Comment on What would remain for a future species if humans were to vanish tomorrow?
MotoAsh@lemmy.world 6 days ago
More than they’re going to get otherwise. Also this is a series of questions, not a shower thought.
It is pure conjecture to say any other “intelligent” and industrious species would arise, but many modern constructions would have little to no sign of existence. Any metal, even most stainless steels, would be rusted away or buried many feet deep after millions of years. Even plastics and cement would be deteriorated enough that there would mostly just be the greatly disturbed strata that would give big clues that something either catastrophic or massively industrious happened. Only very rare areas that are geologically stable and have low corrosion would have much of a chance to retain anything recognizable, like how only some cave paintings are still around today.
So, maybe a couple military bases might retain enough structure to piece some things together, but it’ll still be a mess by the time another equivalently self-centered intelligent species comes about.