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La Biblia y la Paleontología

Arturo V. Chadwick, Ph.D.

Mi Perspectiva. Cuando tratamos un tema de tanta controversia como es este, creo que es apropiado que yo exponga mis propias hipotesis al comienzo. Lo haré brevemente. Mientras estaba en el colegio me convenci de la necesidad de Cristo, y le entregue mi vida a El, uniendome a la hermandad adventista del Séptimo día debido al deseo de seguir la verdad a donde quiera que me guiara. Era para mi muy claro en esa entonces y perdura así hasta este día que la Bíblia estaba intencionalmente enseñandonos lecciones que no podiamos aprender por nuestra propia cuenta .Mientras creia que los procesos racionales eran esenciales para el establecimiento de uan filosofía vitálica,reconocí que ellas no serían suficientes.

Creer en un evento literal de creación Divina sen el pasado reciente es una parte determinante de mí filosofía. Yo no necesito evidencia científica para defender esa posición, pero creo que debidamente entendida, toda la información científica finalmente tiene sentido dentro de esa estructura. Así que no es mi meta "probar" por la ciencia, que hubo un Diluvio global, o que la creación fue un evento literal unos miles de años en el pasado. Estas son posturas, más bien yo espero que, aprovechando estas extraordinarias perspectivas sobre ciencia, yo y otros asi equipados, seremos favorecidos con el dicernimiento que podamos obtener cuando inspeccionamos problemas en la arena de la ciencia

Hay muchas preguntas sin respuestas acerca de que, como y cuando en el mundo natural. Para los cientificos, tener más preguntas que respuestas, no es una posición desagradable e desempeñar. Después de todo, la ciencia gira entorno a contestar preguntas sobre el mundo natural, y que podría ser mejor que estar rodeado de interrogantes sin respuestas pero que ofrecen un reto. También entiendo que no todos comparten esta perspectiva. En el siguiente trabajo, intentare hacer un esquema de lo que sabemos, lo que podemos saber o conocer y talves lo que no podemos conocer de la Bíblia y la Paleontología, acerca de la vida en la tierra.

Una de las únicas áreas para explorar podría ser dirigir esfuerzos hacia la construcción de un modelo del prediluvio universal basado en que es lo sabe de la Escritura y desde los mejores esfuerzos por interpretar el mundo natural en armonía con la Escritura. El esfuerzo requerido para este trabajo para ser viable es asombroso.Algunos de nosotros tenemos solamente empezar a probar el Cambrian, con la visión de entender que fue probablemente el principio del Diluvio de Génesis. Nosotros estamos usando patrones de depositos de sedimentación para discrimar las áreas potenciales de recursos de sesimentación y fósiles. Los patrones de de distribuciones de fósiles para intentar reconstruir la clase o número de habitantes, e información paleocorrientes, que intentan reconstruir los patrones de flujo y ayudar a descubir el origen de los recursos de las áreas. Eso es aparentemente como un proyecto monumental que puede solamente suceder con buenos fondos de esfuerzos comunes entre las personas más preparadas, dedicadas individualmente como es posible. Claro que si el objeto pudiera ser entender mejor las circunstancias dadas para levantar el record del fósil, y ser capaz de explicar algo de los duros detalles. Antes de nosotros decidir como un esfuerzo es o no necesario o importante, vamos a repasar el otro aspecto en este trabajo que es la paleontología.

Que es la Paleontología? Paleontología es la investigación científica del pasado de la historia de la vida sobre la tierra a traves del estudio de los fósiles de animales y plantas. Esta disciplina es de interes considerable para la comunidad cristiana porque ella misma se ocupa de la interpretación de la historia pasada y particularmente de la de la historia de la vida sobre la tierra. Paleontología como una profesión ha ocasionado temor o desconfianza entre cristianos porque muchas de las conclusiones a que han llegado los paleontologistas son consideradas como una amenaza a la integridad de la Bíblia, y particularmente al relato bíblico de los orígenes. De ahí que el título de esste escrito pueda tomarse para sugerir una cierta tensión entre los dos tema, como si la paleontología y la Bíblia estuvieran en alguna forma en contradicción la una con la otra. Yo voy a proponer que esta posición no es saludable y que no debe ser acariciada por aquellos que sostienen un punto de vista sagrado de la revelación.

La Biblia como un registro de la vida sobre la Tierrra

Lo que la Bíblia dice. El propósito de nuestra preocupación es la realción entre la revelación, en la Escritura y la revelación en el registro de la vida de la tierra. Empecemos como una excursión por la Bíblia. Qué podemos aprender de la escritura acerca de la historia de la vida en la tierra? El resultado es que podemos aprender muchísimo mientras que la Bíblia nos dice virtualmente nada acerca de los fósiles directamente, nos dice explicitamente de donde vinierón los seres vivientes y en cuanto a las conecciones cronológicas son sustentadas también, nos dice cuando. Examinaremos este recurso porque forma el fundamento y la estructura sobre la cual todo lo demás será asegurado.

El recuento de Génesis describe el mundo antes de la semana de la creación como oscuro y cubierto con agua (Gen. 1:2). Esta ausencia de luz descarta la existencia de vida como la conocemos, ya que sin luz, no puede haber plantas, y las plantas forman la base de la pirámide de la alimentación. Un mundo cubierto con agua también descarta la existencia de seres vivientes no acondicionadas para sobrevivir en el agua . Tomadas juntas, estas dos frases sólidamente sugieren un mundo sin vida. Cuando Dios comenzó la creación de los seres vivientes en el día tres con plantas y los días cinco y seis con los animales del agua, tierra y cielo, ningún domínio de seres vivientes dejó el vacío. Lo que pudiera haber transpirado en el planeta antes del comienzo de las semana de la creación, no hubiera podido incluir la vida y muerte de innumerables formas vivientes. No había ninguna. Dios afirma su derecho en el capítulo inicial de la Bíblia y repetidamente a través de la Escritura, sobre todas las formas de vida. En el tiempo de Noe, Dios afirma : " y dijo Jehová : Destruiré a los hombres que eh criado sobre la faz de la tiera, desde el hombre hasta la bestia y hasta el reptil y las aves del cielo porque me arrepiento de haberlos hecho" (Gen 6:7) Juan implícitamente apoya esta aserción en Juan 1:3 "Todas las cosas por El fuerón hechas; y sin El nada de lo que esta hecho , fue hecho". Esto le daría soberanía sobre las formas de vida representadas también por los fósiles.

Los fósiles se originarón con la muerte. Cuándo Dios creó la vida, exístia un orden enteramente diferente de interrrelaciones entre los organismos de su creación. Cómo era tal mundo? Hoy día no tenemos una estructura pra representar para referencia de un mundo tal. No podemos visualizar ahora un mundo sin muerte más de lo que Adan en su estado no caido podía visualizar un mundo con muerte. Las condiciones en el jardín del Eden y presumiblemente en la tierra en general antes de la entrada del pecado, puedan talvés ser apenas reconstruidas tomando como referencia la Nueva Tierra. Se nos dice que en el Eden restaurado,

"El cordero y el león patarán juntos, el leopardo cuando Dios creó la vida, un orden completamente diferente de relaciones existierón entre los organismos y su creación. Porqué estaba el mundo así ? Hoy nosotros no tenemos marcos de referencia para tal mundo. Nosotros no podemos visualizar más un mundo sin muerte, como Adam en su estado pudo visualizar un mundo con muerte. Las condiciones en el jardín del Eden, y pobablemente sobre la tierra anterior a la entrada del pecado, podemos tal vez ser debilmente reconstruidos por referencia de la nueva tierra. Nosotros somos los que decimos El Eden restaurado.

"El lobo morará con el cordero, y el leopardo con el cabrito se acostará; el becerro con el león y la bestia domestica andarán juntos, y un niño los pastoreará. La vaca y la osa pacerán, sus crías se echarán juntas; y el león como el buey comerá paja.." Isaiah 11:6,7.

