Archaeologists Disprove Comet's Role in Hopewell Culture's Destruction
A team of scholars has refuted the claim that a comet explosion 1,500 years ago led to the decline of the ancient Indigenous Hopewell culture, finding the evidence to be inadequate and inconsistent. The researchers identified no catastrophic event or decline in the culture, and noted possible intentional data manipulations in the original research. They concluded that the presence of meteorites and other materials claimed to be associated with a comet explosion were likely brought to the Hopewell sites for ceremonial purposes, and that the cultural shifts observed in the Hopewell culture were due to changes in social and religious practices.