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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Sea deluge hypothesis | 2/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_deluge_hypothesis | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:59:07.496507+00:00 | kb-cron |
== Counter-arguments ==
Criticisms of the deluge hypothesis hinge on two main lines of arguments. The first mainly focuses on the water level of the Black Sea: if the magnitude and pace of the rise of the Black Sea level was moderate enough, or if it even outpaced the rise in the Aegean basin (with water flowing, when they reconnected, from the former to the latter as it does now), or if the straits were already opened (at a lower level than now) and the two basins already connected at the time of the hypothesised flood, the catastrophe hypothesis is voided. The second is the lack of archaeological evidence one would expect of a flood, such as impact on geology, wildlife or humans. Since the end of the last glacial period, the global sea level has risen 120 m (390 ft). The flood hypothesis hinges on the geomorphology of the Bosporus since the end of the glacial age. The Black Sea area has been isolated and reconnected many times during the last 500,000 years. Opponents of the deluge hypothesis point to clues that water was flowing out of the Black Sea basin as late as 15,000 years ago. In this alternative scenario, much depends on the evolution of the Bosporus. According to a study from 2001, the modern sill is 32–34 m (105–112 ft) below sea level and consists of Quaternary sand over-lying Paleozoic bedrock in which three sills are found at 80–85 m (260–280 ft) below sea level. Sedimentation on these sills started before 10,000 years ago and continued until 5,300 years ago. A large part of the academic geological community also continues to reject the idea that there could have been enough sustained long-term pressure by water from the Aegean to dig through a supposed isthmus at the present Bosporus or enough of a difference in water levels, if any, between the two water basins. In 2007, a research anthology on the topic was published which made much of the earlier Russian research available in English for the first time and combined it with more recent scientific findings. The level in the Black Sea before the marine reconnection was estimated to have been 30 m (100 ft) below present sea level, rather than 80 m (260 ft) of the catastrophe theories or even lower; if the flood occurred at all, the sea level increase and the flooded area during the reconnection were significantly smaller than previously proposed. Since the depth of the Bosporus, in its middle furrow, at present varies from 36 to 124 m (118 to 407 ft), with an average depth of 65 m (213 ft), a calculated Stone Age shoreline in the Black Sea lying 30 m (100 ft) lower than in the present day would imply that the contact with the Mediterranean might never have been broken during the Holocene, and hence there could have been no sudden waterfall-style transgression. The flooding could have been "not so big". In 2011, several authors concluded that "there is no underwater archaeological evidence to support any catastrophic submergence of prehistoric Black Sea settlements during the late Pleistocene or early Holocene intervals". A 2012 study based on process length variation of the dinoflagellate cyst Lingulodinium machaerophorum shows no evidence for catastrophic flooding. However, Geophysical, geochronological, and geochemical evidence points to a "fast transgression" of the submergence lasting between 10 and 200 years. A 2022 literature review concluded that there was insufficient evidence for a flood scenario. It was more likely that the waters of the Black Sea itself gradually outflowed to the Mediterranean. There was also no archaeological evidence of humans evacuating the area during the relevant time.
== See also == Black Sea undersea river – Saline water current in the Black Sea Altai flood – Prehistoric event in Central Asia Flood myth – Myth in which a great flood destroys civilization Noah's Ark – Vessel in the Genesis flood narrative 4.2 kiloyear event – Severe climatic event starting around 2200 BCPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets 5.9 kiloyear event – North Atlantic ice rafting eventsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets 8.2 kiloyear event – Rapid global cooling about 8,200 years agoPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets West Siberian Glacial Lake – Periglacial lake of the Weichselian Glaciation Zanclean flood – Theoretical refilling of the Mediterranean Sea between the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs, flooding of the Mediterranean
== References ==