Twentieth-century fundamentalist circles split into young-Earth creationists, who defended a global flood, and old-Earth creationists, who acknowledged geological evidence that we live on an ancient planet but maintained that God fashioned it for eventual human use.
Curiously, the founders of modern young-Earth creationism grounded their unorthodox views in a surprisingly perceptive critique of pre-plate tectonics geology Montgomery, John Whitcomb and Henry Morris wrote The Genesis Flood , the book that spawned the creationist revival and resurrected evangelical faith in a global flood.
Their lack of geological training did not stop them from claiming that a global flood provided a better explanation for the geologic record than did the theories of geologists.
Following Price, Whitcomb and Morris argued that the stratigraphic column worked out by geologists was fiction because, they believed, it was based primarily on the illusion of fossil succession. Pointing out that if one stacked up the greatest thickness of sedimentary beds in every geological age, the pile would reach more than miles high, they held this ridiculous height to invalidate the conventional geologic column.
Whitcomb and Morris did not go so far as to suggest that Christians reject geological facts, but maintained that the long and complex history of the planet that geologists read in the rock record was fiction. They read the Bible to determine geologic history and then looked for scientific support for their views—and dismissed or ignored contradictory evidence.
Their view of earth history was based on a literal interpretation of Genesis. Rocks that display evidence of internal deformation, like folds or minerals that form only at high pressures or temperatures, date from the First Day.
Over the next week, a tremendous amount of geological work was accomplished, especially on the Third Day, when mountains were thrust up and ocean basins were carved out in a great rush of water as the planet was remodeled into a suitable dominion for man Fig. All this erosion and deposition formed the non-fossil—bearing sedimentary rocks and carved mountains into them. Several thousand years later, the Flood ripped up the entire surface of the planet, killed everything not aboard the ark, and laid down fossil-bearing sedimentary rocks.
Then the present geological era began after a brief Ice Age caused by all the snow accumulating on freshly uplifted mountains. As far as the appearance of great antiquity, it was just that.
The world was created to seem old. Still, at the time, Morris admitted he knew few evangelicals who bought into their views Numbers, Figure 3. While they argued that the sedimentary cover on the modern continents was eroded from the ocean basins, this begs the question of how whole ecological communities of organisms and coral reefs could be transported intact and without mixing across great distances to be deposited preserving their original ecological zonation.
When nineteenth-century geologists shelved the idea of a global flood as the central event in earth history, even the original fundamentalists accepted that the opening book of the Bible could not wholly explain the past.
The displays at the Creation Museum in Peterson, Kentucky, USA, explicitly reject reason, branding it the enemy of faith and invoking a centuries-long, ongoing conspiracy of scientists to mislead the faithful about the nature of the world. While struggles over the geological implications of biblical interpretations date back to the earliest days of the Church, the story of how naturalists wrestled over reconciling the biblical flood with a growing body of contradictory geological evidence shows that the twentieth-century revival of flood geology recycled ideas previously abandoned in the face of compelling evidence.
In light of nineteenth-century scientific discoveries, it appeared reasonable to read the biblical account of the Flood as either allegorical or a story told from the perspective that the whole world appeared flooded from the ark. Time and again, Christians accommodated geologic findings by reinterpreting Genesis to preserve the integrity of both natural and scriptural truths. Of course, there were significant holes in conventional geological theories when Whitcomb and Morris laid out their biblically inspired views on earth history.
Plate tectonics did not yet provide an explanation for the origin and distribution of mountains and other geological problems, such as the presence of fossils of temperate and tropical creatures entombed in rocks at high latitudes.
But when the plate tectonics revolution swept through the earth sciences and explained previously perplexing observations, creationists ignored what they considered yet another misguided geological theory. While geological thought has evolved over the past several centuries, Christianity has too—to the point where several varieties of creationists now argue bitterly amongst themselves.
Old-Earth creationists accept geological evidence and endorse ideas such as the gap or day-age theories and progressive creationism also known as theistic evolution , through which God guided evolution in creating the diversity of life. The latest step in the evolution of creationism is based on repackaging as intelligent design the inherently untestable assertion that God designed the world with a particular purpose or goal in mind.
Today, after losing repeated court battles over efforts to teach creationist views in science classrooms, the creationist strategy appears to have shifted to promoting efforts to question evolution. The late Harvard paleontologist Stephen J. And yet, the geological case for a global flood that creationists offer as an alternative to evolution was discredited before Darwin set foot aboard The Beagle.
