Dinosaur Detection, Part II

In our clue last week, we discussed Theropods (dinosaurs like T-rex and velociraptor), which evolutionists believe evolved into birds.  However, the ichnofossils do not support this idea, as velociraptor and bird footprints have been found right next to each other in Cretaceous layers in Wyoming.  These footprints had layers above them, so they could not have been contaminated by modern bioturbation, meaning the disturbance of modern creatures in older layers.  The idea of turning scales into the intricate feathers birds need to fly would also be an enormous obstacle in dinosaur to bird evolution.

God created dinosaurs, originally all vegetarian, just about six thousand years ago.  Since dinosaurs, by definition, are land animals (sorry, pterodactyl and plesiosaurus are not technically dinosaurs), they were created on day five of creation week, the very same day that God created Adam and Eve.  We have many ancient legends and depictions of dragons from all over the world, like the Beowulf, Asian art, and the Ica stones from Peru, all of which seem very similar to dinosaurs.  The word dinosaur was not invented until 1841 by Sir Richard Owen, who was a creationist, so it is very likely that “dragon” was the ancient word for dinosaur.  As I have discussed previously, Mary Schwietzer found soft-tissue in dinosaur bones and Hugh Miller C-14 dated a collection of dinosaur bones getting “dates” of around 40 thousand years, showing the dinosaur are not really millions of years old.

No discussion on ichnofossils in vertebrate paleontology could be complete without mentioning the most important site for footprints of this type: Glen Rose, Texas.  The Paluxy River bed in Glen Rose has had the largest excavation of footprints in the nation, including footprints of and Acrocanthosaurus (a type of theropod), a Sauropod, and, most controversial, human footprints.  The Taylor Trail, which was excavated in 1969 by Stan Taylor, consists of a trail of theropod footprints (usually attributed to Acrocanthosaurus) crossed at an angle by a trail of 14 human footprints, all appearing in the normal left-right pattern we would expect.

The Alvis Delk print was discovered in the Paluxy River in 2000, showing the footprint of a theropod stepping into the edge of an easily identified human footprint.  X-ray scans were used to check the validity of the Alvis Delk print, checking where the changes in density occurred in the rock.  When a human and/or dinosaur steps on a section of mud, the mud directly below the weight bearing areas of the feet compress more than the mud in the surrounding area, leaving the mark of the footprint in the density of the rock as well as in the impression on top of it.  The change in density in the x-ray scans on the Alvis Delk print lined up exactly with where they should be if the print was genuine.  Also, the print was covered in another layer of sediment, ensuring its validity.  Next week we will conclude our mystery case.