More than thirty years of Dr. Baugh's life have been spent researching the atmospheric conditions before the Genesis Flood, and he is Research Director for the world's first Hyperbaric Biosphere. He serves as Discoverer and Excavation Director of fourteen dinosaurs, including Acrocanthosaurus in Texas and Diplodocus in Colorado. Dr. Baugh is also co-discoverer and co-excavator of a unique South American ammonite that has not been described in the technical literature. He has led three scientific expeditions into the rain forests of Papua New Guinea in search of living pterodactyls. He will share with us some interesting recent data on human/dinosaur footprints.
Dr. Baugh's Degrees include:
Doctor of Theology (2005, Louisiana Baptist University),
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (1989, Pacific College of Graduate Studies), Masters in Archaeology (1984, Pacific College of Graduate Studies),
Bachelor of Arts (1961, Burton College), and
Graduate of Theology (1959, Baptist Bible College, Valedictorian).
Dr. Baugh has extensive experience as a lecturer in Scientific Creation, including appearances at Texas A & M University, University of Texas at Arlington, Western Illinois University, Texas Christian University, Southern Methodist University, and many others.
He appeared on TV Network Specials: "The Incredible Discovery of Noah's Ark" , "Ancient Secrets in the Bible," and "The Mysterious Origins of Man." Dr. Baugh has made over 70 guest appearances representing scientific creation on Trinity Broadcasting and hosts a weekly television program. He has also authored several books.
About Ken Ham
Since moving to America in 1987, Australian Ken Ham—president and founder of Answers in Genesis-U.S., the highly acclaimed Creation Museum (over one million visitors in less than three years), and visionary behind the construction of a full-size Noah’s Ark—has become one of the most in-demand Christian conference speakers and talk show guests. (In one year alone he appeared on: Fox’s The O’Reilly Factor and Fox and Friends in the Morning; CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, ABC’s
A biblical apologist, Ken gives numerous faith-building talks to tens of thousands of children and adults each year (he receives many hundreds of invitations to speak annually) on such topics as the reliability of the Bible, how compromise over biblical authority has undermined society and even the church (which is seeing a massive exodus of young people), witnessing more effectively, dinosaurs, “races,” etc. Ken co-founded AiG in 1994 with the purpose of upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse.
Ken is the author of many books on Genesis, including the new eye-opening book , co-authored by renowned researcher Britt Beemer on why so many young people have left the church, the best-selling The Lie: Evolution, and a number of children’s books (Dinosaurs of Eden, D is for Dinosaur, A is for Adam, etc.). Other recent co-authored books include Darwin’s Plantation: Evolution’s Racist Roots and War of the Worldviews, plus How Could a Loving God …? In 2011, Ken co-authored the provocative book Already Compromised about Christian colleges and how they treat the authority of the Bible.
Ken is heard daily on the radio feature Answers … with Ken Ham (broadcast on more than 900 stations—and dozens more worldwide), and is a frequent guest on national TV talk-show programs. Since the Creation Museum opened, he has been interviewed on CBS News Sunday Morning, The NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, and The PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer. He also writes articles for AiG’s popular website www.AnswersInGenesis.org.
Ken’s emphasis is on the relevance and authority of the book of Genesis to the life of the average Christian, and how compromise on Genesis has opened a dangerous door regarding how the culture and church view biblical authority. His Australian accent, keen sense of humor, captivating stories, and exceptional PowerPoint illustrations have made him one of North America’s most effective Christian communicators.
Ken is also able to reflect on some of the “hot button” topics of our day (e.g., the breakdown of the society and the family unit, “gay” marriage, school violence, creation/evolution in public schools, abortion, homosexual behavior, lawlessness, etc.) and relate them to the book of Genesis. In addition, he provides biblical and scientific answers to some of the most difficult questions people ask about the Christian faith, including:
How can we reclaim the culture for biblical truths?
Can we really trust the Bible from its very first verse?
How can we build a biblical worldview starting with Genesis?
How do we know there is a God?
Are dinosaurs mentioned in the Bible?
How can we evangelize more effectively?
Who was Cain’s wife?
Why do we see death and suffering (tsunamis, terrorist attacks, etc.) in this world?
Ken’s bachelor’s degree in applied science (with an emphasis on environmental biology) was awarded by the Queensland Institute of Technology in Australia. He also holds a diploma of education from the University of Queensland (a graduate qualification necessary for Ken to begin his initial career as a science teacher in the public schools in Australia).
