We have a small bone fragment of the Edmontosaurus on display in the booth. Below are two articles that tell more about the dinosaur:
Dino Age Is Only Skin Deep
by A. P. Galling, AiG–U.S.
March 20, 2008
At a Glance
- Fossilized dinosaur named “Dakota” discovered in 1999.
- Dakota is mummified and its skin is almost perfectly preserved.
- Evolutionists date the find at 65 million years old.
The fossilized Edmontosaurus dinosaur, which has been dubbed Dakota, was originally discovered in 1999 by a Yale University paleontology student in his uncle’s Badlands ranch. The actual unearthing of the fossil didn’t begin until 2004, and a team in the basement of North Dakota Heritage Center is now chiseling away at the rock that still surrounds Dakota.
What makes this story of a dinosaur fossil different than most, though, is the incredible preservation of Dakota. The AP reports that the duckbilled dinosaur fossil includes fossilized skin that is “as hard as iron.” It thus joins only four other such mummified dinosaurs “of any significance” in the world, according to project consultant Stephen Begin.
Begin added, “It may turn out to be one of the best mummies, because of the quality of the skin that we’re finding and the extent of the skin that’s on the specimen.” He explained that most dinosaur mummies lack sufficient skin to be useful for research or education.
The team used a CT scanner to examine the dinosaur, which is still partially hidden in nearly five tons of sandstone. Though the creature’s skeleton is somewhat curled up, its original length would be around 30 ft (9m).
Toeing the line of evolutionary timetables, Dakota was assumed to have fossilized some 65 million years ago. The researchers, according to the Associated Press, “say Dakota must have been buried rapidly and in just the right environment for the texture of the skin to be preserved,” since animal tissue otherwise decomposes shortly after death (the tissue that isn’t consumed by scavengers, that is). Manchester University paleontologist Phillip Manning, a team member, explained what happened concisely: “The process of decay was overtaken by that of fossilization, preserving many of the soft-tissue structures.” He continued:
“This is the closest many people will ever get to seeing what large parts of a dinosaur actually looked like, in the flesh. . . . This is not the usual disjointed sentence or fragment of a word that the fossil records offer up as evidence of past life. This is a full chapter.”It will take a year or more, according to North Dakota Geological Survey paleontologist John Hoganson, to fully extract the carcass, after which it will be displayed in the Heritage Center and may eventually go on tour. Nevertheless, the fossil has already inspired two books (one for children) and National Geographic television programs.
What about the date?
So why the date of 65 (or 67) million years?2 Hoganson explained, “[The Badlands are] one of the few places in the world where you can actually see the boundary line where the dinosaurs became extinct, the time boundary. In the Badlands, this layer is exposed in certain places.” Hoganson is referring to the K–T extinction boundary, which allegedly divides the Cretaceous Period from the Tertiary Period in the fossil record and marks the extinction of the dinosaurs. Thus, the team must date the find as at least 65 million years old—despite any evidence otherwise—just so it lines up with evolutionary theory and the uniformitarian understanding of the fossil record.That said, we find a few flaws in assigning this date to Dakota—and it’s important to remember that that’s what scientists do: assign dates based on circumstantial evidence. Fossils don’t come stamped with exact dates!3
The scientists explain how Dakota must have been “buried rapidly.” That is exactly the explanation creation scientists give, but we have a clear, global explanation for the millions of fossils we have, which are time and time again shown to have been buried rapidly and catastrophically: the Flood of Noah’s day, which unleashed catastrophes worldwide and covered the world in water for a year. Starting from this viewpoint, we can make sense of these many fossils buried rapidly and recently—just a few thousand years ago.
Ultimately, this news shows us once again that science is beholden to one’s worldview. In this case, as in many, the old ages required by the fossil record—which are in turn required by the time line evolutionary theory needs—dictate the dating of the fossil. Starting from Scripture, we have the answers that explain why we find millions of fossils laid down catastrophically in rock layers all over the earth: the global Flood that the Bible describes.
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Footnotes
- While it is referred to as a mummy, the dinosaur has been fossilized into stone. Back
- The AP release mentions both ages. Back
- Of course, many evolutionists, even laymen who are not familiar with the science behind it, claim radioisotope dating of rocks and bones is akin to a “date stamped” in every fossil; however, radioisotope dating frequently results in wildly incorrect, incoherent, or contradictory dates, and the technique itself involves many assumptions about continuity of radioisotope decay rates, the amount present in rocks and fossils originally, and so forth. Back
New Addition to Our Fossil Family
by John D. Morris, Ph.D. *
In our March 2008 Acts & Facts, we introduced you to Boris, the 9-foot-tall cave bear that greets our visitors in the ICR lobby, and Levi (short for Leviathan) the mosasaur, which we acquired in a natural science auction. Continuing that collection, on October 25 we purchased a rare juvenile Edmontosaurus skeleton that is over 90 percent complete. The specimen measures 10 feet long and 5½ feet tall, and will be quite impressive for our museum visitors when it has been installed. Such skeletons of nearly complete juveniles are almost unheard of, making this an extremely valuable exhibit and teaching tool.
Edmontosaurus, a member of the Hadrosaur family, is known by its prominent duck-like beak. These dinosaurs were herbivores (plant eaters) and were evidently a favorite prey of carnivorous dinosaurs, for sometimes bite marks are found on them that match T. rex tooth patterns.
There have been numerous Edmontosaurus fossils discovered, but only a few have been juveniles. The one we acquired was excavated from the Two Medicine Formation in Montana, which is dated conventionally as late Cretaceous, approximately 70 million years ago. This formation was obviously water deposited, consisting of a mixture of terrestrial sediments and volcanic ash. In close proximity were fossils of both a second juvenile and a partially complete adult, giving rise to fanciful stories of mother and siblings crossing a river and being suddenly trapped in rising water.
Evolutionary scientists need to remember that fossils are not "snapshots of life," but are rather buried carcasses. The animals did not necessarily live nearby, nor did they necessarily die nearby. The only thing we know for sure is that they were all buried there, in a transported death assemblage, and do not automatically represent an intact ecosystem. They may have lived some distance away and then were drowned, transported, and buried with plants and animals from completely different environments.
The deposit speaks of monumental, catastrophic processes quite unlike similar depositional processes today. The volcanic sediments are not simply air-fall from a volcanic cloud; rapidly moving water currents were required to transport this volume of material. The thick layer of sediments must be from a distant source, for no local source matches, and the formation can be traced laterally for hundreds of miles. No sluggish stream built up the strata of the Two Medicine Formation.
The Edmontosaurus fossil that ICR purchased was offered at auction here in Dallas, but it had no bidders. ICR was able to negotiate a substantially reduced price, for which we are thankful. The auction brochure described the skeleton as "mounted on a beautifully designed minimalist base, custom fitted with high quality castors for ease of mobility." The base was described as "intelligently designed."
Isn't it interesting that anyone can recognize evidence of design except for those who evaluated this intricate skeleton? It evolved, according to evolutionary thinking, by random mutation and mindless natural selection, with no intelligence involved. ICR plans to house this specimen in a future museum on our Dallas campus, and we look forward to using it to counter such ludicrous claims.
* Dr. Morris is President of the Institute for Creation Research.
Cite this article: Morris, J. 2008. New Addition to Our Fossil Family. Act & Facts. 37 (12): 3.
