Palaeolithic extinctions and the Taurid Complex
arXiv:1003.0744 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16579.x
Abstract
Intersection with the debris of a large (50-100 km) short-period comet during the Upper Palaeolithic provides a satisfactory explanation for the catastrophe of celestial origin which has been postulated to have occurred around 12900 BP, and which presaged a return to ice age conditions of duration ~1300 years. The Taurid Complex appears to be the debris of this erstwhile comet; it includes at least 19 of the brightest near-Earth objects. Sub-kilometre bodies in meteor streams may present the greatest regional impact hazard on timescales of human concern.
7 pages, 3 figures; accepted for Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (definitive version will be available at www.blackwell-synergy.com)