FOSSILIZATION AND THE FOSSIL

RECORD
For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the
heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and
in the water,  by which the world that then existed perished,
being flooded with water.
II Peter 3:5-6
 Fossils
Fossils are the preserved impressions of living organisms which
were trapped in unconsolidated materials which then lithified -
became stone.
• The vast majority of fossils are found in sedimentary rocks.
• Usually as a result of mineral-rich waters saturating the deposit
and replacing the original organism with mineral deposits.
• Ninety-five per cent of all fossils are marine invertebrates.
• 4.75% are plants and algae, 0.2375% are other invertebrates,
terrestrial or aerial, 0.0125% are vertebrates, mostly fishes
• A trace number of fossils are ephemeral marks, such as tracks,
ripple marks, excrement, eggs and similar artifacts.
 Fossil Formation
Fossilization requires rapid
burial and lithification!
• Completely consistent with cataclysmic flooding.
• Most fossiliferous rocks, as stated previously, are
thick and fossil dense, formed in aquatic or
marine environments.
• Ephemeral markings fossils are very fragile, so
burial and lithification must occur very rapidly to
assure preservation.
 Polystrate Fossils

All over the world (mostly in

coal and volcanic ash
deposits) fossils, petrified
trees, and other life forms
are found that traverse
multiple layers or strata.
Since fossils must be buried
quickly to form, this means
that the layers must have
been laid down in a matter of
weeks—not millions of years.
 Evidence supports Catastrophism
• World-wide aqueous burial.
• Massive seismic events.
• Occurring within a relatively short period of
time.

This is consistent with the Biblical record, and

with the modern model of plate tectonics.
 Transitional Forms
• The fossil evidence we have does not support evolution,
as it does not hold transitional forms, but shows variation
within kind.
• Every major phylum appears in the fossil record
completely formed, and in “Cambrian” rock layers, once
thought to be the most ancient, predating most “higher”
life forms.
• Mosaic species, such as Archaeopteryx, are not missing
links, or transitional, they possess combinations of
features we normally associate with disparate life forms,
much like today’s platypus.
 Living Fossils
Coelacanth
Living fossils, such as
coelacanth and tuatara,
have been discovered
alive today, though they
only appear in fossils
that are supposedly
millions of years old.
 Anomalous Fossils
• Fossils found in rock layers inconsistent with their
“evolutionary age.”
• Often discounted by evolutionists because they do not fit
their model.
• Sometimes, they are touted as revolutionary finds that
push back the horizons of human evolution.
This simply means that their previously-held presuppositions
have been proven invalid and they must develop new ones.
(Creationists have had to do the same thing, i.e. Paluxy
River footprints, basking shark decaying remains, etc.)
 Hoaxes
Some of the most ardent evolutionists have perpetrated hoaxes on the scientific community
to further their cause.

• Piltdown Man – Discovered in 1912, found to be a deliberate hoax an 1953. Bones had
been stained and teeth filed. Stone tools that were found nearby were determined to have
been shaped by steel instruments. Even the gravel beds where the bones were found were
fabricated.
• Nebraska man – Full skeleton developed from a single tooth found in Nebraska. Tooth
later found to come from an extinct pig.
• Peking man – Cave of skulls found near Peking, China pre-WWII. Nothing human about the
skulls, but they were all cracked and bashed in. Since there were also stone-age tools
found nearby, it was concluded that similar ape-like creatures had used these tools on each
other. Turns out, these tools had been used by regular people – to extract the monkey
brains which were a delicacy in that part of the world.
• Lucy – Bones “discovered” in Ethiopia in 1974 collected from an area 200 feet by 1 mile.
This historic “find” propelled Donald Johnson, the discover, into great prominence at
Berkley. Other scientist were finally allowed to analyze the bones in 1982 when it was
determined that “Lucy” was a normal rainforest chimpanzee.