In recognition of the contribution Ken has made to the church in the USA and internationally, Ken has been awarded three honorary doctorates: a Doctor of Divinity (1997) from Temple Baptist College in Cincinnati, Ohio, a Doctor of Literature (2004) from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and a Doctor of Letters (2010) from Tennessee Temple University.
Ken writes articles and helps edit AiG’s Answers magazine. He has produced a number of very popular video and audio series, including the new 12-part DVD series Foundations. Another video set is Answers Academy, a 13-week Sunday school curriculum written to help participants answer the questions our Western culture is asking about the authority and accuracy of the Bible and the relevance of Genesis. Another important series, Genesis of a Legacy, was produced in 2006. This 11-session series includes Ken and his brother, Steve, and it covers topics, questions, biblical insights, and practical parenting tips meant to encourage and equip parents to raise godly children in an ungodly world.
In May of 2007, Answers in Genesis finished its high-tech and acclaimed Creation Museum and education center in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area (on 50 scenic acres in Petersburg, Kentucky). The brainchild of Ken Ham, the state-of-the-art facility contains dozens of world-class exhibits—including impressive animatronic dinosaur models and planetarium—which are now on display inside the 70,000-sq-ft museum. In its first three years, the Creation Museum attracted the world's major media and over 1,000,000 guests. AiG will now be partnering to build the Ark Encounter, an attraction of nine themed areas with a full-scale Ark as its centerpiece, about 40 miles south of the museum.
Ken and his wife, Mally, reside in the Cincinnati area. They have six children and five grandchildren.
Dr. Fernandes discusses the UFO phenomenon and critiques it from a biblical perspective. He shows that, though the evidence seems to indicate that our planet is being visited, demonic decpetion appears to be at the root of these visitations.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Phil Fernandes is a Biblical apologist and lecturer. He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion degree from Greenwich University, and is the President of the Institute of Biblical Defense.
He has lectured and debated on numerous college campuses including: Princeton, University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), and the University of Washington. He has debated some of America's leading atheist thinkers such as Dr. Michael Martin (Professor of Philosophy, Boston University), Dan Barker, Jeff Lowder, and Elliot Ratzman.
This seminar was recorded during the Seattle Creation Conference - http://nwcreation.net/conference , August 2007 at Calvary Chapel of Lake Stevens, WA. The individual video can be purchased on our webstore or the entire conference may be obtained as a compilation of 10 disks.
Geological evidence for Noah's Flood will be presented, mainly for the last stage of the Flood as the water retreated off the continents. The Flood has left some startling traces on the surface of the earth in the form of erosional remnants, continental shelves, large-scale planation surfaces, quartzite rocks transported by water hundreds of miles from their nearest source, water gaps, pediments, and submarine canyons. All these geomorphic features are very difficult, if not impossible, to explain by the "slow processes over millions of years" alternative model.
Michael J. Oard (Meteorologist) received his Masters of Science degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Washington. He has recently retired from the (US) National Weather Service where he worked as a meteorologist/weather forecaster, and now dedicates much of his time to creation science research. Since 2001 he has served on the board of directors of the Creation Research Society.
Mike is a prolific author who has published numerous books and papers and in his field in widely recognized journals. He also travels all over the country for regular speaking engagements at creationist conferences and meetings. Mike Oard particularly specializes in topics such as evidence for Noah's flood, the Ice Age, and the mass extinction of the Wooly Mammoths.
The presentation is a hard-hitting look at the War of Worldviews facing Christians today, and examines the factors that have contributed to the secularization of US schools.
In 1 Peter 3:15 we are instructed to "Always be prepared to give an answer," and yet most Christian are unable to defend their faith through logic, reason, and empirical evidence. Using recent surveys and events to demonstrate the effects of evolutionism on society, this message will inspire those who attend toward scholarly pursuits in creation apologetics.
Also contained within this presentation are numerous illustrations of beauty and wonder made evident through the electron microscope that offer a testimony to the glory of God, but which hasn't been seen until modern times. With evolutionary indoctrination reaching epidemic proportions, these previously unseen treasures provide valuable tools for creation evangelism.
About the Speaker:
Christopher Wayne Ashcraft is a creation scientist, speaker, and educator. He obtained the Bachelor of Science in biology from Wayland Baptist University in 1989, a Master of Science in biology from Texas Tech University in 1996, and a Master of Education from the University of Washington in 2008.
