Comets impact 13,000 years ago killed thousands, altered the climate and triggered the rise of the first civilizations

Ancient symbols carved into stone at an archaeological site in Turkey tell the story of a devastating comet impact that triggered a mini ice age more than 13,000 years ago, scientists believe.

Evidence from the carvings, made on a pillar known as the Vulture Stone, suggests that a swarm of comet fragments hit the Earth in around 11000 BC.

One image of a headless man is thought to symbolize human disaster and extensive loss of life.

The devastating event, which wiped out creatures such as woolly mammoths, also helped spark the rise of civilization.

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Scientists have speculated for decades that a comet could have caused the sharp drop in temperature during a period known as the Younger Dryas.

The Younger Dryas is seen as a crucial period in humanity’s history as it coincides with the beginnings of agriculture and the first Neolithic civilisations.

Scientists were analysing the mysterious symbols carved onto stone pillars at Gobekli Tepe in southern Turkey to find out if they could be linked to constellations.

Engineers from the University of Edinburgh studied animal carvings made on a pillar – known as the vulture stone – at the site.

By interpreting the animals as astronomical symbols, and using computer software to match their positions to patterns of stars, researchers dated the event to 10,950BC.

It probably resulted from the break-up of a giant comet in the inner solar system.

This is around the time the Younger Dryas period began according to ice core data from Greenland, which pinpoints the event to 10,890BC.

Before the comet strike, large fields of barley and wheat had allowed roaming hunters in the Middle East to set up permanent base camps.

Evidence from the carvings, made on a pillar known as the Vulture Stone, suggests that a swarm of comet fragments hit the Earth in around 11000 BC. The different symbols, said to tell the story, are labeled in the graphic above

But the ice-cold conditions created by the impact forced these hunters to band together and find new ways to grow crops.

They developed watering and selective breeding to help their crops last against the harsh climate, forming modern farming practices.

The carvings appear to have remained important to the people of Gobekli Tepe for millennia, the Edinburgh researchers said.

This suggests that the event and cold climate that followed likely had a serious impact.

The team suggest the images were intended as a record of the cataclysmic event.

A further carving showing a headless man may indicate human disaster and extensive loss of life, they said.

Furthermore, symbolism on the pillars indicates that the long-term changes in Earth’s rotational axis was recorded at this time using an early form of writing.

The symbolism suggests that G?bekli Tepe was an observatory for meteors and comets.

The find supports a theory that Earth is likely to experience periods when comet strikes are more likely, owing to Earth’s orbit intersecting orbiting rings of comet fragments in space.

Stone pillars at Gobleki Tepe, thought to be the world’s oldest temple site. Scientists have speculated for decades that a comet could have caused the sharp drop in temperature during a period known as the Younger Dryas around 11,000BC

Dr Martin Sweatman, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering, who led the research, said: ‘I think this research, along with the recent finding of a widespread platinum anomaly across the North American continent, virtually seal the case in favour of (a Younger Dryas comet impact).

‘Our work serves to reinforce that physical evidence. What is happening here is the process of paradigm change.

‘It appears Göbekli Tepe was, among other things, an observatory for monitoring the night sky.

‘One of its pillars seems to have served as a memorial to this devastating event – probably the worst day in history since the end of the ice age.’

The find supports a theory that Earth is likely to experience periods when comet strikes are more likely, owing to Earth’s orbit intersecting orbiting rings of comet fragments in space (stock image)