Cavemen

Origin of HumanityCavemen, Hominids,and the Fossil Record: 

Origin of Humanity Cavemen, Hominids, and the Fossil Record A Survey of Modern Christian Perspectives

Biblical Data: 

Biblical Data Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness . . .” Genesis 1:27 So God created (bara) man in his own image, in the image of God He created (bara) him, male and female He created (bara) them Genesis 2:7 The Lord God formed (yatsar) the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being

Biblical Data (continued): 

Biblical Data (continued) Genesis 2:22 Then the Lord God made (banah) a woman from the rib (sela) he had taken out of the man . . . Psalm 8:4-5 What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor

Biblical Data (continued)New Testament Passages: 

Biblical Data (continued) New Testament Passages Mark 10:6 [Jesus replied] . . . “But at the beginning of creation, God made them male and female” Matthew 19:4 “Haven’t you read”, He replied, “that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female” . . .

Biblical Data (continued)Dating Human Origins: 

Biblical Data (continued) Dating Human Origins Adequate, but Incomplete Genealogies Demonstrable gaps in the OT genealogies Ab, ben, and yalad Father / Grandfather / Great Grandfather, etc. Scriptural Genealogy Formats Sequence Patterns Only People of Notoriety Listed ~10,000 - 100,000 years ago

Paleo-Anthropological Data(The Fossil Record): 

Paleo-Anthropological Data (The Fossil Record) Tell me of these Ape-Men . . .

Slide8: 

Brain Size: 300-500 cc Bipedalism: Facultative Tools: No Fire Keeping: No Clothing: No Art / Body Orn’s: No Rel. Relics: No

Slide10: 

Brain Size: 300-500 cc Bipedalism: Facultative Tools: No Fire Keeping: No Clothing: No Art / Body Orn’s: No Rel. Relics: No

Slide12: 

Brain Size: 300-500 cc Bipedalism: Facultative Tools: ? (Oldowan) Fire Keeping: No Clothing: No Art / Body Orn’s: No Rel. Relics: No

Slide14: 

(Ergaster / Erectus / Heidelbergensis) Brain Size: 900-1000-1200 cc Bipedalism: Obligatory (Type I) Tools: Archulean Fire Keeping: No (?) Clothing: No Art / Body Orn’s: No Rel. Relics: No

Slide15: 

H. Neandertalensis (150-30 kya) Brain Size: 1300-1700 cc Bipedalism: Obligatory (Type I) Tools: Mousterian Fire Keeping: Yes (?) Clothing: No (?) Art / Body Orn’s: No Rel. Relics: No

Slide16: 

Brain Size: 1200-1500 cc Bipedalism: Obligatory (Type II) Tools: LSA-Modern Fire Keeping: Yes Clothing: Yes Art / Body Orn’s: Yes Rel. Relics: Yes H. Sapiens Sapiens (Modern Humans ~ <50 kya)

Competing Explanations: 

Competing Explanations Evolutionary Models Classic Model Multi-Regional Model Out of Africa Model Young Earth Creation Model Old Earth Creation Model

Competing Explanations: 

Competing Explanations Evolutionary Models Classic Model Multi-Regional Model Out of Africa Model Young Earth Creation Model Old Earth Creation Model

Competing Explanations: 

Competing Explanations Evolutionary Models Classic Model Multi-Regional Model Out of Africa Model Young Earth Creation Model Old Earth Creation Model

Competing Explanations: 

Competing Explanations Evolutionary Models Classic Model Multi-Regional Model Out of Africa Model Young Earth Creation Model Old Earth Creation Model

Competing Explanations: 

Competing Explanations Evolutionary Models Classic Model Multi-Regional Model Out of Africa Model Young Earth Creation Model Old Earth Creation Model

Young Earth Creation Model(Hominid Fossil Explanation): 

Young Earth Creation Model (Hominid Fossil Explanation) Recent Hominids = Modern Humans (Post-Babel) Homo Neandertalensis Homo Erectus (and more recent) More Ancient Hominids = Non Human Paranthropus Kenyanthropus Australopithecines Dates are Incorrect Modern dating methods are inaccurate (10 kya = Max)

Competing Explanations: 

Competing Explanations Evolutionary Models Classic Model Multi-Regional Model Out of Africa Model Young Earth Creation Model Old Earth Creation Model

Old Earth Creation Model(Fossil Record Explanation): 

