Forensics and Fossilization

The common story about fossilization told by believers in universal common descent is, to be blunt, absurd even on the surface. In water, a critter dies, sinks to the bottom, gets covered by sediment, and becomes fossilized over many years.

The Master Engineer made a cleanup crew that gets rid of the clutter, which includes scavengers, microorganisms, and so on. Owners of aquariums have seen that when a fish dies, it is often eaten by other fish. Scavenging and decomposition happen very quickly on land as well.

Forensic toolkit and marked evidence, Pexels / cottonbro studio

Television shows and movies about forensic science have become very popular. This is the historical science where investigators use information in the present to reconstruct what may have happened in the past. Worldviews, presuppositions, evidence degradation, contamination and other things put limits on forensic science. The study of fossilization (as well as scientific views involving creation science, evolution, the Genesis Flood, and other things) is also forensic. Fossilization requires rapid burial of sediments; time and chance are not the main factors, conditions are most important.

On one particular hike, I was enjoying the serenity of the moment when I observed something bright white in the distance. I squinted my eyes to see if I could discern what treasure lay ahead. It looked like a skeleton. As a forensic scientist, anything out of the ordinary is always worth investigating. I eagerly approached the “evidence.” A short distance off the right side of the trail lay a bright white, sun-bleached, disarticulated skeleton.

You can read the full article by clicking on "The Race Against Decay: Forensic Decomposition vs. Fossilization."