Fossil Record
Evidence for Evolution?
The Grand Canyon, Arizona
Strata
Sedimentary rock typically exists as distinct layers or strata.
Monument Valley, Utah
Fossil Record
Fossils - A trace or
remnant of preexisting
life embedded and
preserved in the earth’s
crust.
Fossil Record – A “recording” of history.
– A record of the relative
times of death of
preexisting life.
Correlating Sedimentary Rock Strata
Correlating Sedimentary Rock Strata
Fossil
Record
Sedimentary Rock
Exposed Rock Layers in
the USA
Sedimentary Rock Depth
In most places
sedimentary rock is
hundreds of feet thick,
and in other places
there is kilometers of
thickness.
Limestone exists in
such vast quantities it
has been used in the
construction of
tremendous monuments
such as the pyramids
and the sphinx, which
are made entirely of this
sedimentary rock.
Limestone Monuments
What Covered the World
With Sediment?
Strata Formation
Bryce Canyon
National Park
Small Particles
Medium Particles
Layers form anytime
particles are suspended in
fluid then allowed to settle.
Large Particles
Several layers form simultaneously
where sediments are flowing.
Rapid Strata
Formation
Touchet beds
Missoula Flood
Slackwater Deposits
Burlingame Canyon
Near Walla Walla, WA there
are up to 40 distinct
rhythmite layers exposed in
the Burlingame Canyon,
that were formed during the
Missoula Flood.
Rapid Strata Formation
at Mt. St. Helens
March 19, 1982
June 12, 1980
May 18, 1980
Toutle River, Mt. St. Helens
Stratified layers up to 400 feet thick formed as a result of landslides, air fall
tephra, pyroclastic flow, and mudflows, during the Mt. St. Helens eruptions.
Fossilization
Fossilization
according to uniformitarianism
After death, the ammonite
slowly sinks to the sea floor.
Scavengers feed on the
fleshy body of the creature,
and after only several weeks
all that remains is the shell.
http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/
Fossilization
according to uniformitarianism
Several months after death the
shell gradually becomes covered
with silt and sand. These layers
continue to build, providing a shield
around the shell and protecting it
from damage. Time continues to
pass and more and more layers are
deposited. After a few hundred
years the shell is several feet
beneath the surface.
http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/
Fossilization
according to uniformitarianism
Gradually the chemicals in the shell
undergo a series of changes. As the
shell slowly decays, water infused with
minerals passes through it, replacing the
chemicals in the shell with rock-like
minerals (Calcite, Iron or Silica). Over
millions of years the original shell is
completely replaced by the minerals and
what remains is a rock-like copy of the
original shell. The fossil has the same
shape as the original object, but is
actually rock.
http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/
Fossil
Fish
Fleshy parts fossilized. Did this
fish survive decomposition for
millions of years?
Fossilized Horse
Source: Messel Pit Fossil Site
http://www.unesco-welterbe.de/en/
Fossilized Leaves
Carbonized plant Thinnfeldia feistmanteli, Australia.
Source: Museum Victoria.
http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/prehistoric/image_html/mr007225.html
The Last Supper
Living Fossils
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Crocodiles - dates back 230 million years
Army Ants - dates back 100 million years
Cockroaches - dates back 350 million years
Coelacanth - dates back 400 million years
Crinoid or Sea Lilly dates back 150 million years
Cycads dates back 240 million years
Dragonfly dates back 230 million years
Ginkgo dates back 270 million years
Horseshoe Crab - dates back 300 million years
Nautilus - dates back 500 million years
Neopilina molluscs - dates back 400 million years
Salamanders dates back 150 million years
Sturgeon dates back 250 million years
Tuatara dates back 200 million years.
Velvet Worm dates back 500 million years
Wollemi Pine - dates back 150 million years
Marine Fossils Everywhere
Marine fossils are found on almost every mountain
range in the world (Alps, Andes, etc.), and provide clear
evidence that the oceans covered the continents.
Out of Place Fossils
Assumption:
The last appearance of a
fossil is the time when it
went extinct.
The Coelacanth was thought
to have gone extinct with the
dinosaurs 65 million years
ago until it was discovered off
the coast of Madagascar.
Coelacanth
Living Fossil
Dinosaurs and Man
Are Dinosaurs Mentioned in the Bible?
Job 40:15-18
Behold now behemoth, which I made with
thee; he eateth grass as an ox. . . .
He moveth his tail like a cedar . . .
His bones are as strong pieces of brass;
his bones are like bars of iron.
He is the chief of the ways of God;
What Happened to the
Dinosaurs?
Did they all die in the
What Happened to the
Dinosaurs?
What Happened to the Dinosaurs?
They all starved
They ate too much
People ate the dinosaurs
What Happened to the Dinosaurs?
They changed (evolved) into birds
One more story
Evidence of Rapid
Burial
Geologists claim that fossilization requires
millions of years to occur. However, many fossils
have been found with fully articulated skeletons,
hair, scales, feathers, and soft fleshy parts such
as skin, cartilage, unborn fetuses and stomachs
containing the animals' last meal.
From the marrow cavity of a fossilized
Tyrannosaurus rex thighbone, scientists have
extracted soft tissue. The flexible tissue can
be stretched (see arrow) and returns to its
original form. March 2005.
Dinosaurs on the Ark
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of
every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep
them alive with thee; they shall be male and
female. (Genesis 6:20)
Dinosaurs were on the Ark and
they came off the Ark
Fossil Sorting
Assumptions:
1) Fossil sorting is believed to
represent the history of life
on earth.
2) Fossils in the lowest layers
are believed to have lived
before those in upper
layers.
3) The first appearance of a
fossil is believe to be the
time when it evolved.
4) The last appearance of a
fossil is believe to be the
time it went extinct.
Geological Column
Fossil Sorting
Sorting Order of Fossils:
•Man
•Warm blooded terrestrials
•Cold blooded terrestrials
•Free swimming
•Bottom dwelling
Factors Affecting Survival:
•Habitat Elevation
•Mobility vs. Sessile
•Environmental Tolerance
•Intelligence