Chris was a research technician for 12 years specialized in plant tissue culture and genetic transformation technology, and is now a high school science teacher at North Sound Christian School where he teaches Biology, Chemistry, and Creation Apologetics.
He moved from research into teaching in response to a call from God to work in creation science missions. He is firmly committed to researching and teaching creation apologetics and speaks periodically at churches, schools, and creation organizations in the Northwest United States. He is the founder of the Northwest Creation Network and the CreationWiki internet encyclopedia where he serves as senior administrator. He also organizes the Seattle Creation Conference
This seminar was recorded during the Seattle Creation Conference, August 2007 at Calvary Chapel of Lake Stevens, WA. The individual video can be purchased on our webstore or the entire conference may be obtained as a compilation of 10 disks.
The Seattle Creation Conference is a regular event organized
Looks at the Big Bang and the Bible under the following headings: Secular compromises
Scientific problems with the big bang
Missing monopoles
The flatness problem
Inflating the complexities
Where is the antimatter?
Missing Population III stars
The collapse of the big bang
Learn more about Dr. Lisle at his Answers in Genesis webpage.
Dr. Jason Lisle graduated summa cum laude from Ohio Wesleyan University, where he double-majored in physics and astronomy and minored in mathematics. He did graduate work at the University of Colorado where he earned a master's degree and a PhD in astrophysics.
While there, Dr Lisle used the SOHO spacecraft to investigate motions on the surface of the sun as well as solar magnetism and subsurface weather. His thesis was entitled "Probing the Dynamics of Solar Supergranulation and its Interaction with Magnetism." Among other things, Dr. Lisle discovered a previously unknown polar alignment of supergranules (solar convection cells) and discovered evidence of solar giant cells. He has also authored a number of papers in both secular and creation literature.
In graduate school, Dr. Lisle developed a passion to share the message that God's Word is true from the very first verse. He began giving talks encouraging people to trust in the Bible and not compromise with the secular ideas of millions of years of evolution.
Dr. Lisle joined the staff of Answers in Genesis in 2004 and is now helping AiG (and the creation movement as a whole) refute the evolutionary account of origins using his strong science background. He has designed several exciting planetarium programs for the Stargazer's Room at the Creation Museum in Northern Kentucky (near Cincinnati, Ohio). Among these programs is the very popular Created Cosmos—an examination of the amazing size of God's universe.
Dr. Lisle has always had a keen interest in science and enjoys reading books on a wide range of scientific topics. Astronomy and physics have been areas of special interest. One of his favorite hobbies is viewing the beautiful night sky through a telescope. His areas of interest in creation studies are in developing models of cosmology and stellar aging. Creationist thinking in these areas is still very preliminary.
Dr. Lisle has authored a number of books and articles. His books include Taking Back Astronomy, The Ultimate Proof of Creation, and Old-Earth Creationism on Trial, co-authored with Tim Chaffey. He is also a contributing author for The New Answers Books volumes 1 and 2. In addition to many articles in Answers magazine, Dr. Lisle's online articles include the Logical Fallacy Series, Contradictions: Introduction, Evolution: The Anti-Science, Atheism: An Irrational Worldview, and many others, including our popular web feedbacks.
Dr. Lisle is an excellent and broad-ranging communicator, able to articulate challenging concepts in easy-to-understand terms. In addition to in-depth presentations on distant starlight, Einstein's relativity, and problems with the big bang, Dr. Lisle also has a number of captivating, well-illustrated, layman-level presentations, covering a range of topics from astronomy and general science to apologetics and dinosaurs.
Ideas are often reinforced by means of the frequent use and display of memorable icons. There is no better known icon for the theory of evolution than the picture that demonstrates an ape walking on four limbs and then through a series of transitions to a human being walking on two legs. Every school science textbook shows this icon. But there are other icons that are often used to demonstrate the theory of evolution despite the fact that the principles and concepts conveyed by the icons have long since been proven to be false, even by scientists who claim to be evolutionists. And yet these icons still appear in many of the popular text books used in our public schools today. If you have children or grandchildren in public schools, you need to know what these icons are and how they are being used to support the theory of evolution.
This seminar was recorded during the Seattle Creation Conference, Aug 10-12, 2006 at Overlake Christian Church, Redmond WA. They may be viewed free online or downloaded to your computer. Individual DVDs may also be purchased on our webstore individually or the entire conference may be purchased as a compilation of 8 disks.:
The Seattle Creation Conference is a regular event organized by the Northwest Creation Network. For information about the upcoming conferences visit the Seattle Creation Conference website, or contact the NWCN to have us organize the next creation conference at your Church.
