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The Fossil Record
The fossil record shows that evolution has not taken place:
- “Abrupt appearance” is always seen –
the oldest fossils are already fully formed
- Many complex creatures are found in so-called “Cambrian” rocks (near the oldest), without a trace of any ancestors
Notes:
If evolution cannot be documented in the laboratory, the only other place to find it would be in the record of the earth’s history. However, the fossil record clearly shows that macro-evolution has not taken place. The oldest fossils of a particular plant or animal are always fully-formed (not some simpler version), and look identical in all significant aspects to the same plant or animal living today (although many fossil types are extinct).
The near-oldest rocks, so-called “Cambrian” rocks, contain many complex creatures, like Trilobites (now extinct). They are fully-formed, and there is not the slightest trace of a more primitive ancestor to be found in the older, “Precambrian” rocks. This period in evolutionary earth history is called the “Cambrian Explosion” because of the vast number of new life forms that appear abruptly.
What is true between the Pre-Cambrian and Cambrian ages is also true between every other age - no transitional forms are found! The most frequently cited “intermediate form”, the reptile/bird “Archaeopteryx” is really a bird that has some reptilian features (like teeth). It has a “mosaic” of traits (some bird, some reptile), but each trait is fully-formed (including the feathers). There are animals alive today that are mosaics (e.g. the duckbill platypus). A true reptile/bird intermediate would show reptilian scales “half-way” transformed into feathers.