Old Earth Creation Model (Fossil Record Explanation) Only Homo sapiens sapiens = Modern Man Special Creation . . . ~ 40-60 kya (10-150 kya) Only Spirit Creature made in Image of God . . . (Adam) All Other Hominids = Non-Human Creatures All Hominids are Special Creations (No Descent w/ Mod.) No Genetic Contribution to Human Genome Modern Humans all Descendants of Adam No Theistic Evolution (Adam = Special Fiat Creation) No Spirit “Breathed” into a Highly Evolved Hominid

Testing Evolutionary Models Need Data to Establish . . .: 

Testing Evolutionary Models Need Data to Establish . . . Verifiable Evolutionary Pathways Transitional Intermediates Gradual Appearance of Human Traits Mechanism to Produce Change Genetic Contribution to Human Genome from “Precursor” Hominid Species

Testing Evolutionary Models: 

Testing Evolutionary Models

The Classic Model for Human Evolution Depends on Neandertals giving rise to Modern Humans . . . : 

The Classic Model for Human Evolution Depends on Neandertals giving rise to Modern Humans . . . So . . . What were the Neandertals? And did they give rise to Modern Humans?

Physical Differences Between Neandertals and Humans: 

Physical Differences Between Neandertals and Humans Large front teeth Brow ridge Receding forehead Brain shape Large eye sockets Chin receding

Physical Differences Between Neanderthals and Humans: 

Physical Differences Between Neanderthals and Humans Flatter Skull Base Higher Larynx Thicker Bones Barrel Chests Shorter Limbs

Physical Differences Between Neanderthals and Humans: 

Physical Differences Between Neanderthals and Humans Large eye sockets Brain Shape Large Nose Large Sinuses Large Front Teeth

Could Neandertals be Old, Diseased or Deformed Humans?(Rickets, Arthritis, etc.): 

Could Neandertals be Old, Diseased or Deformed Humans? (Rickets, Arthritis, etc.) No . . . All these physical differences are present in Neanderthal infants and children.

Molecular Paleontology: 

Molecular Paleontology Neandertal Mitochondrial DNA

Neandertal mtDNA Summary: 

Neandertal mtDNA Summary Neandertals mtDNA sequences differ from human mtDNA at an average of 26 sites . . . (Large Difference) Both Humans and Neandertals display limited genetic diversity within their own species (3.43 & 3.73) Conclusions: Neandertals have NO genetic (or evolutionary) connection to H. sapiens. (Made no contribution to human gene pool) Low genetic diversity among both humans and neandertals indicate both developed from small populations in the relatively recent past

Testing Evolutionary Models: 

Testing Evolutionary Models

Testing Evolutionary Models: 

Testing Evolutionary Models

Genetic Data Contradicts The Multi-Regional Hypothesis: 

Genetic Data Contradicts The Multi-Regional Hypothesis Study 1 African, Asian and Oceanic peoples originated from same population group 35-89 kya Gibbons, A. 2001. Modern Men Trace Ancestry to African Migrants. Science 292: 1051-1052 Study 2 90% of founding population must come from Africa, and this population must be small Yuehai Ke, et al. 2001. African Origin of Modern Humans in East Asia: A tale of 12,000 Y-Chromosomes. Science 292: 1151-1153

Homo erectus Development: 

Homo erectus Development Homo erectus developed in a fashion similar to great apes – not modern humans Homo erectus developed from infanthood to adulthood rapidly

“Descent” of Modern Humans: 

“Descent” of Modern Humans “Most of the familiar specimens of Homo erectus and of archaic humans known from the Pleistocene were not members of populations ancestral to us” Harpending, H.C., et al. 1998. Genetic traces of ancient demography. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95: 1961-1967.

Slide43: 

Testing Evolutionary Models

Slide44: 

Testing Evolutionary Models

Problems with the Out-of-AfricaEvolutionary Hypothesis: 

Problems with the Out-of-Africa Evolutionary Hypothesis 400 ky gap between H. antecessor / H. heidelbergensis and the first H. sapiens No transitional intermediates or gradual appearance of human traits in fossil record Sudden appearance of . . . (Discontinuities) Bipedalism Human Culture and Advanced Tool Use (technology) Artistic Expression and Body Ornamentation Religious Rites, Relics and Alters

Slide46: 

Testing Evolutionary Models

Testing Evolutionary Models Need Data to Establish . . .: 

Testing Evolutionary Models Need Data to Establish . . . Verifiable Evolutionary Pathways Transitional Intermediates Gradual Appearance of Human Traits Mechanism to Produce Change Genetic Contribution to Human Genome from “Precursor” Hominid Species 0 for 5

