[meteorite-list] "Dakhla"= ancient Egyptian for "okay, who ticked off Ra?"

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 13:07:51 -0500
Message-ID: <ddgto2tv1987t874t9v1ij9jap84nu4csl_at_4ax.com>

(Sorry about that, accidentally hit "send" before editing in the new message.)

http://www.glassonweb.com/news/index/5274/

Mysterious Egyptian Glass Formed by Meteorite Strike, Study Says

Strange specimens of natural glass found in the Egyptian desert are products of
a meteorite slamming into Earth between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago,
scientists have concluded.

The glass?known locally as Dakhla glass?represents the first clear evidence of a
meteorite striking an area populated by humans.

At the time of the impact, the Dakhla Oasis, located in the western part of
modern-day Egypt, resembled the African savanna and was inhabited by early
humans, according to archaeological evidence (see Egypt map.)

"This meteorite event would have been catastrophic for all living things," said
Maxine Kleindienst, an anthropologist at the University of Toronto in Canada.

"Even a relatively small impact would have exterminated all life for [several]
miles."

Crater Mystery

The origin of the glass had puzzled scientists since Kleindienst discovered it
in 1987.

Some researchers had suggested the Stone Age glass may have been produced by
burning vegetation or lightning strikes.

But a chemical analysis showed that the glass was created in temperatures so
high that they could only have been the result of a meteorite impact.
Received on Sun 24 Dec 2006 01:07:51 PM PST