About the Speaker: Dr. Heinz Lycklama earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics and a Ph. D. degree in experimental Nuclear Physics from McMaster University in Canada in 1965 and 1969 respectively. Since then he has worked in the telecommunications and computer software industries at Bell Telephone Laboratories in NJ and at Interactive Systems Corporation in CA. In 1992 Dr. Lycklama formed Open Systems Technology Associates (OSTA) and now offers his technology management services to various start ups in the high technology industry.
Being challenged in his Christian faith by what he was taught in university in the 1960’s, Dr. Lycklama has always maintained an active interest in the Creation vs. Evolution controversy. As his children reached school age and began to ask questions about what they were taught in school, he became more involved in researching the topic of Creation vs. Evolution. He has developed a series of lectures on this topic over the years and presented the material in Sunday school classes, to college students, during church services and also at an overseas seminary.
Dr. Lycklama has taught through a number of the books of the Bible over the years, including Proverbs, Esther, Job, Jeremiah, Daniel, Romans, Philemon, Hebrews, Revelation, and various Psalms and Minor Prophets. His teaching also includes topics such as prophecy, angels, heaven, Christian worldview, cults, culture, Y2K, and various Old Testament prophets. With his knowledge of the Bible, and of science and engineering, Dr. Lycklama has continued to develop and present new material regarding the Creation v. Evolution controversy. He lectures regularly with Powerpoint Presentations that will help the believer defend the Bible’s teaching on Creation and challenge the skeptic to take an honest look at what the Bible AND science have to say about Creation.
Dr. Jason Lisle gives viewers a fast paced course on logic. In addition to reviewing numerous logical fallacies, Dr. Lisle gives examples of how evolutionists often use fallacious arguments in arguing for their position. Learning to recognize these fallacies provides a whole new opportunity for defending the Christian faith and arguing for the truth of creation.
Please visit Rocky Mountain Creation Fellowship's website at http://YoungEarth.Org for more videos from creationist speakers and scientists and info on upcoming speakers and events.
How Big Is God is an exciting multimedia presentation featuring audio and visual effects, computer animation, and a laser stars display. It will take you on a fascinating journey exploring the size of the Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy, and ultimately the entire universe! You may never be the same. This presentation has been widely received at Homeschooling Conventions, Christian Camps, and churches by people of all ages.
This video file is a 60 minute seminar by Diego Rodriquez that was recorded during the Seattle Creation Conference October 2009.
Diego Rodriquez is a creation speaker, homeschooling father, and minister. His real passion in the ministry is teaching and supporting the infallibility of the Word of God. This has led him into the creation ministry and to the founding of the 4th Day Alliance creation astronomy ministry. The 4th Day Alliance is an international creation astronomy ministry with over 2600 members in all 50 states and 29 countries. The purpose of the ministry is to "use astronomy for the glory of God."
New alleles are accumulating rapidly in living populations and cellular mechanisms have not been adequately sought to explain the intentional production of these changes. Homologous DNA recombination occurs in all organisms and is at the heart of genetics. Since its discovery during meiosis, these reactions were assumed to occur randomly along the length of chromosomes, and only involved with gene crossovers. It is now well known that meiotic recombination is not the random process it was originally assumed to be, and controlled by highly organized regulatory systems. In addition, a form of homologous recombination has been discovered which is responsible for creating diversity in variable genes, and was recently linked to single base-pair substitutions in immunoglobulins. New allele formation may indeed be the key to explaining the rapid production of distinct breeds, but their presence in the genome has been assumed the result of random mutations. Therefore, the ability of the cell to purposefully edit genes requires evaluation.
This video is a 64 minute seminar recorded by the Design Science Association in Portland, OR July 2003. The presentation is based on a research paper of the same title.
Christopher Wayne Ashcraft, M.S., M.Ed. is a creation scientist, speaker, and educator. He obtained the Bachelor of Science in biology from Wayland Baptist University in 1989, a Master of Science in biology from Texas Tech University in 1996, and a Master of Education from the University of Washington in 2008.
Chris was a research technician for 12 years specialized in plant tissue culture and genetic transformation technology, and is now a high school science teacher at North Sound Christian School where he teaches Biology, Chemistry, and Creation Apologetics.