Testing the Young Earth Creation Model: 

Testing the Young Earth Creation Model Recent Hominids = Modern Humans (Post-Babel) Homo Neandertalensis Homo Erectus (and more recent) More Ancient Hominids = Non Human Paranthropus Kenyanthropus Australopithecines Dates are Incorrect Modern dating methods are inaccurate (10 kya = Max)

Paleo-Anthropological Dating Techniques: 

Paleo-Anthropological Dating Techniques Radiocarbon (C14) and Potassium-Argon dating constitute the most accurate methods Radiocarbon accurate and reliable only for organic material up to ~ 50 kya Potassium-Argon accurate and reliable for material over 200 kya Practical gap for reliable dates between 50 and 200 kya . . . (150,000 year gap) Thermoluminescence, Electron Spin Resonance, and Uranium-series dating fill gap but are somewhat unreliable

Reliability of Dating Methods Outside of Methodological Limitations: 

Reliability of Dating Methods Outside of Methodological Limitations Radiometric dating has been in widespread use for over half a century. There are over forty such techniques using different radioactive elements. It has become increasingly clear that these techniques agree with each other and present a coherent picture. Many Christians are completely unaware of the great number of laboratory measurements that show these methods to be consistent. Adapted from Wiens RC, Radiometric Dating: A Christian Perspective, 2002 Conclusion . . . Radiometric dating techniques are generally reliable and accurate within their calculated margins of error despite certain methodological limitations.

Testing the Young Earth Creation Model: 

Testing the Young Earth Creation Model Recent Hominids = Modern Humans (Post-Babel) Homo Neandertalensis Homo Erectus (and more recent) More Ancient Hominids = Non Human Paranthropus Kenyanthropus Australopithecines Dates are Incorrect Modern dating methods are inaccurate (10 kya = Max) 1 for 3

Old Earth Creation Model(Fossil Record Explanation): 

Old Earth Creation Model (Fossil Record Explanation) Only Homo sapiens sapiens = Modern Man Special Creation . . . ~ 40-60 kya (10-150 kya) Only Spirit Creature made in Image of God . . . (Adam) All Other Hominids = Non-Human Creatures All Hominids are Special Creations (No Descent w/ Mod.) No Genetic Contribution to Human Genome Modern Humans all Descendants of Adam No Theistic Evolution (Adam = Special Fiat Creation) No Spirit “Breathed” into a Highly Evolved Hominid

Testing the Old Earth Creation Model: 

Testing the Old Earth Creation Model Only Homo sapiens sapiens = Modern Man Special Creation . . . ~ 40-60 kya (10-150 kya) Only Spirit Creature made in Image of God . . . (Adam) All Other Hominids = Non-Human Creatures All Hominids are Special Creations (No Descent w/ Mod.) No Genetic Contribution to Human Genome Modern Humans all Descendants of Adam No Theistic Evolution (Adam = Special Fiat Creation) No Spirit “Breathed” into a Highly Evolved Hominid 3 for 3

Review of Basic Scientific Predictionsfor the Origin of Humanity: 

Review of Basic Scientific Predictions for the Origin of Humanity Biblical Creation Model

Basic Scientific Predictions (Creation Model): 

Basic Scientific Predictions (Creation Model) Similarities with other animals Anatomical, Physiological, Biochemical – “asa” Creation Discontinuities in the fossil record - Sudden appearances of new bio-forms and artifacts H. sapiens Fossils, Human Culture, Technological Advances, Bipedalism, Brain Size, Art, Ornamentation, Spiritual Activity H. sapiens traceable to a single man and a single woman of relatively recent origin Mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosome studies consistent with this prediction

Slide56: 

Evidence-Based Conclusion

The Primitive game of “Kiss-the-mammoth-and-run”OR . . . The first “Double-Dog-Dare”: 

The Primitive game of “Kiss-the-mammoth-and-run” OR . . . The first “Double-Dog-Dare”

And then, just as he predicted, Thag became the channeler for a two million-year-old gibbon named Gus: 

And then, just as he predicted, Thag became the channeler for a two million-year-old gibbon named Gus

Before paper and scissors: 

Before paper and scissors

50,000 B.C. . . Gak Eisenberg invents the first and last silent mammoth whistle: 

50,000 B.C. . . Gak Eisenberg invents the first and last silent mammoth whistle

Maybe we should write that spot down: 

Maybe we should write that spot down