Una vez más describiendo la tierra nueva, Isaias anota:

"No habrá más allí niño que muera de pocos días, ni viejo que sus días no cumplan; porque el niño morirá y el pecador de 100 años es maldito. Ellos edificarán casas y morarán en ellas, y plantarán viñas y comerán el fruto de ellas. No edificarán para que otro habite, ni platarán para que otro coma; porque según los días de los árboles serán los días de mi pueblo, y mis escogidos disfrutarán la obra de sus manos. No trabajarán en vano, ni darán a luz para maldición; porque son linaje de los benditos de Jehová, y sus descendientes con ellos. Y antes que clamen, responderé yo; mientras aún hablan, yo abré oído. El lobo y el cordero serán apacentados juntos, y el león comerá paja come el buey apacentados juntos y el polvo será el aliento de la serpiente. No afligirán, ni harán mal en todo mi santo monte, dijo Jehová" Isaiah 65:20-2565:21-25

Y en el Apocalipsis, Juan escribe:

"y limpiará Dios toda lágrima de los ojos de ellos; y la muerte no será más; y no habrá más llanto, ni clamos, ni dolor : Porque las primeras cosas son pasadas" Rev. 21:4.

Es difícil para nosotros saber cuál nivel de muerte tiene significado en el plan de Dios. Afectó el cambio solo a los mamíferos o a los vertebrados? Qué comía el oso hormiguero? Qué hay acerca de las plantas ? Qué hay acerca de las bacterias ? La ignoracia se alimenta con especulación. Nuestra inhabilidad para explicar, describir o entender Cómo tal sistema pudo existir ha sido considerado por algunos como evidencia de que este nunca existió, y que la muerte es parte del " Orden Natural" . Pero es tan insensible para nosotros hoy intentar entender como tal orden pudo prevalecer ya que esto es para nosotros intentar entender el proceso por el cual Dios trajo la vida dentro de la existencia en primer lugar. Nosotros no tenemos puntos de referencia para tal mundo. Nuestra inhabilidad para describir o entender como un sistema debería ser reconocido por lo que es : Una limitación de nuestro conocimiento y entendimiento. Esto es porsupuesto más satisfactorio y de interes personal de afirmar que tal sistema no pudo haber existido, que admitir que la falla es nuestra. Los detalles deberán esperar la nueva revelación o nuestro retorno al Edem.

Cualquiera fuera el orden en el mundo Edémico, con la entrada del pecado, llegó a su fín y la muerte siguió velozmente. Dios mismo formó las vidas de animales preciosos para proveer a Adam y eva con vestidos que deben haberles servido como constante recordatorio tanto de las consecuencias de su elección como de su necesidad de un Salvador. Con el pecado llego la muerte. (Gen. 2:17, Romans 6:23). Pablo describe bien la entrada de la muerte como la consecuencia natural de desobediencia en Romanos 5:12: "Por lo tanto, como el pecado entró en el mundo por un hombre, y por el pecado de la muerte, así la muerte pasó a todos los hombres, por cuanto todos pecarón." En Romanos 8:22, El declara: "Porque sabemos que toda la creación gime a una, y a una está con dolores de parto hasta ahora."Con la muerte vino la posibilidad de fosilación, la preservación de los restos de organismos previamente vivientes. Y con fosilación viene la paleontología .

El registro de la muerte. Ya que la paleontología se relaciona con la muerte, nosotros miraremos ese aspecto de la historia de la vida de la tierra. La corteza terrestre contiene un exceso de 20 trillones de toneladas de matería orgánica acumulada como carbono disperso. Hay trillones de toneladas de desechos de componentes inórganicos de fósiles, todos lcomo conchas, huesos y otras formas. Existe una fuerte posibilidad de que a lo menos una parte significante de este material se produjo en conexión con la semana de la creación. Por ejemplo, creo Dios arrecifes de coral, o solo polipos de corales sin un hogar? Había materia orgánica en el suelo o era esto compuesto completamente de constituyentes inorgánicos ? Esto debería ser notado que sin una fuente de carbonato de calcio, posiblemnte los oceános no habráin sido apropiados para el crecimiento de muchos invertebrados marinos. El acuario marino requiere un sustrato de coral molido o conchas marinas para un ambiente saludable. En cualquier caso, una gran parte del material fósil representa los restos de organismos una vez con vida en la tierra, y tenemos en el registro paleontológico evidencia de destrucción masiva de formas vivientes. Veremos luego en detalle la organización de estos restos de fósiles, pero primero, que podemos entender acerca de de este registro masivo de muerte de la historia Bíblica? Hemos visto ya que la muerte siguió al pecado. El pecado era con toda probabilidad una temprana aflicción de la tierra. Adan y Eva no habían provocado todavía, algo que ellos fuerón explícitamente mandados a hacer en Gen. 1:28. Esto nos da un periodo en la historia de un par de miles de años, entre el comienzo de la muerte y el catatrófico y global diluvio considerado a continuación : Durante este tiempo, el periodo antidiluviano, la muerte de formas animales fue aparentemente un incidente frecuente y violento entre todas las categorías de organismos, incluyendo el hombre. Al examinar los resultados del pecado antes del diluviode Noé, Dios … " vió que la malicia de los hombres era mucha en la tierra, y que todo designio de los pensamientos del corazón de ellos era solamente el mal continuamente. (Gen. 6:5).

Even more graphic and inclusive is the language in subsequent verses:

"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

earth. "And God said unto Noah,’ The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them" (Gen. 6:11-13)

them’" (Gen. 6:11-13)

Allá tenía que haber sido una muerte y destrucción masiva no solamente del hombres, si no de toda forma de vida animal como resultado de la propagación del pecado sobre la tierra. La muerte y destrucción son el forraje de la paleontología, y nosotros tenemos evidencia que los restos de formas de vida tienen que haber acumaulado sobre la tierra antes de la destrucción de la superficie de la tierra por el diluvio. Sea que estas formas fuerón actualmente enterradas o no antes de que el diluvio sea un tema que nosotros podamos especular prolongadamente. En el tiempo en que el diluvio finalizó, aquellos que quedarón fuerón sepultados y a lo menos en parte, preservados. Pero la muerte y la destrucción efectuada en el mundo antidiluviano no puede ser comparado con que sucedio además del resultado del mismo diluvio. (El periodo diluvial). Nosotros leemos (Gen 6) :

" Y dijo Jehová : ‘Raeré de sobre la faz de la tierra a los hombres que he creado, desde el hombre hasta la bestia, y hasta el reptil y las aves del cielo; pues me arrepiento de haberlos hecho.’ "(v.7).

"Y dijo, pues, Dios a Noé, ‘he decidido el fín de todo ser, porque la tierra esta llena de violencia a causa de ellos; y he aquí que yo los destruiré con la tierra.’ " (v. 13).

"Y,"’ y he aquí que yo traigo un diluvio de aguas sobre la tierra, para destruir toda carne en que haya espiritu de vida debajo del cielo; todo lo que hay en la tierra morirá. ‘"(v.17).

" Y murió toda carne que se mueve que se mueve sobre la tierra, así de aves como de ganado y de bestias, y de todo reptil que se arrastra sobre la tierra, y de todo hombre. Todo lo que tenía aliento de espiritu de vida en sus narices, todo lo que había en la tierra murió. Así fue destruido todo ser que vivía sobre la faz de la tierra, desde el hombre hasta la bestia, los reptiles, y las aves del cielo; y fuerón raídos de la tierra, y quedó solamente Noé, y los que con él estaban en el arca. Gen 7(v. 21-23)

El lenguaje es inequívoco. El diluvio fue un enorme cataclismo que afectó toda la tierra. Ningún diluvio local podria hacer justicia para este relato, y cualquier sugerecia es absurda, aun cuando a menudo es hecha por las que desean preservar un sabor histórico del relato del Génesis sin sacrificar la ortodoxia científica. No es claro porque Noé y sus hijos habrían gastado 120 años construyendo un bote para un diluvio local, o porque la preservación de los animales en el arca fue necesaria para tal diluvio.