He moved from research into teaching in response to a call from God to work in creation science missions. He is firmly committed to researching and teaching creation apologetics and speaks periodically at churches, schools, and creation organizations in the Northwest United States. He is the founder of the Northwest Creation Network and the CreationWiki internet encyclopedia where he serves as senior administrator. He also organizes the Seattle Creation Conference.
What would the Earth be like without animals? They are indeed a very special part of the creation that provide endless fascination and bring much love into our lives. Unknown animals are discovered each year and the complicated world of these creatures has been made clearer by recent scientific discoveries. This presentation focuses on the amazing gifts of animals that illustrate the ingenuity of their design and creative power of our Father in heaven.
This video file is a 43 minute seminar by Chris Ashcraft that was recorded during the Seattle Creation Conference, October 2009.
Christopher Wayne Ashcraft , M.S., M.Ed. is a creation scientist, speaker, and educator. He obtained the Bachelor of Science in biology from Wayland Baptist University in 1989, a Master of Science in biology from Texas Tech University in 1996, and a Master of Education from the University of Washington in 2008.
Chris was a research technician for 12 years specialized in plant tissue culture and genetic transformation technology, and is now a high school science teacher at North Sound Christian School where he teaches Biology, Chemistry, and Creation Apologetics.
He moved from research into teaching in response to a call from God to work in creation science missions. He is firmly committed to researching and teaching creation apologetics and speaks periodically at churches, schools, and creation organizations in the Northwest United States. He is the founder of the Northwest Creation Network and the CreationWiki internet encyclopedia where he serves as senior administrator. He also organizes the Seattle Creation Conference.
The story of the Deluge, or the Global Flood of Noah, permeates nearly every culture in the world in some form. While details vary among different cultures, the same basic elements occur in all versions. In Flood Legends you will discover detailed analysis of myth, legend, and historical details that are clues for a common, global event. Unique research from a comparative study supporting the biblical history.
Despite the striking similarities of these accounts, some mythologists have looked at the minor differences in the stories and declared: "This never happened!" There is another alternative: to accept that the different versions all refer to the same event, passed on from generation to generation, through various developing cultures. Through these legends, this epic event has remained woven into the tapestry of cultural history - sharing not just the story of survival, but the power of obedience, and the fulfillment of God's enduring promise. Take an informative and revealing journey across the globe as you explore legends from: Africa, Australia, Babylon, British Columbia, Burma, China, Europe, Greece, India, Indonesia, New Guinea, North America, South America, and more.
Author: Charles Martin
Number of Pages: 157 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0-89051-553-2
Publisher: New Leaf Press
Subject Matter: Creation and the flood
Age Relativity: Everyone
Binding: Paperback
Price: $10.95
Mystery Of Acambaro
In 1945 Waldemar Julsrud, a German immigrant and knowledgeable archeologist, discovered clay figurines buried at the foot of El Toro Mountain on the outskirts of Acambaro, Guanajuato, Mexico. Eventually over 33,000 ceramic figurines were found near El Toro as well as Chivo Mountain on the other side of town. Similar artifacts found in the area are identified with the Pre-classical Chupicuaro Culture (800 BC to 200 AD).
The authenticity of Julsrud find was challenged because the huge collection included dinosaurs. Many archeologists believe dinosaurs have been extinct for the past 65 million years and man knowledge of them has been limited to the past 200 years. If this is true, man could not possibly have seen and modeled them 2,500 years ago.
During the years 1945 to 1946,Carlos Perea was Director of Archeology, Acambaro zone, for the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. In a recorded interview he described Julsrud excavations as unauthorized, as were many similar discoveries made by local farmers, but he had no doubt that the finds were authentic. He acknowledged that he examined the figurines, including dinosaurs, from many different sites. He was present when official excavations were conducted by the National Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. They found many figurines, including dinosaurs, which he described in detail.
In 1954 the Mexican government sent four well known archeologists to investigate. A different but nearby site was selected and a meticulous excavation was begun. Six feet down they found numerous examples of similar figurines and concluded that Julsrud find was authentic. However, three weeks later their report declared the collection to be a fraud because of the fantastic representation of man and dinosaur together.
