Sometimes I wonder for how many years there will be visible evidence of humans presence.
This post will somehow be a science-fiction one. Our planet Earth is 4.54 billion years old. During its lifetime, many creatures have lived on this planet. Most of them are already gone (e.g., dinosaurs). Moreover, within billions of years, the climate of our world was constantly changing. For example, there was a period in the history of Earth named the Cryogenian Period. During this era, the whole planet was covered in ice. Today, scientists call this effect “Snowball Earth.” For me, it is hard to imagine the entire planet covered with a minimum of a 1 km layer of ice. The glaciation was also on the equator! Thus, I believe that it is not as stupid as it seems to ask a question about the evidence of the humans’ presence in the distant future.
I wonder if such proof of human existence will be noticed on planet Earth within the next few million years. I think that it somehow will be.
Nevertheless, I believe that the long-lasting evidence of human presence will be (and already is!) on the moon. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, the latter took a photo of the virgin ground beneath him. Then, he photographed the famous imprint of the sole of his boot. According to Phaidon “Sun and Moon” book, this particular evidence of human presence will remain unsullied by shifting dust in the lunar climate for approximately two million years. The Lascaux cave paintings, the oldest human markings, in comparison, are “only” 20.000 years old. The Sumerian language, one of the earliest scripts, is only 5000 years old. By taking into consideration things written below, I do believe that the long-lasting evidence of humans will be present, not on Earth, but on the moon.