"En este mismo día entrarón Noé, Sem, Cam y Jafet hijos de Noé, la mujer de Noé y las tres mujeres de sus hijos, con él en el arca; Ellos, y todos los animales domesticados según su especie, y todo reptil que se arrastre sobre la tierra según su especie, y toda ave según su especie, y todo pájaro de toda especie.Vinierón pues, con Noé al arca, de dos en dos de toda carne en que había espiritu de vida. Y los que vinierón macho y hembra de toda carne vinierón, como le había mandado Dios; y Jehová le cerró la puerta." (Gen. 7:13-16)

En el relato del diluvio, tenemos un record de la muerte y el entierro de las formas de vida y en una escala global. Este relato tendrá un efecto profundo en los que hagamos con los regístros pasados de la historia de la vida animal en la tierra.

El tercer periodo durante el cual los animales y plantas habían muerto y habían sido preservadas como fósiles es el periodo subsiguiente al de los residentes del arca en "las montañas de Ararat". Este periodo se referirá hasta aquí como el periodo pos-diluvial. Aun cuando el diluvio en sí mismo había terminado, la tierra por ningún motivo había terminado con las consecuencias del diluvio, y por un periodo de cientos de miles de años que siguierón al desembarco del arca sobre la tierra, la vida de recuperación en la tierra debe haber experimentado rápida proliferación y modificación para acomodarse al nuevo ambiente resultante de la catástrofe. Estas condiciones, ideales para la formación de fósiles, son también las condiciones necesarias pra una rápida especiación : bajas densidades de población, rápida migración, altos grados reproductivos y altas ratas reproductivas y altas ratas de cambios geológicos. Aún hoy, ocasionalmente presenciamos catástrofes geológicas que producen fosílación de organismos en escalas mayores o menores. Un ejemplo ampliamente citado fue la erupción catastrófica del monte de Santa Helena, en el estado de Washington en 1980. En esta mísma catástrofe millones de animales y plantas fuerón destruidas de uan manera que facilitarian la preservación de algunos de ellos como fósiles pos-diluvianos.

Uno de los acercamientos de quienes siguen el modelo bíblico de los orígenes podria explorar, sería la construcción de un modelo del prediluvio mundial basado sobre qué se conoce desde las escrituras y desde el mejor entendimiento del mundo natural en armonía con las escrituras. El esfuerzo requerido para un proyecto ser viable seria asombroso. Algunos de nosotros hemos recientemente comenzado tal proyecto, comenzando a probar el Cambrian, con la visión del entendimineto que era probablemente el principio del el diluvio de Génesis. Nosotros estamos usando patrones de depósitos sedimentarios para descriminar recursos para áreas potenciales, El patrón de las distribuciones de fósiles para intentar reconstruir la clase o número de habitats, y los datos de las paleocorrientes para intentar reconstruir modelos de flujo y ayudar a seguir la huella hacia atrás a las áreas recursivas. Esto es aparente ya que una empresa monumental puede solamente tener exito con buenos fondos de comunes esfuerzos entre muchos buenos sucesos, dedicados a individuos como se ha posible. Claro que el objeto deberia ser para entender mejor las circunstancias que ocasionarón los registros de los fósiles, Dentro del contexto de las escrituras, y ser capaz de explicar algunos de los detalles duros de entender. Antes de que nosotros decidamos si un esfuerzo es o no es necesario o importante, nosotros primero tenemos dedicado un tiempo a un repaso a otro aspecto de esta charla. Si nuestro objetivo como científicos incluye intentar entender la historía pasada de la vida sobre la tierra, reconociendo esto en tres periodos ( antediluviano, diluviano y pos-diluviano) e intentando recuperar sus saltos tiene que ser una alta prioridad. Nosotros retornarmos a este punto más tarde, por ahora vamos a volver a la paleontología.

El registro fosil

Que son los fósiles ? Los fósiles son cualquier resto en rocas o sedimentos de organismos previamente en extinción. Estos pueden registrar desde películas de carbón en rocas de Precambrian atribuidas a las bacterias, hasta esqueletos gigantes de ballenas enteras encontrados en entierros de diatomatos en depósitos de diatomita, una roca esta compuesta en si misma de fósiles diminutos de organismos unicelulares. Por ejémplo un fósil puede ser una pieza fundida de formas externas de conchas o un molde interno de piezas fundidas, con organismos originales completamente extinguidos. Los fósiles pueden resultar de recambios, un proceso que sustituye la matriz original del átomo del organismo por átomos con minerales. Organismos pueden estar impregnados con minerales, endureciendo el animal original o la planta dentro de la roca., o los fósiles pueden representar partes duras de organismos esencialmente sin cambios de su química original, pero encerrados en rocas. En el caso de los huesos por ejémplo, la fosilización involucra la eliminación de las proteínas óseas y recristalización de los huesos óseominerales dentro de una forma ligeramente diferente. Cualquiera que se ha el proceso, un registro de un animal puede ser atribuido por los paleontologos para estudio e interpretación.

Condiciones para la fosilización. Diferentes condiciones tiene que ser encontradas en orden para formar un fósil de un organismo muerto. La primera de esas condiciones son los entierros. La mayoria de los fósiles tienen que ser enterrados dentro de un corto tiempo después de morir en orden a sus partes del cuerpo para ser encontradas juntas. Cuando un paleontólogo encuentra encuentra una colección de fósiles, algunos de los fósiles pueden exibirse en descomposición y desarticulación, pero a menudo en la misma colección organismos intactos u organismos que fuerón enterrados vivos son encontrados (1). Estudios tafonómicos tienen determinada la duración del tiempo requerido para organismos de varios tipos para disarticular. Estos tiempos son fuertemente dependientes sobre las condiciones bajo las cuales los restos son mantenidos. En un ambiente húmedo o lluvioso, la carne se pudre rapidamente y los huesos o partes óseas son rapidamente dispersas. Si el organismo está en un clima árido, la carne puede disecarse, consolidando los huesos juntos e impidiendo la dispersión por largos periodos de tiempo. Porque para los fósiles las condiciones pos-muerte raramente son conocidas con certeza, cualquier conclusión que nosotros podamos alcanzar con respecto a la velocidad del entierro tiene que ser tirado con cautela. Basta decir que generalmente, organismos que viven en el agua rapidamente se desintegrarán, a menos que un entierro en un ambiente conductivo intervenga la preservación. Depósitos que contienen organismos que estan intactos o vivos de entierros exigen una rápida sepultura y preservación y define un mínimo de ratas de entierros.

Una segunda condición par muchos tipos de fosilación es la presencia de un fluido mineral cargado en los espacios de los poros de sedimento. El tipo de material en el fluido y la composición de el fósil en si mismo determinará que clase de fosilización ocurre.

Una tercera condición para los muchos tipos de fosilización es la aplicación de una presión de limitación significante y en algunos casos, también elevadas temperaturas. Hay mucho más para ser aprendido acerca del proceso de fosalización, y esta es un área de estudio con un futuro promisorio.

La columna geológica. Sobre la superficie de la tierra, rocas sedimentarias son expuestas en muchos lugares. Exploraciones de petroleo han revelado información adicional encuanto a rocas bajo la superficie de la tierra, y nuestro conocimiento acerca de esas rocas es considerable. Durante los años estas rocas sedimentarias han sido sistematizadas basados sobre los fósiles , lo que ellos contienen y su relación entre las capas. Este registro sistemático es comunmente referido como la columna geológica. Cuándo las referencias llegan a ser hechas de la distribución de fósiles en la columna geológica, el término registro del fósil en cambio es a menudo usado. El conocimiento de la columna geológica es invaluable buscando entender la historía pasada de la vida sobre la tierra. Un resumen de estas de las características principales nos ayudará como nosotros procedemos.

El juego de rocas presente en la corteza de la tierra es convenientemente dividido en dos unidades principales sobre la base del fósil contenido de las camas. Aquellas rocas conteniendo fósiles animales fuerón asignado a las divisiones del panerozoico. Las rocas que no contienen fósiles bajo este nivel fuerón designadas como Precambrian. El Panerozoíco está dividido en tres épocas. Desde la más baja hasta la más alta, estas son la Paleozoíca, Mesozóica y Cenozoíca. La Paleozoíca esta subdividida en seis periodos, desde el fondo hasta el tope, el cambrian, ordovician, silurian, devonian, carbonífero (Missisippi y pensilvania de los Estados Unidos) y el permian. En la rocas paleozólicas, el registro del fósil incluye miembros de cada phylum animal significante desde esponjas a vertebrados. Esto incluye también plantas vasculares y no vasculares con afinidades grupos vivientes. El Mezozóico esta subdividido en tres periodos, desde el fondo hasta el tope, el Triásico, Jurásico y Cretáceo. El registro del mesozóico es mejor conocido por espectaculares fósiels de dinosaurios, pero esto incluye también los primeros regístros de mamíferos y la aparición del último grupo principal de fósiles de plantas, las plantas florecientes. El Cenozóico esta dividido en terciario y cuaternario. Esos estratos registran la muerte y entierro de enormes números de mamíferos y trancisión para un ambiente reciente.