In 1955 Charles Hapgood, respected1 Professor of Anthropology at the University of New Hampshire, conducted an elaborate investigation including extensive radiometric dating. He was accompanied by Earl Stanley Gardner, former District Attorney of the city of Los Angeles, California and the creator of Perry Mason. They falsified the claim that Julsrud manufactured the figurines, by excavating under the house of the Chief of Police, which was built 25 years before the Julsrud arrived in Mexico. Forty three more examples of the same type were found. Three radiocarbon tests were performed by Isotopes Incorporated of New Jersey resulting in dates of 1640 BC, 4530 BC and 1110 BC. Eighteen samples were subjected to thermoluminescent testing by the University of Pennsylvania, all of which gave dates of approximately 2500 BC. These results were subsequently withdrawn when it was learned that some of the samples were from dinosaurs.
In 1990 an investigation was conducted by Neal Steedy, an independent archeologist who's livelihood depends on contract work from the Mexican government. He arbitrarily selected an excavation site considerably removed from the Julsrud site. Chards were found but no figurines. He commissioned radiocarbon tests for samples from the Julsrud Collection which produced a range of dates from 4000 to 1500 years ago. Then he decided to ignore the results because he claimed the figurines were too soft to last more than 20 years in the ground. He also ignored the fact that many of the acknowledged Chupicuaro pieces are of the same consistency and they survived just fine. Of course, some pieces in the Julsrud collection are beautifully fired. Steedy's effort does more to support Julsrud collection than to refute it. He effectively demonstrates the determination of the establishment to defend evolutionary dogma in the face of the devastating implications of this truly significant find.
(footnote 1: In the forward to the book, Earth’s Shifting Crust, Albert Einstein said Hapgood’s concept could be of "great importance to everything that is related to the earth’s surface.") The Dinosaurs Of Acambaro
Initial report
by Dr Dennis Swift Ph.D.
Waldemar Juisrud, a German hardware merchant in Acambaro, Mexico, was riding his horse on the lower slope of El Toro (The Bull) Mountain on a sunny morning in July, 1944. Suddenly he spotted some partially exposed hewn stones and a ceramic object half buried in the dirt.
Waldemar dismounted and dug out of the ground the hewn stones as well as a few ceramic pieces. Juisrud, who was archaeologically astute, immediately realized that these ceramic pieces were unlike anything that he had seen. He was familiar with Tarascan, Aztec, Toltec, Mayan, Chupicauro, Inca and pre-Incan Indian civilizations. The objects he held in his hand were distinctively different than any other known Indian culture.
Waldemar in 1923 was co-discoverer with Padre Fray Jose Marie Martinez of the Chupicauro culture at a site just eight miles away. When a few ceramic fragments were found at Chupicauro, Julsrud hired diggers to excavate. This discovery brought world wide attention from archaeologists who at first mistakenly defined them as Tarascan, but later they were correctly identified as a whole New Indian culture -the Chupicauro. The Chupicauro civilization flourished from about 500 BC to 500 AD, roughly a thousand years before the Tarascan.
Julsrud at age sixty-nine was on the brink of making a discovery that may prove to be the greatest archaeological discovery ever made. Waldemar hired a Mexican farmer, Odilon Tinajero, to dig in the area where the ceramic figurines were found and bring him any other similar objects. Soon Tinajero had a wheelbarrow full of ceramic pottery that had been excavated on El Toro Mountain.
Charles Hapgood notes that "Julsrud was a shrewd businessman and he now made a deal with Tinajero that is very important for our story. He told Tinajero that he would pay him one peso (worth about 12 cents) for each complete piece he brought in."1
Tinajero was very careful with the excavation process so as not to break the pieces, and the broken ones were cemented together before being brought to Julsrud.
Among the thousands of artifacts excavated were items that turned Julsrud's mansion into "the museum that scared scientists." Sculpted in various colors of clay were figurines of dinosaurs, various races of people Eskimos, Asians, Africans, bearded Caucasians, Mongols, Polynesians, and objects that had cultural connections with the Egyptians, Sumerians as well as others.
The objects were made of clay and stone varying in size from a few inches long to statues three feet high and dinosaur objects four to five feet long. In the collection, that now numbered over 20,000 not one object could be found to be a duplicate another. Each of the clay pieces had been individually made, without molds, skillfully sculptured, and carefully decorated. In its collection of unequaled size, dinosaur figures numbering several hundred were scientifically identified as representing many species of dinosaurs. Dinosaurs including duck billed Trachodon, Gorgosaurus, horned Monoclonius, Ornitholestes, Titanosaurus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus Paleococincus, Diplodicus, Podokosaurus, Struthiomimos, Plesiosaur, Leviathan, Maiasaura, Rhamphorynchus, Iguanodon, Brachiosaurus, Pteranodon, Dimetrodon, Ichtyornis, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Rhynococephalia and other unknown or yet unidentified Dinosaur species.
