Life-science textbooks, such as the 7th-grade Focus on Life Science textbook, often claim that fossils take millions of years to form, using long ages as evidence for evolutionary history.1 However, as was demonstrated in a previous post, millions of years are not needed to explain the fossil record, but is there any evidence that the fossil record was laid down rapidly during the Flood? Consider the following facts:
1. Rapid burial is required to preserve animal and plant remains as fossils – Soft parts of plants (flowers, etc) and animals (skin, feathers, organs, etc) rapidly decay after death, and hard parts are then scattered and destroyed by scavengers and the forces of nature. However, the fossil record contains the well-preserved hard and soft parts of animals and plants, showing that they were buried before the destructive forces of nature could have begun to act on and destroy these remains. The only explanation is quick, catastrophic burial in thick layers of sediment, apart from the presence of scavengers, bacteria, or oxygen.2
Image credit: www.answersingenesis.org
2. The fossil record shows clear signs of catastrophic burial – Numerous fossil evidences show clear indications of rapid burial. Here are just a few:
- Clams fossilized in a closed (life) position, showing that they were buried alive.2
- Fossil fish with their last dinner still in their mouths (see above photo)!2
- Dinosaur fossils preserved in their ‘death pose’, with neck arched backward and tail stretched out, a result of death by drowning.3
- A fossil trilobite buried in its tracks.4
- Fossil Velociraptor and Protoceratops dinosaurs buried while locked in combat.5
- Fossil dinosaur ‘mummies’, with skin and organs preserved.
3. Fossils containing original tissues, cells, and proteins – In recent years, many reports of original tissues, cells, and proteins have been published in scientific literature, many of these (i.e. collagen), having ‘shelf’ lives of only thousands to 1 million years max! Yet the fossils and rocks they are found in are supposed to be tens to hundreds of millions of years old, according to the evolutionary geologic column!
The fossil evidence doesn’t support the idea of millions of years—it clearly confirms the account of the worldwide Flood from Genesis 6-9!
Free resources for further study:
Chapter 2: Did Noah’s Flood Really Happen?
Do Fossils Show Signs of Rapid Burial?
Bibliography:
1Coolidge-Stoltz, Elizabeth. Focus on California Life Science. Boston, MA: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. 236-40. Print.
2Morris, John. “Do Fossils Show Signs of Rapid Burial?” Answers in Genesis. Answers in Genesis, 30 Dec. 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <https://answersingenesis.org/fossils/how-are-fossils-formed/do-fossils-show-signs-of-rapid-burial/>.
3Catchpoole, David. “Death Throes.” Creation.com. Creation Ministries International, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2015. <http://creation.com/death-throes>.
4Switek, Brian. “A Trilobite, Dead In Its Tracks.” Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 25 July 2011. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <http://www.wired.com/2011/07/a-trilobite-dead-in-its-tracks>.
5Hodge, Bodie, and Buddy Davis. “Two Fighting Dinosaurs?” Answers in Genesis. Answers in Genesis, 2 May 2006. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <https://answersingenesis.org/dinosaurs/bones/two-fighting-dinosaurs/>.
6Roach, John. “”Dinosaur Mummy” Found; Has Intact Skin, Tissue.” National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 3 Dec. 2007. Web. 04 Mar. 2015. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071203-dino-mummy.html>.