El Precambrian. El precambrian contiene todos los tipos de rocas presentes en el Panerozoíco, pero sin fósiles multicelulares. El término Precambrian fue originalmente aplicado a todas las rocas que no contenian fósiles subrayando estratos definidjos como el Cambrian sobre la bases de el metazoan (animal multicelular) fósiles de ellos contenidos. Las rocas Precambrianas son separadas también desde las rocas panerozoícas por una principal inconformidad angular en muchos lugares alrededor del mundo.

Continuando el estudio fue revelado, que mientras las rocas precambrianas son en efecto libres de fósiles de metazoan (posibles excepciones seran anotadas más adelante), ellos contienen peliculas inorgánicas y estructuras complejas que al menos superficialmente se parece a bacterianos modernos y células de algas. Los estromatolitos, montones de esto son como unas estructuras unidas parecidas a las estructuras de algas modernas por el mismo nombre, son encontradas también en algunas rocas de Precambrian. En la mayoría de la parte superior del Precambrian (Vendian), hay una variedad de formas descritas como cysts y acritarchs son reconocidas (2), tal como un grupo asociado a impresiones de fósiles complejas en piedras de arena, referidas como fauna Ediacaran (llamadas por la localidad de Australia donde ellos primeros fuerón encontrados ) Porque ellas son impresiones en piedras de arena, no hay restos orgánicos y pequeños detalles pueden ser vistos en la mayoría de los especímnes. Ellos han sido referidos a los ánimales primitivos invertebrados de varias afinidades, inflados por unicelulares, líquenes, grupos de animales que murierón afuera para nombrar unos pocos. Esas estructuras tienen simetria y superficialmente llegan a tener o haber estado vivos. Esta tiene la apariencia de frondas plumosas, bolsas o discos.

The have the appearance of feathery fronds, pouches or disks. The frond-like remains usually show delicate branches, and none of these organisms had heads or obvious circulatory, nervous or digestive systems. Because they are not clearly attributable to any extant group, they cannot at present serve as the basis for any strong arguments.

Quite recently claims of a different sort have surfaced in studies of upper Precambrian localities in China. These localities contain beds rich in phosphate. Phosphate deposits have the unique ability to petrify very fine structures in minute detail. Microscopic analysis of materials from these beds revealed the preservation of what have been described as plant and animal embryos. The indirect dating of the deposits could be challenged and they may well be Cambrian rather than Precambrian. In either case, they are very close to the Cambrian boundary. These claims, if substantiated by additional work, are of great interest because of the detail of preservation. The fossils, some of which superficially resemble early stage animal embryonic forms, are not yet ascribable to any group with certainty and may turn out to be algal.

The conventional explanation for the Precambrian record is that the organic and inorganic cell-like forms are the remains of the earliest cells to evolve on the planet. This theory also maintains that these forms originated from nonliving material by completely naturalistic means (i.e. no Creator) during the Precambrian. Subsequently, biological evolution took place, leading to the immense complexity revealed in the Cambrian metazoan forms. This absurd assertion has been the cause of considerable consternation among thoughtful biologists. Werner Arber, Molecular Biologist at University of Basel and Nobel Laureate has summarized the extent of the problem:

"Although a biologist, I must confess I do not understand how life came about. . . . I consider that life only starts at the level of a functional cell. The most primitive cell may require at least several hundred different specific biological macro-molecules. How such already quite complex structures may have come together, remains a mystery to me. The possibility of the existence of a Creator, of God, represents to me a satisfactory solution to this problem." (3)

At least two alternative views can explain the observed data without being encumbered by the impossibility of explaining the origin of life and of complex life forms. One alternative view attributes the impressions in Precambrian rocks to inorganic processes and attributes all living organisms to the Biblical account of Creation. There is at least indirect evidence that all of the forms described as cyanobacteria and other prokaryotes can be duplicated in the laboratory with inorganic compounds (ref). The stromatolites may also be inorganic in origin. A third hypothesis would have the possibility of cyanobacteria placed on the earth prior to Creation Week. Both of these hypotheses have the advantage of satisfactorily handling the data without glossing the problem of getting life here in the first place. And both are at least within the spirit of the Genesis account of origins. The Ediacaran fossil forms and other examples of presumed Precambrian metazoa are within the uppermost sediments of the Precambrian. If these turn out to be the remains of living organisms, they could easily be accommodated in either of these models as Paleozoic outliers, perhaps buried during the prediluvial period.

El panerozoíco The rest of the fossil record is made up of the Phanerozoic, the rocks in which life in all of its forms appears on the earth. We will cover the contents of the various divisions of the Phanerozoic in a bit of detail as we proceed. We will now turn our attention to these details.

El Paleozoíco. The Paleozoic is dominated by marine invertebrates. As one progresses up the column, plants and amphibians are added, followed in short order by reptiles. The Paleozoic ends with the last fossil record of most of these plants and marine invertebrates.

El Cambrian. At the base of the Paleozoic in many parts of the world are rocks of the Cambrian. The Cambrian was historically defined by the occurrence of the first metazoan fossil forms, often trilobites. This definition has been undergoing revisions as the efforts to find ancestors for the Cambrian metazoan fossils has become more intense, and a number of faunas have been found that stratigraphically precede the first trilobite. The Lower Cambrian boundary is presently defined by the appearance of the trace fossil (burrows) Trichophycus pedum. Some distance stratigraphically above this the first remains of the animals themselves appear. These faunas have been collectively referred to as the "Small, Shelly Fauna," an apt descriptor for them. The fossils are very small, a few millimeters in diameter is typical, and consist at first of cones, tubes, spines and plates of unknown affinities. These are shortly enriched with sponge spicules, the shells of molluscs, brachiopods, and othersome unknown organisms whose affinities are still being worked out. These are followed in rapid succession by trilobites and many other arthropod forms. Representatives of virtually all phyla had made their appearance in the fossil record in the Lower Cambrian.appear as fossils within Lower Cambrian strata. The only significant phylum without somegroup without known fossil representatives in the Cambrian isare the bryozoa. In time, I suspect that their fossil remains alsothey too will be found in these rocks. The sudden appearance of life forms - representatives of virtually all life forms - is widely referred to as the "Cambrian Explosion." Theories to explain the catastrophic appearance of the whole spectrum of animal life in such rapid order are both numerous and unsatisfactory. Most of them amount to little more than arm waving and wishful thinking. Generally the explanations include statements about the development of hard parts (more or less simultaneously by members of 35 or so phyla), enabling previously existing soft-bodied organisms to suddenly be preserved as fossils. Unfortunately for this scenario, the rock record shows beautiful preservation of soft-bodied forms in the Cambrian (over 80% of the genera recorded from the Burgess Shale, for example are soft bodied forms), but virtually identical Precambrian strata contain no evidence of such forms. Furthermore, there is a general absence in the Precambrian rocks of burrows and other trackways that even soft-bodied forms are capable of producing today. It is the first appearance of such a trace fossil, Trichophycus pedum that marks the beginning of Cambrian rocks.

The issues surrounding the Cambrian Explosion are manifold. The appearance of members of every phylum in what is a very short interval, has left evolution in the unenviable position of the Emperor in his new clothes. The sentiments expressed in a recent web article are revealing: (ref3)

"The Cambrian Period was strange and exciting, but it was also a time of confusion. A confusion that has lasted for 150 years with scientists baffled over the Cambrian’s sudden explosion. No widely accepted theory explaining the burst of life exists and thus, it is fitting that we end with these questions. Can you find an answer to the problems? What caused biology’s Big Bang to occur so rapidly? Why haven’t there been any repeats of successful evolution and diversity? Why are there no new phyla after Cambrian?"