These fantastic dinosaur figurines threaten the orthodox concepts and time scales in many fields of studies. Dr. Ivan T. Sanderson was amazed in 1955 to find that there was an accurate representation of its American dinosaur Brachiosaurus almost totally unknown at that time to the general public. Sanderson wrote about this particular Dinosaur in the Julsrud collection. "This figurine is a very fine, jet-black, polished-looking ware. It is about a foot tall. The point is it is an absolutely perfect representation of Brachiosaurus, known only from East Africa and North America. There are a number of outlines of the skeletons in the standard literature but only one fleshed out reconstruction that I have ever seen. This is exactly like it."
In the 1940s and 1950s as the Julsrud collection was amassing, the state of Guanajuato, Mexico was little explored paleontogically and archaeologically and remains so today. But here in the agriculturally rich Valley of Acambaro within the last four thousand years lived a civilization or civilizations that had an intimate "first hand knowledge" of dinosaurs.
In 1999 Dr. Dennis Swift and Dr. Don R. Patton journeyed to Acambaro about 180 miles North of Mexico City to explore its mystery personally. Soon after our arrival in Acambaro it was revealed that the Julsrud collection was locked up in storage and not available to the public. After a couple of days of negotiating with the Mayor, Secretary of Tourism and Director of the Acambaro museum permission was given to view a portion of the collection. The storage area was ceremonially unlocked by the mayor; dim light filtered through the shadows as we peered into the dusty rooms and boxes were piled to the ceilings with artifacts wrapped in newspaper and haphazardly placed in crumbling cardboard containers.
The conference room adjoining the Mayor's office was eventually offered to view the artifacts as two Mexican policemen stood guard watching us armed with AK 47 rifles and pistols. City employees scurried back and forth bringing boxes upstairs as Dr. Swift unwrapped ceramic figurines while Dr. Patton professionally photographed them.
The collection at its largest numbered 33,500 figurines including musical instruments, masks, idols, tools, utensils, statues, human faces of many different nationalities and dinosaurs. The figurines eventually took over the twelve room Julsrud mansion crammed into every corner and lining the floor until Julsrud had to sleep in the bathtub for that was the only place left.
Working at a fast pace, in a six hour period, a little more than eight hundred of the ceramic figurines were unwrapped. Fourteen boxes had been opened and emptied of their contents onto the conference table. Among the items were about seventy-five exquisite dinosaur pieces.
There was an absolutely astonishing breathless moment as one object was unwrapped and there before us a virtually perfect representation of an Iguanodon. This was one of the first dinosaur skeletons discovered. The early concept of it's appearance was almost comical in the mid 1800's. By the turn of the century it had improved considerably but fell far short of what we now know. The figurine exhibits knowledge we have gained only in the last few years. No hoaxer could have made this model in the 1940's.
The authors became overnight celebrities in Acambaro being interviewed on radio and TV stations in Mexico. Three major newspapers in the state of Guanajauto made us front page headline news in Mexico. I handed out Dinosaur T-shirts to politicians and suggested we could make Acambaro a tourist attraction with Dinosaurs of Acambaro T-shirts, postcards, and a dinosaur park. People would come from around the world to see the Acambaro collection with dinosaurs.
Dr, Swift accidentally touched off a national scandal as he inquired, "How many boxes do you have in storage?" I was told there are sixty-four and then I muttered to myself, "There were once 33,500 figurines and here there can only be 5,000 to 6,000 at most left." A newspaper reporter overheard the comment and the next week the authors again became front-page news as an investigation was launched into the whereabouts of the artifacts.
Julsrud also stirred up controversy over the collection but its gathering storm on the horizon of history took several years before releasing its full fury on the scientific community. Unconfined by academic restraints or burdened by preconceived ideas, he began to speculate as thousands of figurines were unearthed all baked by the open fire method. The most startling sensational feature of the collection was dinosaurs and humans in close relationship to one another. Waldemar pondered the very real possibility that these artifacts came from a culture much older than the Olmecs, Mayans or Chupicauro.
