Of course, cynics and die-hard progressives might object to the above evidence on the grounds that it was driven by an explosion of income gains.

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On the other hand, there is evidence that the object which burst forth so spectacularly is actually quite close.

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So far it appears to be an isolated incident, he added, although he said there was insufficient evidence to say definitively what the object was.

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Then a marine geologist, James Kennett of the University of California, Santa Barbara, said he had found evidence of the impact of a large object from space 12, 900 years ago, in the form of carbon spherules in silt.

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From the video and photographic evidence, he said, he estimated the object burned up about 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the ground.

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The object is believed to have been made in northern Britain, with evidence pointing to a workshop in Castleford, West Yorkshire, which made enamel artefacts.

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