From a paleontological standpoint there are several possible explanations for the data. The generally accepted Naturalistic Hypothesis is that the Cambrian forms were evolutionary descendants of soft-bodied precursors in the Precambrian that had become "preadapted" for roles in a new ecosystem that arrived at the beginning of the Cambrian Period. So the "suddenness" is illusory, and the animals were merely coming out of their previous roles in the Precambrian. Whatever satisfaction such a theory may produce in the minds of its adherents must be eroded by the absence of any data to support the theory. There are no known Precambrian metazoan precursors, but even more telling, the molecular biological complexity of the earliest Cambrian forms equals that in any form alive today (ref4). One must respond to the challenge of having all the evolution of complex information in metazoa occurring in the Precambrian when there is no evidence for metazoa. Such a position requires a faith commitment to a model that equals or exceeds that required for any imaginable religious view. Of course the advocates of this theory expect that someday the illusory Precambrian ancestors will be found. But in spite of increasing efforts in this endeavor, the vacancy remains.

A second, Deistic Hypothesis, quite popular among some Christians, would have divine creation of all these life forms in the remote past. In a variant (Theistic), God is involved along the way. Both views are based on naturalistic assumptions, interpreting the events in Genesis 1 as figurative in order to preserve a commitment to the radiometric time scale and to the Naturalistic (evolutionary) paradigm. A thirdInterventionist or Creation/Flood Hypothesis explains the sudden appearance of diverse, complex fossils in Cambrian sediments as a record of the sudden Creation andof the whole spectrum of life forms coupled with the catastrophic flood described in the first chapters of Genesis. The presence of the full spectrum of complex biota in the absence of evidence for progenitors certainly offers strong support to this model. The rocks below the Cambrian were accumulated on the earth possibly prior to Creation week of Genesis 1, and thus were without evidence of metazoa. The rocks of the Cambrian represent either the sediments accumulated on the earth subsequent to Creation, and prior to the Flood, or they are the first rocks resulting from the Flood.

In the Naturalistic Hypothesis, there is no Creator. The Deistic/Theistic and Creation/Flood hypotheses involve a Creator, and the Creator is the God of the Bible. It is difficult to believe that intelligent, educated individuals cannot see the handwriting of the Creator in nature. As Werner von Braun has so incisively stated:

"One cannot be exposed to the law and order of the universe without concluding that there must be design and purpose behind it all... The better we understand the intricacies of the universe and all it harbors, the more reason we have found to marvel at the inherent design upon which it is based... To be forced to believe only one conclusion -- that everything in the universe happened by chance -- would violate the very objectivity of science itself... What random process could produce the brains of a man or the system of a human eye? ... They (evolutionists) challenge science to prove the existence of God. But must we really light a candle to see the sun? ... They say they cannot visualize a Designer. Well, can a physicist visualize an electron? ... What strange rationale makes some physicists accept the inconceivable electron as real while refusing to accept the reality of a Designer on the ground that they cannot conceive Him? ... It is in sceintific honesty that I endorse the presentation of alternative theories for the origin of the universe, life, and man in the classroom. It would be an error to overlook the possibility that the universe was planned rather than happened by chance."(ref1)

The decision between the Theistic/Deistic and the Creation/Flood views must be made taking into account what the Creator has Himself told us. We are dealing with earth history, and in history, a written account of a reliable eyewitness is the most valuable information available. In trying to discriminatethe two hypotheses(or others that could be constructed),on origins, extrascientific data must be used, and it makes a great deal of sense for one who claims allegiance to the God of the Bible to look in the Bible for answers without apology. A straightforward reading of the Biblical account is quite apparently framed in a few thousand years, favoring the Creation/Flood Hypothesis. This view of origins is not without problems in the natural world, as we shall see. But the ultimate conclusions one reaches with respect to origins rests with who or what an individual chooses to accept as authority. In the first two hypotheses, authority is naturalistic and rationalistic. The individual asserts that human mind, acting alone, is capable of discerning and as we continue, recall thatdiscriminating all truth. In the third, the ultimate source of authority is the God of the Bible. It is imperative that individuals working in this area recognize and acknowledge what the source of their authority is. Until this can be established, there is little fruitful ground for constructive communication. On the balance, the Creation/Flood Hypothesis, unlike the Deistic/Theistic Hypothesis, is consistent with the clearest reading of Scripture. It also satisfactorily confronts two of the most pressing issues in paleontology: the origin of life, and the Cambrian explosion. The Naturalistic Hypothesis, for all of its popularity, satisfies neither. While there are other hypotheses or variants that could be proposed and discussed, we will limit ourselves to these three. As we continue in our evaluation of the paleontological record, keep these three hypotheses in mind.

The fossil record of the Cambrian is one of richness and incredible diversity. Gould (ref5) has likened it to an upside down bush (as opposed to the normal phylogenetic tree image), because from the first diversity is so high, and there are many forms that are not found at higher levels in the rock record. During the Cambrian, the diversity of trilobites reaches an all-time high. When Cambrian deposition is superceded by Ordovician rocks, the transition is more a matter of a change in the rock types than it is in any major change in the fauna.

The Ordovician. Ordovician rocks exhibit a continuing increase in diversity, with many species of brachiopods, trilobites, corals, crinoids, cephalopods and jawless fish. The Ordovician starts with about 150 families of organisms, and ends with over 400. The only additional phylum not yet recorded from the Cambrian, is bryozoa. Although fossils of land plants are not seen until higher layers, there are spores of land plants reported from the Ordovician. The trilobite diversity is still high in Ordovician sediments. The "Ordovician extinction" occurred near the top of the Ordovician period. At this point in the fossil record, one third of all brachiopod and bryozoan families were lost, as well as numerous groups of conodonts, trilobites, and graptolites. Much of the reef-building fauna was also decimated. In total, more than one hundred families of marine invertebrates made their last appearances. These families disappear from the record in an orderly and regionally consistent manner. Any model purporting to explain the history of the earth with integrity must accommodate these data.

The Silurian and Devonian. Following the loss of diversity (burial of habitats) at the end of the Ordovician, new groups appear as fossils throughout the Silurian and Devonian. Newcomers include the first macroscopic land plant fossils in the Silurian. In addition, the Devonian record includes the first known fossils of sharks, bony fish, and cephalopods along with a variety of stromatoporoids and corals. Fossils of terrestrial forms appearing in Devonian strata include amphibians, insects, and many forms of land plants.

The Carboniferous (Mississippian and Pennsylvanian in the United States). By the time the last Devonian strata were deposited, the fossil record had come to include a large component of fossils associated with shallow water or land. The marine record continues to contain abundant remains of bryozoa, echinoderms, particularly crinoids, brachiopods, molluscs and arthropods. The extensive representation of Carboniferous insects attract much interest. Many of these forms, including cockroaches and dragonflies, are familiar to us in much smaller forms today. The Carboniferous contains the first massive coals, and it is from this feature that the system derives its name. The coals of the Carboniferous are made up of plants that are generally not familiar to us today, although there are living representatives of most groups. The dominant plants are giant lycopods, tree ferns, horsetails and others, many times larger than any of their modern counterparts.

One objection that is sometimes raised to the Creation/Flood Hypothesis (the fossil record is largely the result of a single event) is the huge volume of organically derived material in the earth's crust. The massive amounts of coal, oil, gas and dispersed carbon seems to be far beyond the scope of what a single event could produce. And so it seems, at least until we examine the data.

The world estimated reserves of natural gas are 5,000 trillion cubic feet. This would convert to about 94 billion short tons of carbon (coal). World reserves of oil are about a trillion barrels. This would be equivalent to 180 billion tons of carbon (coal). Adding these to the estimated coal reserves of 1 trillion tons, gives a world total of 1,274 billion tons of fossil carbon from organic sources (gas, oil, and coal).

Compared with this, the present biosphere contains approximately 829 billion tons of carbon, about 83% of the fossil carbon mass preserved as coal, oil and gas. About 243 billion metric tons of dry plant biomass are produced per year. If the earth were operating under conditions that were optimal, we could perhaps increase this value by a factor of 10 (larger land mass, higher CO₂ concentration, no deserts, vegetation overgrowing the oceans, optimum biomass in the ocean and seas...see below).

