5.

3 The Record of the Rocks

Fossil Formation
Fossils Remains or impressions of plants, animals, or humans preserved in sedimentary rock Paleontology the study of fossils Fossils only form under special conditions
Plants/animals decompose quickly when they die This can be prevented by rapid burial of waterborne sediments Typically hard parts are fossilized (bone, shell)

 Fossils only form under special conditions (contd)

Biblical paleontologists find explanation through the Flood Evolutionary paleontologists see a gradual progression from simple organisms toward complex ones Here, lower layers are considered older

The Geologic Column: Evolutions Shaky Foundation

Geologic column hypothetical time scale charting earths history according to evolution Chart divisions
Eon largest time division (four total)
Phanerozoic majority of fossils; most recent All other eons called Pre-Cambrian

Eras divisions of eons

Paleozoic, mesozoic, cenozoic; most studied

Periods make up eras Epochs make up periods

 Index fossils fossils typically found in certain strata

An imaginary arrangement
No complete geologic column has been found Some strata in the column reverse their order

Circular reasoning
Geologic column supposedly proves evolution Evolution is based on the geologic column

Circular Reasoning
The Bible is true because God tells us it is His Word, and God doesnt lie because the Bible says He doesnt. I like One Direction because they're my favorite band. The Pope is infallible. Whatever the Pope says is true. I have the right to say whatever I want, so you can't tell me to shut up.

 Out-of-place fossils
Anomalies - fossils found in the wrong order Modern animals buried next to trilobites Human footprints next to dinosaur prints

Misplaced strata
Some landforms have complex fossils beneath their ancestors (Ex.)
Heart Mt., Wyoming Lewis Overthrust, Montana Jura Mts., Switzerland

Radiometric Dating
Elements decay into simpler elements over time this rate is called half-life Dating Methods
Potassium-argon, uranium-lead, rubidiumstrontium Carbon-14
Used to date organic materials Evolutionists claim accuracy up to 50,000 years Might only be accurate to 5,000 years

 Dating assumptions:
Igneous rocks form with parent elements only No element exchange occurs between an igneous rock and its surroundings Dates provided by the measurements are chosen to match evolutionary ideas Note: a bit of igneous rock formed from a volcano less than 50 years old was tested by potassium argon and found to be several million years old

A Biblical Explanation
Hydrologic sorting
Bottom feeders would naturally be toward the bottom of the fossil record Lowlands animals would be found next Highland mammals and birds would be close to the top of the record