From the SelectedWorks of Jordan P Ballard 2013 Bones of Contention (Lubenow) PPT Jordan P Ballard Available at: https://works.bepress.com/jordan_ballard/8/
A Creationist Assessment of Human Fossils
Marvin Lubenow ThM from DTS MS in anthropology Studied human fossils for over 35 years Professor at Southern California Seminary
About paleoanthropology Thorough, comprehensive examination Mostly non-christian sources Includes definitions, charts, illustrations Points out assumptions This fossil takes millions of years to be buried. Playing the skeptic
PROBLEMS IN PALEOANTHROPOLOGY Classification The assignment Motivation to find a new fossil No direct access Darwin & Huxley Fossils kept hidden from public display and study Left with replicas
The myth in the minds of the public is that the human fossil material is readily available and is thoroughly studied by all who teach and write on the subject. The truth is that paleoanthropology is in the awkward position of being a science that is several steps removed from the very evidence upon which it claims to base its findings. ~Lubenow, 29
Unanswered questions Who was the first hominid? Why do we walk upright? Why are our brains so big? When did we first use tools? How did we get our modern minds? Why did we outlive our relatives? What genes make us human? Have we stopped evolving?
Circular reasoning Much of the information for human evolution comes from studying chimpanzees, but this begs the question by assuming that humans and chimpanzees share a common ancestor.
Fossil record What is not generally known is that this sequence [from chimpanzees to modern humans], impressive as it seems, is a very artificial and arbitrary arrangement because (1) Some fossils are selectively excluded if they do not fit well into the evolutionary scheme; (2) Some human fossils are arbitrarily downgraded to make them appear to be evolutionary ancestors when they are in fact true humans; and (3) Some nonhuman fossils are upgraded to make them appear to be human ancestors. ~Lubenow, 34
Nonconformist fossils Evolutionists work their own special magic on nonconformist fossils. With the waving of a magic wand, Homo erectus fossils can become sapiens or Neandertals and Homo sapiens fossils can become australopithecines. To us, this is a serious matter of intellectual integrity. The evolutionist does not see it that way. To him, evolution is true. Hence, fossils must be interpreted accordingly. ~Lubenow, 64
Piltdown Man Discovered in 1912 by Charles Dawson Proven to be a hoax in 1953 Orangutan jawbone + human skull Used in the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925 Whodunnit? Is science self-correcting?
Nebraska Man Discovered in 1922 by Harry Cook Single tooth 1927 ~ retracted; was a pig tooth
Java Man Discovered in 1891 by Eugene Dubois East Java, Indonesia aka Homo erectus Sketchy evidence & maps from Dubois Hidden fossils later revealed
Neandertals Subhuman, but closest to modern humans Often depicted with mental and cultural deficiencies Many similarities to aboriginal Australians Are aborigines subhuman? Many human-like evidences which are dismissed Use of tools Use of weapons Big game hunters Buried dead together in caves Grave goods How to explain the Great Leap Forward in cultural, art, tools, etc. if subhuman Lubenow: Neandertals were truly human
Evolution and Racism Is evolution inherently racist?
Darwin and Racism The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life
Darwin and Racism Voyage to Galapagos Landed at Tierre de Fuego at the tip of South America Encountered the Fuegians Took 3 back to the queen of England savages, wild beasts, animal-like
Tasmanian Aborigines Discovered by whites in 1642 Very dark skin 1800s, fight broke out between whites and aborigines; Tasmanians brutally murdered The scientific community wanted Tasmanian skulls and body parts for measurements to prove that the Tasmanians were missing links, or evidence for evolution. Darwin s grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, was one of the first researchers to dig up an Aboriginal from the grave in order to stuff and exhibit the stolen body at the Royal College of Surgeons the first of over ten thousand Tasmanian skeletons and skulls that would be in the Royal College collection.the racism on the part of the scientific community was the direct result of evolutionary thinking. ~Lubenow, 150
Tasmanian Aborigines Truganini (d. 1876) Royal Society dig up bones and displayed in museum 1947 removed from display 1976 finally cremated
Ote Benga
African Eve Model Mitochondial eve We are all African. Original African pair Eliminates developing races Human evolution came to a halt suddenly Lubenow ~ exercise in political correctness
Other Issues Radiometric dating Non-human fossils (homo habilis) Human-chimpanzee DNA Fixity of species ( after their kinds 10x) Evidence for a young earth Problems in evolution of language
A Creationist Assessment of Human Fossils