Allowing this optimization, we could conceivably accumulate 2 trillion tons dry weight of vegetation per year. If an average accumulation of organic material represented ten years of growth, 20 trillion tons of organic material, living and dead and decaying, would have been present on the surface of the earth at the time of the flood, just from plants. In addition, about 2000 years of carbon accumulation with perhaps 10 - 20% of the carbon being permanently preserved as dispersed carbon in the sediments and the water column may have been present. There would have been an unknown amount of organic carbon added to the earth at creation to prepare the surface for habitation.

Extant peat bogs also afford an example of how the preflood environment could have held a much higher carbon reservoir than just what is in the present biomass. Other reservoirs may have included floating masses of vegetation such as are found in modern quaking bogs. Much of the Paleozoic plant vegetation must have grown under these conditions, not just because the modern representatives of these groups do, but because even a cursory analysis of the rooting structures associated with these plants indicates they could not have grown in soil. The plants grew up to 30 meters tall, probably in a single growth season, and most of the forms were annuals with little or no wood. The roots were unique anchoring structures called Stigmaria that branched out from the base of the trunk on opposite sides, dividing immediately to give four principal roots that typically bifurcated again in close proximity to the trunk. These roots grew from a terminal bud, and sent spirally arrayed pencil-sized rootlets outward half a meter from the main axis. The rootlets were composed of large, thin-walled cells, with very little structural tissue. From all appearances the roots were designed to penetrate plant debris, and certainly could not have grown in soil. Because of their size and bulk, and the evident rapid growth, large amounts of this vegetation could have accumulated quickly under the ideal growth conditions of the preflood world. It is not surprising that there were large amounts of this material available for burial and conversion to coal during the flood. The roots of many of the dominant tree ferns (e.g. Psaronius) show aerenchymatous tissue, composed of thin-walled air filled cells. These features are also characteristic of aquatic or semiaquatic plants. Thus these forms could easily have grown atop ponderous masses of floating vegetation, allowing the possibility of an additional very large carbon reservoir. In any case, there was, at least in theory, more than enough carbon on the preflood earth to account for all of the coal, oil, gas and dispersed carbon of organic origin in the sediments.

The Carboniferous also contains the remains of many amphibia, frequently associated with the coal producing plants mentioned above. It is conceivable, and entirely consistent with the lifestyle of amphibia, that these forms lived among the plants in the floating bogs in which they were buried.

As the Carboniferous deposition ended, so did the Paleozoic coals and many of the large Carboniferous plant species. There does not appear to be a good explanation for this loss in the Naturalistic or Deistic/Theistic hypotheses. Why would plants that dominated the landscape, and were obviously very successful, suddenly cease to exist? According to the Creation/Flood Hypothesis, this loss can be accounted for by the destruction of the habitat of the preflood world in which these forms lived, and subsequent burial of their remains by the continued influx of sediments.

El Permian. The Permian fossil record contains many invertebrate forms present in the rocks below, but the flora reflects dramatic changes. The major extinctions marking the ends of two major divisions of the Phanerozoic, the Permian (ending the Paleozoic) and the Cretaceous (ending the Mesozoic), feature dramatic change of the plant record in

layers far below major changes in the animal record. Why this should be so is not apparent in the various proposals being advanced. The plants of the Permian, which appear to be much more xeric (dry climate) than the Carboniferous coal plants, are referred to as the Glossopteris Flora. This flora consists of coniferous trees and gymnospermous plants of various affinities, most of which are now extinct.

The faunal record is one of gradually decreasing diversity, until near the end of the Permian, nearly all of the Paleozoic invertebrates are lost. Although figures differ, a figure of 96% is often used for the number of species found in the Permian do not extend into the Triassic. This includes invertebrates and vertebrates. Among vertebrates, 75% of the amphibian and 80% of the reptile families are lost to the record. This loss of so many taxa is referred to as the "Permian Extinction", and a great many popularizers of science have tried to explain this loss in terms of a catastrophic event, such as a meteor impact. The difficulty all such attempts face is that the loss of species was going on throughout the Permian, or as in the case of the major plant taxa of the Carboniferous, had already occurred prior to the base of the Permian. If the correct explanation is a global flood, then the loss of taxa is understandable, and fanciful explanations are unnecessary.

El Mesozoíco. The Mesozoic rocks are characterized by a dramatic change in the biota. The plants tend to be similar to those of the Permian at first. The animals are mostly different. There are more terrestrial (land-dwelling) forms, and marine rocks carry fossil fish, cephalopods, bivalves, and different corals from the Paleozoic forms.

El Triásico. Rocks of the Triassic are characterized by redbeds, deposits so-named because of the abundant iron oxide they contain, and widespread volcanic ash. In these rocks are the remains of fossil reptiles and the first fossil mammals. The plants are ferns, tree ferns, cycadeoids, Ginkgos and gymnosperms of a wide variety of types. Glossopteris of the Permian is replaced with the ubiquitous Triassic genus Dicrodium. All of the dominant tetrapods, including the dinosaurs and various other reptile forms and mammals, appeared first in Triassic rocks. A variety of insects are known from the Triassic, including many species of dragonflies. Marine forms include fish, marine reptiles and most modern groups of invertebrates, including an increasing variety of cephalopods.

El Jurásico. Thanks to Hollywood, Jurassic is probably the best known of the geologic periods. The Jurassic rocks contain the remains of the largest dinosaurs that ever lived, including the giant sauropods. The marine rocks contain an abundance of fish remains, including sharks and rays and an increasing array of cephalopods, mostly ammonites. The patterns of appearance and disappearance of the ammonites provide the premier stratigraphic indicator for the Mesozoic. This is a feature that needs to be studied carefully, since this pattern contains a great deal of useful information to help in reconstructing the sedimentary processes of the Mesozoic. Although the patterns are generally assumed to be evolutionary in origin by those working under the Naturalistic or Deistic/Theistic hypotheses, the appearances and disappearances do not seem to represent evolutionary lineages. Thus the patterns may contain other kinds of information compatible with the Creation/Flood Hypothesis that would allow us to discern features of the preflood world not accessible otherwise. Land plant fossils included ferns, conifers, Ginkgo and cycadeoids. Small mammals are a minor element. Occasionally, the fossil remains of birds, including the famous Archaeopteryx, are encountered.

El Crustaceo. The Cretaceous begins inauspiciously and generally the Lower Cretaceous rocks display the kinds of fossils that are found in Jurassic strata. In contrast with the red rocks of the Triassic, Cretaceous strata include hundreds of meters of black shales, indicative of source areas very different from those of the Triassic.

Midway through the Cretaceous, a dramatic change takes place. The fossil record of the flowering plants (angiosperms) begins, and by the end of the Cretaceous, most of the major families of flowering plants are represented either by pollen, leaves, fruit and/or wood. This dramatic introduction of a totally new flora, referred to as an "abominable mystery" by Darwin, is of great significance. On the face of it, the sudden appearance of the angiosperms is as great an "explosion" in the plant realm as was the previously referenced "Cambrian Explosion" in the animal domain.

Attempts to explain the issue within the evolutionary model have been numerous. One of these, put forth by Daniel Axelrod, proposed that the plants were evolving in "upland floras" away from the regions where fossils were being preserved, and thus we have no fossil record of their evolution. Not accidentally, this explanation shares many features with explanations proposed for the Cambrian fauna (i.e. they had no hard parts to preserve). A second defense of the evolutionary hypotheses attributes the development to "gradual" evolutionary changes, by asserting that the angiosperms are introduced slowly to the fossil record over a protracted period, suggesting that they had sufficient time to "evolve" from the first form(s). This is similar to another defense put forward for the Cambrian explosion, suggesting those animal forms appeared slowly throughout the Lower Cambrian.

