.

This has to do in part with the depth of the bedrock underneath the city. Large buildings need to be anchored to bedrock in order to prevent potentially uneven settling. The bedrock is within a few feet of the ground surface in Midtown, and within 40 feet of the surface in Downtown.

Foundations built on and anchored to bedrock would survive. The foundations are basically man made stone.

Yes, I understand that. But would places like this survive a theoretical "Dino-killer" or supervolcano or other great cataclysmic event?

originally posted by: Blaine91555

If there were an advanced society before, the evidence would be there to show it. It does not exist. The evidence of dinosaurs did not disappear and no way could the existence of we humans disappear.

Well "we humans" would not have been the speices back then since mamals were just coming into the world through evolution. It would need to have been a dino speices and that seems to be a rather far fetched idea.

The planet still, has not gotten over it.

The event produced a species that poisons the environment, kills it's own kind for power and entertainment as well as many other noble creatures, disrespects the rights of most all creatures by comprising their habitat and let's its waste and trash pollute the very water everything requires to survive.

Life re-emerged quickly all right, and with a vengeance probably worse than a world of large scaly monsters.

originally posted by: Blaine91555
Here is one example of a situation where there would be findable evidence. It's called New York City.
LINK

skyscrapers were not being built close to downtown, but rather were mostly being constructed in midtown, 4 miles north.

This has to do in part with the depth of the bedrock underneath the city. Large buildings need to be anchored to bedrock in order to prevent potentially uneven settling. The bedrock is within a few feet of the ground surface in Midtown, and within 40 feet of the surface in Downtown.

Foundations built on and anchored to bedrock would survive. The foundations are basically man made stone.

Not that I believe there was a civilization of anything close to our tech 65 million years BP, but the geological changes since then would have destroyed the type of things you describe, assuming thet were still above ocean level to begin with.

Take a look at how much the continental plates have moved, and destorted since the time of dinos. Mountain ranges have appeared. Entire areas have sunken into the ocean. Edges of plates have been pushed under others. Glaciers have ground deep gouges in what was once the top layer.

No. Any structual components of building would have disappeared long ago.

a reply to: TheRepublicOfCanada

Unless they were at the location of the strike, then yes I suppose they would. Not to mention we produce a lot of materials that don't biodegrade. Metals almost immune from oxidation.

The damns would fail and some cities would be buried by sediment and slides creating a perfect situation for preservation.

originally posted by: charlyv
The planet still, has not gotten over it.

The event produced a species that poisons the environment, kills it's own kind for power and entertainment as well as many other noble creatures, disrespects the rights of most all creatures by comprising their habitat and let's its waste and trash pollute the very water everything requires to survive.

Life re-emerged quickly all right, and with a vengeance probably worse than a world of large scaly monsters.

I understand your cinicism, but the "planet" doesn't even acknowledge man existence.

At some point it will once again, become a completely glaciated sphere, or an intensly hot and irradiated ball, or both at different times, and there is absolutely nothing humans can do to stop it.

Humans aren't that important in the grand scheme of planetary evolution. Human self importance is purely a human construct.

I hope I haven't ruined your day, but the truth shall set you free.

a reply to: TheRepublicOfCanada

Plastic. Loads of plastic.

Edit: oh wait, that’d melt. But there would some trace of it.

a reply to: Mach2

Then why do we find examples of life going back over 3 billion years? No it would not all be destroyed and like other fossils, those same processes would not only bury evidence, but at some point expose it through erosion.

We would have some evidence by now.

originally posted by: Mach2

originally posted by: charlyv
The planet still, has not gotten over it.

The event produced a species that poisons the environment, kills it's own kind for power and entertainment as well as many other noble creatures, disrespects the rights of most all creatures by comprising their habitat and let's its waste and trash pollute the very water everything requires to survive.

Life re-emerged quickly all right, and with a vengeance probably worse than a world of large scaly monsters.

At some point it will once again, become a completely glaciated sphere, or an intensly hot and irradiated ball, or both at different times, and there is absolutely nothing humans can do to stop it.

Humans aren't that important in the grand scheme of planetary evolution. Human self importance is purely a human construct.

You've kind of jumped the shark here and drifted off topic don't you think? Completely off topic in fact?

originally posted by: TheRepublicOfCanada is it possible that exceptionally advanced societies could have existed (or indeed, societies on par with our now modern society today).

without a shadow of a doubt. i believe civilizations have risen and fallen in a cyclical nature throughout history.

originally posted by: Blaine91555
a reply to: TheRepublicOfCanada

Unless they were at the location of the strike, then yes I suppose they would. Not to mention we produce a lot of materials that don't biodegrade. Metals almost immune from oxidation.

The damns would fail and some cities would be buried by sediment and slides creating a perfect situation for preservation.

I agree. There are exotic superalloys, such as inconel, a nickle chomium based alloy, that a large chunk, would perhaps last that long, assuming it wasn't subjected to the heat of a near direct meteor impact, nuclear explosion, volcano or a heat source along those lines.

As I pointed out in a previous post, though, the geologic changes over such vast time periods would likely put such things out of reach without some serious luck involved. Even then the would probably be relegated to be curiosities like OOPARTS.

originally posted by: Blaine91555
a reply to: TheRepublicOfCanada

As a technologically advanced society, we produce products that would survive and be found. Not to mention just like the dinosaurs who left us many fossils to learn from, we would also leave our own remains behind.

If there were an advanced society before, the evidence would be there to show it. It does not exist. The evidence of dinosaurs did not disappear and no way could the existence of we humans disappear.

The evidence is there it is just off shore under water from the last melting of the ice age.

a reply to: RoScoLaz5

Civilizations yes, but technologically advanced civilizations? "On par with our now modern society today"? Where is the evidence?

Even the mythology surrounding the Egyptians and others assumes that all evidence of their technology disappears in just a few thousand years. Nothing, just gone. Nothing about them was "on par" with today.

originally posted by: Mach2

originally posted by: charlyv
The planet still, has not gotten over it.

The event produced a species that poisons the environment, kills it's own kind for power and entertainment as well as many other noble creatures, disrespects the rights of most all creatures by comprising their habitat and let's its waste and trash pollute the very water everything requires to survive.

Life re-emerged quickly all right, and with a vengeance probably worse than a world of large scaly monsters.

I understand your cinicism, but the "planet" doesn't even acknowledge man existence.

At some point it will once again, become a completely glaciated sphere, or an intensly hot and irradiated ball, or both at different times, and there is absolutely nothing humans can do to stop it.

Humans aren't that important in the grand scheme of planetary evolution. Human self importance is purely a human construct.

I hope I haven't ruined your day, but the truth shall set you free.

You certainly have not ruined my day.
Humans destroy the worlds environment and consequently that which is cognizant of it's existence, by observing it. That is the truth.
We all know what the world is capable of, but deny what it is here for.

originally posted by: Blaine91555
a reply to: Mach2

Then why do we find examples of life going back over 3 billion years? No it would not all be destroyed and like other fossils, those same processes would not only bury evidence, but at some point expose it through erosion.

We would have some evidence by now.

You have a point about exposing, as well as burying.

Can you give a direct example of life 3 billion years ago? Anything I have ever seen referenced is indirect at best, and microscopic in nature. That's not really the same thing as man made building foundations, IMO.