Geologic Column and its fossil

Geologic Column and its fossil The fossils which are found around the world give scien- tists an accurate picture of species which existed in the past. Fossils are generally found in sedimentary rocks. Most scientists believe that these rock deposits were formed over many millions of years. A classification system has been devised which dates rocks by the type of fossils in them. Specific fossil remains are used to classify and date each layer of rock. The less complex early forms of life would be found in the oldest rocks. Inverti- brates would be in rocks older than those containing vertebrates. The fossils used for this dating method are called index fossils. The resulting layers of rock and their corresponding dates are called the Geologic Column. The Geologic Column is generally represented vertically with the oldest rocks appearing at the bottom. Each layer repres- ents a time period in the earth’s history. Scientists generally feel that it has taken hundreds of millions of years for these layers of fossils to have accumulated. It should be mentioned at this point that the Geologic Column is not found in its entirety throughout the world. In many places there are large gaps and dis- continuities in the column. At other locations the oldest rock strata appear on the surface and the younger layers are in an inverted order below the surface. (Morris-Parker 198) The oldest sedimentary rocks known to contain any preserved remains are the Cambrian Rocks. These rocks are considered to be as old as six hundred million years. These rocks contain life forms such as corals, jellyfish, crustaceans, trilobites, and brachiopods. In fact, scientists have found every one of the major invertibrate life forms in the Cambrian Rocks. Many of these fossils are highly complex. Researchers have also found trilobites with their eyes in excellent fossilized condition (Levi-Setti 24). Trilobites are remark- able creatures which are now extinct. They are marine invertebrates which varied in size from several inches to over one foot. Scien- tists have used the electron microscope to study the remains of these prehistoric animals. The geometric precision of their eyes is starling (Levi-Setti 33). Some authorities believe that the trilobite had vision which was as good as we have today (Gish WFSI). What an amazingly intricate organism to find in the Cambrian Rock layer! Darwin believed that one of the major obstacles to his theory was “organs of extreme perfection and complication “(Darwin 223). He marveled at the eye’s ability to focus and adjust for various levels of light, as well as its corrections for sperical and chromatic aberration (Darwin 224). The discovery of the complexity of trilobites is remarkable when it is considered that Cambrian Rocks are the oldest sediment- ary rocks and should therefore have the simplest forms of life. Based on the evolution model the oldest rocks will have fossils of primitive life forms. This does not appear to follow the evolu- tion model. Scientists are hard pressed to explain the appearance of such a complex species in such extremely old rocks. How does this discovery fit in with the requirements of the creation model? The creationist believes that highly intricate forms of life appeared abruptly. This finding is favorable to the position of the creationist. If the Cambrian Rocks contain the oldest known fossil remains, what can we expect to find in Precambrian Rocks? Before answering that question, let’s consider what might be possible based on our two model approach to origins. Evolution requires long time periods and slow gradual change. Therefore, based on the evolu- tion model we would expect to find simple forms of life which lived prior to Cambrian times. The older rocks should contain evidence of the ancestors of trilobites and brachiopods. The continuity of slow and gradual change should be maintained in the evidence found in the sedimentary rocks. On the other hand, the creation model would suggest a sudden appearance of complicated forms of life. Considering the creation model further , the Precambrian Rocks might contain other complex life forms or possibly no life forms at all. In fact scientists have not found any fossils in Precambian Rock (Gish 45). This supports the creation model and leaves evolution with a lack of data.