There are fatal difficulties with both of these approaches. The Angiosperms are a rich and diverse group, outnumbering all other land plants today by twenty to one. This diversity enters the record rapidly, and requires an explanation. It is inconceivable, given the vast differences among angiosperms, that the entire spectrum of information they represent could have accumulated from nothing in infinite time, let alone in as short an interval as that claimed. Furthermore, the data suggest the plants were fully functional and full modern in aspect at their first appearance, just as we saw for the invertebrates in the Cambrian. For example, Tidwell reported a fossil branch of maple (Acer) from the Dakota Sandstone in Utah that contained pollen, flowers and seeds attached to wood. The branch was found in rocks considered to be Jurassic, then revised upward to Lower Cretaceous. The problem of having fossils that are fully modern in aspect from Cretaceous strata persists. Where did the evolution take place? A peculiar revisionist science has sought to alleviate the problem by recasting the Cretaceous, and even the Tertiary remains of flowering plants into archaic groups. By changing the name to some different genus, or even family, leaf and other form genera have been endlessly and needlessly multiplied. It is presumed that if a maple leaf is found in the Cretaceous, it must be a coincidence that it looks like a maple leaf, because how could we have Acer represented 100 million years ago. So if they call it Protoacer or Pseudoacer, that is thought to solve the problem of the sudden origin of the angiosperms. But of course it doesn't.

Only the Creation/Flood Hypothesis can explain the sudden appearance of the Angiosperms without resorting to fanciful and contrived reconstructions. And even this hypothesis does not easily explain why angiosperms are not found below Cretaceous strata. But this apparent sudden appearance of the angiosperms is data laden, and can help us in formulating a scientific model for the distribution of life forms on the preflood earth, and the processes of the flood itself. The model must take this into account and use these data in developing a view of the preflood biota and geography that could explain the absence of angiosperm fossils below Cretaceous.

The animal fossils of the Cretaceous sediments undergo permutations with new forms appearing, such as the much-discussed Tyrannosaurus rex and the duckbilled dinosaurs that dominated the Upper Cretaceous. The few Cretaceous mammals are diminutive and exceptional elements in the record. The Cretaceous marine environment continues to be dominated by fish and molluscs, especially ammonites. . Throughout the Mesozoic, the key marker fossils in marine sediments are ammonites, coiled cephalopods related to the modern chambered nautilus. These forms reach their zenith in the sediments of the Upper Cretaceous. In the these rocks alone in the central United States, over 50 stratigraphic intervals are defined by what appear to be distinct species of ammonites. While some of these will turn out not to be distinct species, many of the morphotypes are present only for brief intervals, then disappear from the record.

Throughout the Mesozoic, the key marker fossils in marine sediments are ammonites, coiled cephalopods related to the modern chambered nautilus. These forms reach their zenith in the sediments of the Upper Cretaceous. In the these rocksalone in the central United States, there are over 50 stratigraphic intervals defined by what appear to be distinct species of ammonites. While some of these "species" will turn out not to be, many of the morphotypes are present only for brief intervals, then disappear from the record

When the Cretaceous rocks end, another incomprehensible transformation accompanies it. it. All of the dinosaurs are gone. Along with them many other non-dinosaurian reptiles of the Mesozoic are no longer found as fossils. None of the ammonites reach beyond Cretaceous. The angiosperms, begun earlier, go through the transition from Mesozoic to Cenozoic with very few changes. This great extinction has been tied to many rich and fanciful theories, such as meteoric collision, indigestion, the rise of the mammals, etc. But none of the theories does justice to the evidence. If a meteoric impact was the terminal Cretaceous event, why are most of the Dinosaurs already dead? In fact there is no kill that can be directly attributed to an event that is purported to be responsible for laying down a few centimeters of iridium-enriched dirt. And if an impact were the cause, why did it not affect the angiosperms, and why did it destroy all of the ammonites, but not other marine forms? If the cause of the end of the Cretaceous was mammals, or "constipation", etc., then why did the ammonites die out? Certainly there is room for a comprehensive global catastrophe that finally affected the environment in which these various forms lived, and as an on-going event, the end of the Cretaceous marked a set of conditions in which ammonites and dinosaurs could no longer live.

El Cenozoíco. The rocks of the Cenozoic include all deposits from the Cretaceous to the present. The Cenozoic is divided into three portions, from bottom to top, the Paleogene, the Neogene, and the Quaternary. These rocks contain the remains of a fauna dominated by mammals, and record a flora that appears to transition from the plants represented in the Cretaceous to the plants specific to the various regions on the earth today. The marine record also includes forms that would be familiar to us today. Cenozoic deposits are more local and basinal than are the deposits of the Mesozoic or Paleozoic. Mammal remains, especially teeth, are used as stratigraphic markers. An understanding of the Cenozoic record involves being able to explain the striking change from widespread rock layers and index fossils of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic to the much more localized rock units and fossil assemblages of the Cenozoic.

Again, considering the Creation/Flood Hypothesis enables us to account for some of the details that cannot easily be explained by Naturalism or Deism/Theism.

A global flood has to have an ending somewhere in the rock record. We would expect that ending to be marked by drainage patterns that remain to the present, and increasingly familiar patterns of flora and fauna. As dramatic an event as a worldwide flood would have repercussions that lasted long after the animals left the ark. In this view, the flood left many basins filled with water in which sediment and the decayed remains of dead animals and plant continued to accumulate for sometime after the end of the flood.

The repopulation of the earth with animals would occur rapidly, and the creatures and plants expanded into seemingly endless expanses of vacant territory. Varieties of plants and animals never before seen on the earth could now develop, expressing genetic information heretofore held captive in the quiescent genomes of animals of a different world. The environment immediately after a worldwide Flood would be expected to have optimal conditions for natural selection, includingincluding open niches, bottlenecking of populations, founder effects and geographic isolation to bring about the rapid proliferation of species for the many unfilled niches of the earth. A clear example of the magnitude of these effects is attested to in the Hawaiian Islands, where the organisms were able to expand without the normal competitive pressures of predation and disease. Here what was possibly a single species of Drosophila has apparently sired as many as 600 distinct sopecies of the fruitfly. On balance, it is important to note that they are all still Drosophila, and that we can only speculate about the process by which they were differentiated.

differentiated. Although the Cenozoic has not ended, the recent past has been characterized by continental glaciations in the Pleistocene. These deposits contain flora and fauna that are generally recognizable as indigenous. Reports of huge numbers of elephantine forms frozen in ice have caused interest, and are still causing interest today. Darwin calculated that a single pair of elephants could produce a million progeny in less than a thousand years, so this does not appear to present a problem for any model.

Analysis of the Record. The Fossil Record contains a mixture of information. Some of these data, for example, appear at our present level of understanding, to favor naturalistic ideas of origins. Some of these data appearappear to support the concept of a Divine Creative origin for life on the earth, and a global catastrophic flood. The method and timing cannot be reliably derived from the naturalistic methods of science, and must be learnedshould therefore be sought through revelations of the Creator Himself.

The Fossil record exhibits an orderly progression of forms, very different from what one might propose for evolution without foreknowledge of the record. It is also not intuitive for popular misconceptions of what a global flood would entail. Many parts of the record appear to exhibit a patterning of fossils that suggests that the preflood earth and the flood itself were very different events thanthey are often caracatured to be. If thethese caricatures. If the fossil record originated largely with the flood, then some form of ecologically or physiographically constrained explanations are necessary.

In lower Paleozoic strata, fossils are almost exclusively marine organisms. Although from the first there is great diversity, that diversity changes patterns as we go up the column. The changes are orderly and meaningful. In middle and upper Paleozoic strata, plants of types that are best understood as living on water are abundant. Tetrapods associated with these plants may also have lived on the floating plant terrain. Then the first true land plants or animals are found in Permian (uppermost Paleozoic) or Mesozoic deposits, after the Paleozoic coal plants are gone from the record. These are important data to go into a model of the preflood world. Much of the world that was buried during the Flood was already underwater.

These are important data to go into a model of the preflood

world. Much of the world that was buried during the Flood was already underwater.

