# Traces of humanity--after 10,000 years? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 13, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350 "2003-01-13T19:23:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350/41 "2003-01-16T19:28:12Z")
Landfills. With all the styrofoam cups & take-out boxes. I’ve also heard that disposable diapers will last several thousands of years. I have a feeling that in several hundred years our descendents will be mining our landfills for metals & plastics. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350/42 "2003-01-16T19:40:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sunspace \* > \*\*When I was a kid, we drove to Washington DC. I remember that we passed through a gigantic rock-cut with sheer walls while travelling the Interstate through the Appalachians. _That_’ll still be there in ten thousand years [sub]barring complete tectonic revision or asteroid impact[/sub] . \*\* You must be thinking about [Sideling Hill](http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/brochures/sideling.html) about 10 miles west of Hancock, MD. For the OP I would say that in 10000 years if we were to just suddenly be gone then there would be a lot of things left. Probably California would be gone but you have many many other places where there are very few natural problems so larger cities in the mountains and plains away from and rising ocean some buildings would stand I’m sure. Mt Rushmore, while it probably would lose some parts not all of it would go away, the mountain is already millions of years old what’s 10k more? Yeah so the noses might be gone but even with freezing warming etc it’ll still be there. There is also Crazy horse near there as well. One other thing to think about is that with some good air photos archaeologists can still see sites that are a few thousand years old, in 10k years there will still be such evidence as roads, cities etc even if burried. Getting sunk will not do a whole lot of damage either, well it will but there will still be plenty of things around unless there are some serious currents everywhere. There are some sites that are underwater that are a few thousand years old. I almost forgot I brought my _Early Ireland_ book today and they have found evidence of humans in Ireland from at least 7,800 years ago. The real reason I was looking though is because gold doesn’t change much so find Fort Knox and there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Dickerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Scott\_Dickerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Dickerson)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350/43 "2003-01-16T19:51:23Z")
I gather, though, that much of what has been mentioned will lie at least a little ways below the surface. Given the scenario of the world covered by a big old ocean for about 10,000 years–I’m interested in the question of what traces of man would still be visible right on the surface, not buried under silt or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350/44 "2003-01-17T04:30:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Snickers \* > \*\*_Originally posted by **Ranchoth** _ > Edward Mallory? **Edward** Mallory?! Who the hell is _Edward_ Mallory? It’s George. George Mallory. And yep, he’s still up there, hopefully with Andrew Irvine - people are still looking for Sandy. But how the aliens are going to hike to 27,500 feet is beyond me. > > \*\* Mea Culpa on Mallory’s first name, but I shouldn’t think that getting to Everest would be too big a deal for the aliens…It’s the highest point on Earth, after all. I’d think they’d at least want to do a radar scan of it. And if they were working with the theory that a technologically advanced species once covered the planet, the aliens might look for signs of former human activity around such a notable landmark. Another thought…what about the aircraft graveyards in Arizona? The aircraft might not be recognizable in 10,000 years, but the large concentrations of steel, aluminum, titanium, etc. should be detectible, maybe even from orbit. ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350/45 "2003-01-18T11:48:22Z")
Cemetery’s will have two things in them, elaborately embalmed corpses, and some of those corpses will have breast implants. Silicone implants will last a long long time, though I am not certain that they will last 10,000 years. Still, analysis will reveal something peculiar about certain female corpses. And this will be extremly perplexing to an alien race. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350/46 "2003-01-18T13:42:32Z")
Given either scenario, the huge numbers of AOL Free Trial CDs will indicate human civilisation. The fact that many are found to be unused, discarded and ignored will indicate intelligent human civilisation. ---
**Author:** ![broccoli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@broccoli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broccoli)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350/47 "2003-01-24T20:23:42Z")
\ **Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor** wooden ships do in fact rot in cold, deep water… just very very slowly. In fact I just saw _-and it’s totally escaping my mind making me look like a trollish ass-_ a show on TLC about a ship in Holland that sunk a couple hundred years back. The ship was starting to decay badly enough that they had to raise it in order to preserve it. It was one of those “That ship doesn’t exist anymore!” “Yes it does, i’m gonna search this body of water every day until I find it with a home made core sampler!” Damn I wish I could remember that show. \ ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350/48 "2003-01-24T21:29:36Z")
Are you thinking of the [Vasa](http://www.vasamuseet.se/indexeng.html)? - Swedish warship built for King Gustavus Adolphus, sunk on its maiden voyage (if you can call leaving the dock a voyage) in 1628. ---
**Author:** ![broccoli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@broccoli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broccoli)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350/49 "2003-01-25T15:11:36Z")
Yes! I believe that was the one. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350/50 "2003-01-27T02:55:34Z")
You know, **Genesis** had a song that could have been inspired by this thread OP. “Watcher of the Skies” is about an interstellar space traveler who happens to discover Earth long after humanity has become extinct. He finds traces of civilization and muses on their meaning. \*Creatures shaped this planet’s soil, Now their reign has come to an end, Has life again destroyed life, Do they play elsewhere, or do they know more than their childhood games? Maybe the lizard’s shed its tail, This is the end of man’s long union with Earth. Judge not this race by empty remains Do you judge God by his creatures when they are dead? For now the lizard’s shed it’s tail This is the end of man’s long union with Earth.\* ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350/51 "2003-01-27T03:57:18Z")
What about things under water? A submarine wreck that has not been crushed could be a “goldmine” of proof. Some time in the past my memory tells me that a story about this has been done in Scientific American [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traces-of-humanity-after-10-000-years/148350.md?page=2)