A giant meteorite first discovered in 2014 caused a tsunami bigger than any in known human history and may have sparked life, scientists reveal.

Massive impacts had a silver lining for life. Billions of years ago, long before life as we know it emerged, meteorites regularly bombarded the planet. Around 3.26 billion years ago, one of these space rocks struck Earth,

While a large asteroid could encounter Earth at any time, impacts were much more common in the so-called Archean Eon. Between 4 billion and 2.5 billion years ago, the only life on Earth consisted of simple single-celled organisms growing in shallow water.

Some billions of years ago, Earth was a very different place. Long before life appeared on Earth, countless meteorites rained down on it. One such impact, known as the S2 event, occurred about 3.26 billion years ago and has left behind a trail of clues about our planet’s early history.

The space rock that slammed into Earth 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period caused a global calamity that doomed the dinosaurs and many other life forms. But that was far from the largest meteorite to strike our planet.

Experts suggest the conditions caused by the impact of the S2 meteorite 3.26 billion years ago may have caused certain life forms to bloom.