Mesozoic marine forms are very different from the Paleozoic forms. Terrestrial deposits with terrestrial life forms are center stage. The appearance of the angiosperms in mid Cretaceous is an event that hardly squares with evolutionary expectations, and places severe constraintsimportant restrictions on model building for every hypothesis. The termiantiontermination of the terrestrial dinosaurs and the marine ammonites almost simultaneously constrains naturalistic models to look for catastrophic explanations. These Creationists would gladly supply, were it not for the need themselves to explain where the mammals and angiosperms were hiding when the dinosaurs were being buried. The zonation of ammonites in the Mesozoic is another opportunity for Creationists to collect information to use in model building. For now it has to be considered another formidibleformidable challenge for the Creation/Flood model.

In the Tertiary, dinosaurs are no longer represented in the fossil record, but the flowering plants continue right on, becoming increasingly more specific to present localities throughout the Tertiary. Likewise, mammals of modern types do not appear until near the end of the Tertiary, for many groups. All of the major problems posed for the Creation/Flood model must be considered data for model building. This suggests that if we want to build models, we ought to be taking advantage of the challenges and pushing them to reveal more data.

These are the data from Paleontology that model-builders must have in hand for reconstructing the world that was before the flood. Is such an endeavor worthwhile? Is it needed?

These are the data from Paleontology that model-builders must have in hand for reconstucting the world that was before the flood. Is such an endeavor worthwhile? Is it needed?

Finales consideraciones.. How can we accommodate the paleontological record with Scripture? What can we do with the serious challenges to our faith presented by some aspects of the fossil record? What can we do to make known the serious problems of the Naturalistic Hypothesis and for the Deistic/Theistic Hypothesis? Is it enough to maintainthat "The Bible says it, and I believe it, and that’s good enough for me"? Should we be exploring science, knowing that we may be led to conclusions that are not compatible with our beliefs? These are serious questions and worthy of study and careful consideration.

If our approach to science is as it should be, we can acknowledge that there are still many unanswered questions for all sides, and we should have no fear of deeper investigation In science the data are not all in yet. But we must recognize that the view of origins presented in Scripture is clear about Creation. The plants were made on day three, the animals in the sea and air were created on day five and the land animals, including mankind were created on day six, three evenings and mornings after the plants. The Bible is also reasonably clear about the events significant for fossilization of these life forms that have occurred since then. There is a great deal we have not been told about the preflood world. If we knew more I think we could answer many of the questions that are now open, or perplexing to us. Should we be trying to do that? Can we continue to bury our heads when issues of paleontology arise?

We have traditionally taught and thought that the physical realm was an indispensable component of the totality of God’s revelation to us. Verses such as Romans 1:20 and Psalm 19:1-4 and many others make this clear. If we maintain this holistic approach to Revelation, it would be inconsistent to ignore a huge component of that witness in the fossil record. Rather, we ought to be more aggressive in our efforts to seek harmony with the Revelation in Scripture, using the principles laid down in Scripture as a filter to test ideas. I think this is not an option, but a mandate of the highest order. If we choose to ignore the efforts to find that harmony between the Bible and Paleontology, we may miss that great opportunity to receive the revelation of God through the earth. The Psalmist writes:

"I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps." Ps. 85:8-13

We must be prepared and open to receive that Truth. The issue is not whether we can believe what God has told us in Scripture. That question must be settled in the basis of our faith, before we begin. For we are told specifically that:

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. […] But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Heb. 11:3, 6.

But will we successfully apply that faith to real problems in the physical realm? It is here that we can make a difference, if we choose to do so.

I think our view of revelation in the physical realm as a component of God’s total revelation to us demands that we seek to achieve a satisfactory level of understanding of the physical realm. We should not give lip service to this principle without implementing serious efforts to seek the understanding we believe is there. I am sure God does not want this revelation to come in a way that will exalt man. But a prepared mind and a committed life, these God can trust. Most certainly the object of this work has to be that which God has Himself set, that:

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard." Psalm 19:1-3.

And:

"[…] the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." Rom 1:20.

I look forward with great anticipation to the times when these new revelations will be more fully received.

Bibliography

3. Quoted in: Henry Margenau and Roy Abraham Varghese, eds., *Cosmos, Bios, Theos* (La Salle, IL: Open Court Publishing, 1992), 142.

Ref0

von Braun, Wernher. The quote is referenced to "exerpts from an original interview in "Applied Christianity" from the Bible Science Newsletter of May 1974, p. 8

Ref1a

International Subcommitssion [Subcommittee? Commission?] on the Cambrian.

http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/palaeontologie/Stuff/casu1.htm#home

Ref1

Simoes, M.G.; Kowalewski, M.; Torello, F.F.; Anelli, L.E. Long-term time-averaging despite abrupt burial: Paleozoic [bioturbation?] obrution deposits from epeiric settings on Parana basin, Brazil. GSA 1998.

Ref2

Butterfield, N.J., and R.H. Rainbird. 1998. Diverse organic-welled fossils, including "possible dinoflagellates," from the early Neoproterozoic of arctic Canada. Geology 26(November):963.

Ref3

Anonymous http://library.thinkquest.org/3017/cambrian.htm

Ref4

Chadwick paper and Morris paper.

Philip J. Currie and Eva B. Koppelhus, 101 Questions about Dinosaurs, Dover Publications, 1996.

Ref5

Gould, Stephen J. 1989. Wonderful Life. W.W. Norton & Company, New York. 347 pp.

Fossil Record

K.vDavies in Journal of Paleontology 61(1):198200. Fresh dinosaur bone To make it into the fossil record, you MUST do the following things.

Briggs, D.E.G. and A.J. Kear. 1993. Fossilization of Soft Tissue in the Laboratory. Science 259, pp. 1439-1442. Experiments on buried shrimp show that even soft tissue can be preserved in a matter of weeks under the right conditions.

Recommended Paleontology Textbooks:

(your favorites -- with most description and least evol theory)

mine are all very old, like Fenton'58 and Schrock '53 and Andrews '61, except:

Stewart, Wilson N. and Gar W. Rothwell, 1993. Paleobotany (2nd Edition). Cambridge University Press. New York. 521 pp.

Taylor, Thomas N, 1981. Paleobotany -- An Introduction to Fossil Plant Biology. McGraw-Hill Book Company. New York. 589 pp.

Recommended Creationist Works on Paleontology:

Roth, Ariel A. 1998. Origins: Linking Science and Scripture. Review and Herald Publishing Association, Hagerstown, MD. 384 pp.

Brand, Leonard 1997. Faith, Reason, and Earth History. Andrews University Press Berrien Springs, MI. 332 pp.

Ref0 von Braun, Wernher. The quote is referenced to "exerpts from an original interview in "Applied Christianity" from the Bible Science Newsletter of May 1974, p. 8

Ref0b Quoted in: Henry Margenau and Roy Abraham Varghese, eds.,

*Cosmos, Bios, Theos* (La Salle, IL: Open Court Publishing, 1992), 142.

Ref1a International Subcommitssion on the Cambrian. http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/palaeontologie/Stuff/casu1.htm#home

Ref1 Simoes, M.G.; Kowalewski, M.; Torello, F.F.; Anelli, L.E. Long-term time-averaging despite abrupt burial: Paleozoic obrution deposits from epeiric settings on Parana basin, Brazil. GSA 1998.

Ref2 Butterfield, N.J., and R.H. Rainbird. 1998. Diverse organic-welled fossils, including "possible dinoflagellates," from the early Neoproterozoic of arctic Canada. Geology 26(November):963.

Ref3 Anonymous http://library.thinkquest.org/3017/cambrian.htm

Ref4 Chadwick paper and Morris paper.

Philip J. Currie and Eva B. Koppelhus, 101 Questions about Dinosaurs, Dover Publications, 1996.

Ref5 Gould, Stephen J. Wonderful Life

"Bones do not have to be 'aturned into stone' to be fossils, and usually most of the original bone is still present in a dinosaur fossil" p 11

"The amount of time that it takes for a bone to become completely permineralized is highly variable. If the groundwater is heavily laden with minerals in solution, the process can happen rapidly. Modern bones that fall into mineral springs can become permineralized within a matter of weeks."

‘The nodules prevented water from invading the bones, which for all intents and purposes cannot be distinguished from modern bone.’ p. 12

Fossil Record

K.vDavies in Journal of Paleontology 61(1):198�200. Fresh dinosaur bone

To make it into the fossil record, you MUST do the following things.