Fossil Assemblages and the Creation Model
by Owen Borville
The fossil record contains many locations where an assemblage or a large collection of fossils are buried together commonly with very different types of species buried together. Often these species found are those that are claimed to have evolved millions of years apart by evolutionists, however these fossils are found buried together in a large assemblage. While evolutionists believe that fossils are deposited slowly over millions of years of death and dying and are gradually covered up by layers of sediment, creationists believe that the fossil-laden sedimentary layers were deposited by the global Genesis Flood less than 5,000 years ago during a year long catastrophic event. Within the event, it is likely that some fossils were sorted based on several reasons. Fossils were commonly buried in the same habitat in which they lived, which is a theory that both creationists and evolutionists accept and is commonly observed in the field. However, examples of marine fossils buried with continental land species have been found, likely the result of the floodwaters transporting fossil species large distances. Buoyancy is another factor that would affect the sorting of fossil deposits during the flood as the size and shape of the species would factor into where the fossil was deposited in the floodwaters. Not all fossils would be deposited in the same layer as different animal species would have different buoyancy characteristics that would determine how high or low the fossil was deposited in the sedimentary layers. Heavier fossils could have sank further down after burial as the sediment layers were still soft and had not hardened during the flood year. In addition, seismic and tectonic activity could cause the sediment layers to become more liquid like and alter the position of the fossils. The mobility of each species is also a strong determinant of fossil burial location as more mobile species would be able to temporarily escape the floodwaters and reach higher ground until finally drowned and buried during the flood year. This is why more advanced and mobile species are commonly found in the upper layers of sediment. The evolutionist view is that the fossil species found in lower layers were more simple and species found in the upper layers evolved millions of years later into more complex forms. The fact that these fossils are buried together in a large assemblages with different species from different environments gives strong evidence of rapid burial by the catastrophic waters of a large flooding event, while refuting the evidence for geologic time in the millions of years. John Woodmorappe has published a list of over 200 instances of anomalously occurring fossils, or fossils with different evolutionist ages supposedly millions of years apart that are found buried together. (1) The sedimentary layers do not represent millions of years of time, according to the creationist model, but rather layers produced by a year-long global flooding event. In addition, while evolutionists emphasise the vertical stratigraphic fossil column as a record of evolution and geologic time, the horizontal geographical distribution of fossils around a particular region and around the Earth should also be emphasized. The flood model for fossil burial gives a much clearer explanation for the observed position of the observed fossil record than the evolutionist model of gradual deposition over millions of years. An examination of these fossil assemblages gives strong evidence for the global Genesis Flood, believed by creationists to have occurred less than 5,000 years ago and producing the bulk of fossils and sedimentary strata found on Earth.
(1) Woodmorappe, John. Creation Research Society Quarterly Volume 18(4), March 1982.
by Owen Borville
The fossil record contains many locations where an assemblage or a large collection of fossils are buried together commonly with very different types of species buried together. Often these species found are those that are claimed to have evolved millions of years apart by evolutionists, however these fossils are found buried together in a large assemblage. While evolutionists believe that fossils are deposited slowly over millions of years of death and dying and are gradually covered up by layers of sediment, creationists believe that the fossil-laden sedimentary layers were deposited by the global Genesis Flood less than 5,000 years ago during a year long catastrophic event. Within the event, it is likely that some fossils were sorted based on several reasons. Fossils were commonly buried in the same habitat in which they lived, which is a theory that both creationists and evolutionists accept and is commonly observed in the field. However, examples of marine fossils buried with continental land species have been found, likely the result of the floodwaters transporting fossil species large distances. Buoyancy is another factor that would affect the sorting of fossil deposits during the flood as the size and shape of the species would factor into where the fossil was deposited in the floodwaters. Not all fossils would be deposited in the same layer as different animal species would have different buoyancy characteristics that would determine how high or low the fossil was deposited in the sedimentary layers. Heavier fossils could have sank further down after burial as the sediment layers were still soft and had not hardened during the flood year. In addition, seismic and tectonic activity could cause the sediment layers to become more liquid like and alter the position of the fossils. The mobility of each species is also a strong determinant of fossil burial location as more mobile species would be able to temporarily escape the floodwaters and reach higher ground until finally drowned and buried during the flood year. This is why more advanced and mobile species are commonly found in the upper layers of sediment. The evolutionist view is that the fossil species found in lower layers were more simple and species found in the upper layers evolved millions of years later into more complex forms. The fact that these fossils are buried together in a large assemblages with different species from different environments gives strong evidence of rapid burial by the catastrophic waters of a large flooding event, while refuting the evidence for geologic time in the millions of years. John Woodmorappe has published a list of over 200 instances of anomalously occurring fossils, or fossils with different evolutionist ages supposedly millions of years apart that are found buried together. (1) The sedimentary layers do not represent millions of years of time, according to the creationist model, but rather layers produced by a year-long global flooding event. In addition, while evolutionists emphasise the vertical stratigraphic fossil column as a record of evolution and geologic time, the horizontal geographical distribution of fossils around a particular region and around the Earth should also be emphasized. The flood model for fossil burial gives a much clearer explanation for the observed position of the observed fossil record than the evolutionist model of gradual deposition over millions of years. An examination of these fossil assemblages gives strong evidence for the global Genesis Flood, believed by creationists to have occurred less than 5,000 years ago and producing the bulk of fossils and sedimentary strata found on Earth.
(1) Woodmorappe, John. Creation Research Society Quarterly Volume 18(4), March 1982.
