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Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 41: Sep-Oct 1985 |
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Did the australites fall recently?
Many thousands of australites, tektites strewn over Australia and Tasmania, have been found over the years; but, except for five, all were discovered loose on the surface or in unconsolidated sediments. Even the five australites found in rocks were in grit, sandstone, and other rocks that were hard to date and could have been recently lithified. Although the "official" date for the australite fall is 700,000 BP, the authors of this article, and presumably other Australian geologists, find "it difficult to believe that australites fell as long as 700,000 years ago."
(Cleverly, W.H., and Kirsch, Steve; Meteoritics, 19:91, 1984.)
Comment. A few geologists even venture that this catastrophic event may have occurred just a few thousand years ago, and may be reflected in myth and legend.
Reference. The "tektite age paradox" is covered more thoroughly in ESM3 in our catalog: Neglected Geological Anomalies. To order, visit: here.