On the Prehistoric Giant Comet Impact in Xinjiang: A New Interpretation of Landforms and Civilizations

Modern mainstream geology often invokes plate tectonics to explain mountain ranges, basins and geomorphological evolution. However, this theory still struggles to fully account for macro-scale landforms, geological anomalies, global desert distribution, and gaps in ancient civilizations. Traditional geological research has long relied on localized surface surveys, lacking a high-altitude, global perspective and paying limited attention to sudden, catastrophic global events. Based on satellite-based global geomorphological observations, classical physical mechanics, geological anomalies, chronological gaps in ancient civilizations worldwide, and collective mythic memories of ancient peoples, this paper proposes a new hypothesis: In remote prehistory, a 30–50 km diameter composite rocky comet may have struck the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, Eurasia, along a northwest–southeast oblique trajectory at extremely high speed. This massive impact may have reshaped the core landforms of Eurasia; shockwaves transmitted across hemispheres may have triggered geological activity in western North America; the impact may have torn subsurface rock layers, leading to long-term, slow release of deep toxic gases; extreme heat, wildfires and climatic upheaval triggered by the impact may explain the formation of large deserts in the Middle East and North Africa; the Kunlun, Tianshan and other giant mountain ranges uplifted by the impact may have formed natural barriers, profoundly influencing the distribution and survival of ancient civilizations worldwide. It is thus speculated that the globe may be divided into high-energy disaster zones, barrier survival zones, and energy-balance zones. This hypothesis offers a complementary framework for understanding Earth’s landforms, desert distribution, ecological differences, ancient civilization disruptions, and legends of “poisonous miasma” in western China.