Yucatan Meteor: The Real Impact

Abstract

The caprice of one large meteor hitting the earth 65 million years ago (Richard A. Kerr, Research News, 14 Aug., p. 878) is responsible for the existence of humanity. Had the dinosaurs survived, with all their capacity for carnivory, the large mammals, including primates, would never have evolved. On the other hand, humans could only have evolved through the elimination of both the carnivorous and the herbivorous dinosaurs. These reptilian megafauna would have both eaten the humans and eaten the subjects of their agropastoralism.