Micropaleontology Micropaleontology is the study of fossils of microscopic organisms, such as protists, algae , tiny crustaceans, and pollen. Micropaleontologists use powerful electron microscopes to study microfossils that are generally smaller than four millimeters 0.
Microfossil species tend to be short-lived and abundant where they are found, which makes them helpful for identifying rock layers that are the same age, a process known as biostratigraphy. The chemical makeup of some microfossils can be used to learn about the environment when the organism was alive, making them important for paleoclimatology. Shells accumulate on the ocean floor after the organisms die. Because the organisms draw the elements for their shells from the ocean water around them, the composition of the shells reflects the current composition of the ocean.
By chemically analyzing the shells, paleontologists can determine the amount of oxygen, carbon, and other life-sustaining nutrients in the ocean when the shells developed. They can then compare shells from one period of time to another, or from one geographic area to another.
Differences in the chemical composition of the ocean can be good indicators of differences in climate. Micropaleontologists often study the oldest fossils on Earth. The oldest fossils are of cyanobacteria , sometimes called blue-green algae or pond scum. Cyanobacteria grew in shallow oceans when Earth was still cooling, billions of years ago. Fossils formed by cyanobacteria are called stromatolites.
The oldest fossils on Earth are stromatolites discovered in western Australia that are 3. History of Paleontology Throughout human history, fossils have been used, studied, and understood in different ways.
Early civilizations used fossils for decorative or religious purposes, but did not always understand where they came from. Although some ancient Greek and Roman scientists recognized that fossils were the remains of life forms, many early scholars believed fossils were evidence of mythological creatures such as dragons. From the Middle Ages until the early s, fossils were widely regarded as works of the devil or of a higher power. Many people believed the remains had special curative or destructive powers.
Many scholars also believed that fossils were remains left by Noah's flood and other disasters documented in the Hebrew holy book. Some ancient scientists did understand what fossils were, and were able to formulate complex hypotheses based on fossil evidence.
Greek biologist Xenophanes discovered seashells on land, and deduced that the land was once a seafloor. Remarkably, Chinese scientist Shen Kuo was able to use fossilized bamboo to form a theory of climate change. The formal science of paleontology—fossil collection and description—began in the s, a period of time known as the Age of Enlightenment. Scientists began to describe and map rock formations and classify fossils. Geologists discovered that rock layers were the product of long periods of sediment buildup, rather than the result of single events or catastrophes.
In the early s, Georges Cuvier and William Smith , considered the pioneers of paleontology, found that rock layers in different areas could be compared and matched on the basis of their fossils. Later that century, the works of Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin strongly influenced how society understood the history of Earth and its organisms. This sequence could be used to show relationships between similar rock layers separated by great distances.
Fossils discovered in South America may have more in common with fossils from Africa than fossils from different rock layers nearby. Darwin suggested that new species evolve over time.
This theory allowed paleontologists to study living organisms for clues to understanding fossil evidence. The Archaeopteryx , for example, had wings like a bird, but had other features such as teeth typical of a type of dinosaur called a theropod. Now regarded as a very early bird, Archaeopteryx retains more similarities to theropods than does any modern bird. Studying the physical features of Archaeopteryx is an example of how paleontologists and other scientists establish a sequence, or ordering, of when one species evolved relative to another.
The dating of rock layers and fossils was revolutionized after the discovery of radioactivity in the late s. Using a process known as radiometric dating , scientists can determine the age of a rock layer by examining how certain atoms in the rock have changed since the rock formed. As atoms change, they emit different levels of radioactivity. Changes in radioactivity are standard and can be accurately measured in units of time.
By measuring radioactive material in an ancient sample and comparing it to a current sample, scientists can calculate how much time has passed. Radiometric dating allows ages to be assigned to rock layers, which can then be used to determine the ages of fossils. Paleontologists used radiometric dating to study the fossilized eggshells of Genyornis , an extinct bird from Australia.
They discovered that Genyornis became extinct between 40, and 50, years ago. Fossil evidence from plants and other organisms in the region shows that there was abundant food for the large, flightless bird at the time of its extinction. Climate changes were too slow to explain the relatively quick extinction. By studying human fossils and ancient Australian cave paintings that were dated to the same time period, paleontologists hypothesized that human beings—the earliest people to inhabit Australia—may have contributed to the extinction of Genyornis.
