I would like to explore the fossil record some. There are a couple of threads still open that are more or less on the topic but they are science threads and since I am likely to interject some typical YEC thinking on the thread perhaps this shouldn't be located there.
Partly I would like just to know a lot more about the fossil record, specifics about what fossils are found exactly where and in what quantity and that sort of thing -- information I find very hard to come by online.
I'd appreciate it if instead of exclusively using the era titles like "Permian" and Ordovician" and the like, or the supposed age of the strata, the location or depth of a particular layer in the geological column might be indicated to help me visualize the situation better.
On one of the threads on this subject, this was posted:
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EvC Forum: Fossil Record as the Strongest or most compelling evidence of Macroevolution -->
EvC Forum: Fossil Record as the Strongest or most compelling evidence of Macroevolution
1) The oldest rocks on earth are just over 4 Gyrs old (4,000,000,000 years).
2) The earliest things that appear to be fossils of unicellular life are about 3.5+ Gyrs old. These are reasonably likely to be fossils of life but there can be some arguement.
3) Way before 1 Gyr there is good evidence of unicellular life.
4) From 4 Gyr to 1 Gyr no evidence has been found for multicellular life.
6) At about 600 Myr multicellular life becomes apparent.
7) At about 550 Myr mulitcelluar life with many basic body plans and some hard parts allowing for fossilization are found.
8) Todays basic phyla are present at the 550 Myr mark but are very simple. (e.g., worm like with no 'real' backbone to represent cordates (that is US) )
9) Somewhere around 350 Myr we have fish, insects, worms, etc. We have no reptiles, amphibians, mammals or birds found at all.
10) Amphibians appear next. There are no reptiles etc.
11) Around 250 to 300 Myrs ago we find reptiles.
12) Somewhere around 200+ Myrs ago we find a series of fossils that show a clear transition from reptile features to mammels. And mammels are found from then on.
13) This sort of pattern continues. There are clear points where new taxonomic forms appear for the first time. They then show ongoing diversification after that.
14) Another pattern that becomes more apparent in the last 100 Myrs is that the life forms become more and more like those alive to day.
15) There is no monotonic pattern from smaller to bigger.
16) There are sudden, dramatic losses of large numbers of species and genera.
17) After these large losses there is a diversification of the survivors to fill empty niches.
For my purposes it would help if the interpretive terminology of evolution were avoided or at least supplemented with physical information as I suggest above. So that, for instance, the above would be rewritten to describe 1) what the oldest rocks are made off and where they are to be found; 2), 3) and 4) exactly what-kinds-of-rocks-found-where exhibit arguable-to-certain fossils of unicellular life but no other kinds of fossils; I don't know where #5) went, but for 6) and 7) some idea of what these multicellular animals are like, and how high up in the column we're talking, and the names of the "periods" involved could be useful here too, and if there are absolutely no other kinds of life found in these strata to this point and so on...
and on up the column. I'm getting tired trying to spell this out but maybe I'll come back and fill it out further later, or just take up the rest if the thread gets promoted, since what I'm getting at is probably clear enough from what is said so far.
Just as a general statement about the YEC view of the fossil sorting, the answer has been given many times that the whole geologic column is taken as having been laid down by the flood of Noah, one layer at a time over some unknown period of time, perhaps the span of the flood itself or some of it during its recession, a period of many months in any case, and that the great preponderance of fossils found everywhere on earth are of living things that died in the flood; and that the general order reflects a gradation of mobility and intelligence, and natural habitat as well, so that the lower layers entombed the creatures with the least opportunity to survive the flood, while subsequent layers hold those which were able to survive longer and longer on up the scale, due to natural habitat or ability to escape to higher ground etc. Also, YECs hold that the record isn't as perfect as it is claimed to be anyway; there are anomalies of various kinds, including the polystrates which are so ridiculed here.
In any case, while I expect the theories to be discussed too, I hope above all that a much clearer picture of just what fossils are found where will emerge in this discussion -- if this is known, that is. Could be that all anybody knows is the fanciful scenarios and illustrations that are discussed only in terms of ages and environments instead of the nitty gritty facts of fossil location??
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
Edited by Faith, : Corrected link, corrected title etc.
Edited by Faith, : added "geologic" to "column"
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