Friday, March 9, 2012

What will archaeologists working 100,000 years from now discover about us?

"Future fossil hunters won't be looking for us in graveyards since bodies buried there crumble into dust within a few centuries. Instead, the richest human bonebeds will likely be found in the debris of catastrophic events, such as volcanic ash or the fine sediments left by the recent tsunamis in Asia, Behrensmeyer says. A few bodies might be mummified in peat bogs or high deserts, but they will decay if conditions change, as is likely over a span of 100,000 years. Those same changes will also lay waste to other important clues to our civilisation: our homes. Climate change and rising sea levels are likely to drown coastal cities such as New Orleans and Amsterdam (see "Where will we live?"). In these cases, waves will probably destroy the parts of buildings above ground, and basements and pilings will soon be buried by sediments. While concrete may dissolve over the millennia, archaeologists will recognise the precise rectangular patterns of sand and gravel that remain as a sign of purposeful design."
  By Bob Holmes / more
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