Paleontology Today Modern paleontologists have a variety of tools that help them discover, examine, and describe fossils. Electron microscopes allow paleontologists to study the tiniest details of the smallest fossils. X-ray machines and CT scanners reveal fossils' internal structures. Advanced computer programs can analyze fossil data , reconstruct skeletons, and visualize the bodies and movements of extinct organisms.
Paleontologists and biologists used a CT scan to study the preserved body of a baby mammoth discovered in Siberia in A CT scanner allows scientists to construct 3-D representations of the bones and tissue of the organism. Using this technology , scientists were able to see that the baby mammoth had healthy teeth, bones, and muscle tissue. This suggested to scientists that the animal was healthy, but most likely suffocated in a muddy river or lake.
Scientists can even extract genetic material from bones and tissues. Paleontologists made a remarkable genetic discovery when the bones of a Tyrannosaurus rex were broken during an excavation in the s. Soft tissue was discovered inside the bones. Soft tissue is the actual connective tissue of an organism, such as muscle, fat, and blood. Soft tissue is rarely preserved during fossilization. Paleontologists usually must rely on fossilized remains—rocks.
Paleontologists now hope to use this rare discovery of million-year-old tissue to study the biology and possibly even the DNA of the T. Even with all these advancements, paleontologists still make important discoveries by using simple tools and basic techniques in the field.
The National Geographic Society supports field work in paleontology throughout the world. There, Alemseged and his colleagues unearth and study fossils that contribute to the understanding of human evolution. Emerging Explorer Bolortsetseg Minjin is a paleontologist who has found fossils of dinosaurs, ancient mammals, and even corals in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. She also works to teach Mongolian students about the dinosaurs in their backyard, and is hoping to establish a paleontology museum in the country.
Many dig sites offer visitors the chance to watch paleontologists work in the field, including the following U. Evolutionary Biology Many paleontologists are also evolutionary biologists.
Evolutionary biology is the study of the origin, development, and changes evolution in species over time. Other scientists that contribute to evolutionary biology are geologists and geneticists. Soaking Up History The oldest fossils ever discovered are stromatolites, the remains of ancient cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae.
The oldest animal fossils ever discovered are sponges. Prehistoric sponges have been discovered on the Arabian Peninsula and Australia. Fossils and Myths Ancient cultures did not always understand what fossils were, and adapted their discovery to fit with myths and stories.
China is rich in dinosaur fossils. A large number of conservative or evangelical Christians have abandoned the idea that the creation of the universe occurred approximately years ago B. In an attempt to explain fossils, some Christians have argued that when God commanded the earth to bring forth all living forms, some of them got stuck behind rocks, or were put there by Satan to deceive us A.
White, In order to believe the earth is more no more than years old requires the abandonment of all known geological dating methods. But the Biblical view of nature is that God not only initiated, but He continues to work in and through His creation. Ever since the 16 th century, investigators have found a world of fossilized animal and plant life buried in strata of the earth. However, as time passed, geologists began to realize that fossils were due to forces at work over very long periods of time.
They believe that processes which most geologists hold occurred over a period of three billion years or so actually took place during a worldwide flood which lasted only little more than a year. There appear to be at least three basic errors in flood geology Ramm, 1 Flood geologists feel compelled to discredit virtually all geological dating processes in their simultaneous effort to discredit biological evolution.
Even laboratory models have shown that mountain formation probably occurred by processes that do not require water. Geological evidence now exists for the processes required to turn river mud into rock. The weight of one mile of sediment must press down upon that mud from above.
It is also of interest to note that feet of loose plant matter is required to make one foot of coal. Sufficient plant matter to form all known coal deposits in the world could not possibly have existed at one time such as the time of the flood.
Also, in Yellowstone park, two thousand feet of exposed strata reveal 18 successive forests, each demolished by lava from a different volcanic eruption. Both gypsum and salt deposits require the evaporation of salt water. It has been shown that the formation of an 8 inch layer of gypsum would require the evaporation of one thousand feet of sea water.
Even at the fastest known rate of salt water evaporation 10 feet per year in the Dead Sea , the foot thick layer of gypsum in West Texas and New Mexico would require , years of evaporation.
But radioactive dating methods help to confirm dates held by archaeologists for Biblically important events and periods in Old Testament history. For instance, Abraham most likely lived in the 20 th century B. Radioactive dating methods used by archaeologists help to date these periods.
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