Could you survive if you went back in time to the age of dinosaurs?
For a modern human, living during the Mesozoic Era—the period between roughly 252 and 66 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth—would mean facing several difficulties and threats. Predatory dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptors, and Allosaurus lived in the Mesozoic Era. With their hunting skills honed to take down enormous prey, these apex predators would probably be too strong for a modern human to defend against.
Avoiding Predators
It would be challenging to totally elude discovery given the enormous size differential between humans and massive predatory dinosaurs. However, a human could improve their chances of surviving by utilizing a few tactics. A human could try to blend in with the surroundings, making it more difficult for visually oriented predators to identify them, by using mud, dirt, and naturally occurring hues from plants. This tactic would require familiarity with the topography and vegetation of the area.
To find food, a lot of predators use sound and movement. Being as silent and still as possible can help humans avoid notice, especially when they suspect the presence of large predators. This would be especially crucial in places with a lot of greenery or poor visibility. Seeking refuge in naturally hidden areas such as tree hollows, burrows, or other similar locations could offer some level of defense against predators. Dawn and dusk are usually the periods of the day when predators are most active. A human could reduce the likelihood of coming into contact with predators by hiding during prime hunting times and going to food gathering during safer hours.
Atmosphere
While there were considerable regional and temporal variations in the Mesozoic Era’s climate, overall it was warmer and more humid than it is today. A human would struggle to survive in the elements, including extreme heat, torrential rain, and potentially hazardous weather patterns, without contemporary shelters or clothing.
It’s conceivable that humans might be able to breathe the air during the dinosaur era, but there are a few key things to remember. The Mesozoic Era’s atmosphere had a different makeup than it does now.
It was widely accepted that oxygen levels were lower during the Mesozoic Era than they are now. The oxygen percentage ranged from an estimated 10% to 25%, whereas the oxygen content of our contemporary atmosphere is approximately 21%. Although decreased oxygen levels could be difficult, particularly for physically demanding activities, humans have evolved to exist in low-oxygen settings, including high elevations.
The Mesozoic Era had much higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), frequently many times more than they are today. While higher CO2 concentrations might promote plant development, extended exposure to excessively high levels may also induce respiratory problems in people.
Volcanic activity and other geological processes may have caused higher concentrations of various gases and particles in the atmosphere during the Mesozoic. Longer-term health hazards may arise from these, even if they might not be immediately hazardous.
Daily Survival
Ferns, cycads, and conifers dominated the majority of the plant life during the Mesozoic Era, which was very different from what it is today. Certain plants may be harmful, and others may be difficult to identify as edible. Furthermore, because of their size and movement, huge, possibly aggressive herbivores dinosaurs like Brachiosaurus and Triceratops could unintentionally constitute a hazard during this time.
It would be difficult to always find safe food and water supplies. Unlike modern individuals, accustomed to a wide variety of easily accessible, processed foods, during the Mesozoic Era, humans relied on fishing, hunting small animals, and searching for edible plants while evading predators. Another major obstacle to life could be contaminated water sources, which are difficult to find.
In addition to these urgent concerns, the issue of illness would also come into play. The environment during the Mesozoic Era was entirely different, with microbes to which modern humans would not be immune. This could lead to serious infections or illnesses.
Furthermore, treating wounds or illnesses would be challenging due to a lack of resources and understanding in contemporary medicine. In the Mesozoic Era, infections could even spread to tiny wounds, and illnesses that are currently treatable could become lethal.
Shelter remains a crucial issue. It would be challenging to construct a safe and sturdy shelter without access to contemporary tools and supplies. It may be necessary for humans to rely on natural formations like caverns, which can also be home to threatening animals.
Time Travel Concerns
If humans could travel back in time to the age of dinosaurs, they would appear where Earth was in the cosmos at that time, not where it is now. This is due to the fact that the majority of time travel theories suggest that in order to preserve continuity with Earth’s position, traveling in space must also occur when going through time.
At all times, the Earth is traveling through space. It revolves around the Sun, which revolves around the Milky Way galaxy’s center. The Milky Way galaxy is also traveling through the cosmos. The Earth’s position in space varies dramatically over millions of years.
According to some scientific theories and science fiction, time travel implies the entwining of space and time. This implies that modifications to the Earth’s spatial position would be necessary when traveling to a different era.
A traveler traveling back millions of years would, in fact, find themselves in empty space if time travel ignored the Earth’s current spatial position. This is because the Earth would not be in the same location.
Returning to the dinosaur era would present enormous challenges due to the shifting landmasses and oceans. During the Mesozoic Era, the arrangement of the Earth’s continents was significantly different from what it is today. The continents were part of Pangaea, a supercontinent that progressively divided into the land masses we know today, for a large portion of this epoch. This implies that a visitor may discover themselves in an entirely unanticipated geographic and environmental setting.
For instance, a tourist hoping to visit North America today might end up in the middle of an enormous inland sea or a dense, extinct forest if they happened to land in the same position millions of years ago. There would be no known cities, landmarks, or infrastructure—only ancient ecosystems and landscapes.
Challenges may also arise from the presence of old mountain ranges that may not be present now, as well as variations in land elevation. Changes in the locations of rivers, lakes, and beaches would significantly impact the types of flora and fauna found there, as well as the availability of fresh water. The arrangement of continents and oceans would also have an impact on temperature and weather patterns, resulting in changes.
Conclusion
All things considered, a modern person would have a very difficult time navigating and surviving in the Mesozoic Era due to the abrupt changes in geography and habitat, necessitating a rapid adaptation to the strange and possibly harsh conditions.
Basically, a modern human’s chances of surviving in the Mesozoic Era would have been extremely slim due to the absence of modern comforts, foreign flora and fauna, environmental risks, and predatory threats. Further, the act of time travel could be fatal due to changes in the location of the Earth and the landmasses on it.
Leave a Reply