The collection contained evidence of a culture of vast antiquity. The objects pointed to a woodland setting and that the Acambaro area was once a heavily forested area instead of a dry valley as it is today. Geologists have found that the valley was once filled by a large lake, until about five or six thousand years ago. The site of the caches of ceramic pottery objects was once the beach of the lake. Originally the objects were buried in sand. The fauna, plants, trees, flowers represented the art of this unknown civilization was that of the woodland, lakes, and forest environment.
Julsrud tried to gain the attention of the scientific community but was met with indifference and academic silence. Since archaeologists, paleontologists, historians, and anthropologists chose to ignore him, Julsrud proceeded to publish his own book in Spanish Enigmas Del Pasado. Waldemar in print theorized that the colossal collection of ceramic and stone artifacts had been buried by a people who experienced catastrophes. He conjectured that there had been period of catastrophes that had changed the face of the earth and that there must have been ancient civilizations wiped out by the catastrophes. His most radical suggestion that clashed violently with scientists was that man had existed contemporaneously with the dinosaurs.
Although there was sound evidence that Julsrud was on to something of major scientific importance, he was ridiculed by the authorities when his book was published.
Was there a precursor civilization at Acambaro during the Ice Age as geologists reckon time? In the collection are unmistakable representations of the one humped American camel of the Ice Age, Ice Age horses, as well as of animals resembling rhinoceroses of extinct species. There are many figurines of giant monkeys such as actually existed in South America in the Pleistocene.
During excavations among the figurines were found some teeth. These teeth were taken to Dr. George Gaylord Simpson in 1955, at that time America's leading paleontologist who worked at the American Museum of Natural History. He identified them as the teeth of Equus Conversidans Owen, an extinct horse of the Ice Age. In the Julsrud collection are two figurines of Equus Conversidans Owen. The image of the Ice Age horse is also engraved on ceramic pots in the collection.
In 1947, upon the publication of Julsrud's book, a few newspapers and magazines in Mexico briefly reported on the discovery. But Julsrud could not get any scientists or authorities in Mexico to come and investigate the excavation of the figurines for themselves.
Finally in 1950 an American newspaperman, Lowel Harmer, ventured to Acambaro to inspect the collection. Harmer went to the site of El Toro mountain and photographed Julsrud and the digging while some dinosaur figurines were being extracted from under the Maquey roots in a new excavation. He reported, "'Anyone would feel that these great saurians could only be created by long gone artists who knew them well."2
The establishment scientists continued to act as if nothing of significance had happened in Acambaro that would threaten the evolutionary paradigm. Despite their efforts to downplay or explain away Julsrud's discoveries as that of an eccentric kook, the information was slowly leaking out to a wide audience that would take the Julsrud collection seriously and consider it a legitimate find.
William W. Russell, a Los Angeles newspaperman was soon on the scene. Russell himself photographed the excavations. Freshly dug pits produced objects, with roots entwining them.3 The objects must have been in the ground for many years for tree roots to grow around them at a depth of five or six feet beneath the earth. Russell reported that he judged from the evidence the objects to be very old.
The discoveries were now too far disseminated into the literature of the general public for scientists to intellectually suppress them with the cloak of academic silence. The professional archaeologists would have to deal with the irritating problem in Acambaro.
In 1952 Charles C. Dipeso of the Amerind Foundation felt the popular accounts circulating in the newspapers and magazines (such as Fate 3) prevailed upon him to begin an examination of the strange collection. Samples were sent and laboratory tests of them proved nothing." Dipeso thought the tests would dismiss the collection as a hoax because they would demonstrate them to be of modern manufacture.
The figurines could not be falsified merely because of the life forms representing Mesozoic reptiles. Dipeso in June of 1952 arrived in Acambaro to examine the collection owned by Juisrud. Taking no more than four hours he claimed to have viewed 32,000 items in the mansion. In fact, he asserted his examination was very precise and thorough to the extent that he detected the figurines depressions forming eyes, mouth, scales to be sharp and new. No dirt was packed in any of the crevices. 4
Dipeso must have been the bionic archaeologist, handling objects at speeds that exceed those of superman's. To have achieved this Herculean feat he would have to inspect 133 artifacts per minute steadily. In reality, it would take several days to unpack the massive jumble of intact, broken, and repaired pieces from the boxes. Once the boxed pieces were disentangled and set up with those already on display in the mansion, it would take many more days to even give a cursory examination.
Charles Dipeso said that further investigation revealed that a family living in the Acambaro area made the figurines during "the winter months while their fields lie idle." Dipeso believed his family of hoaxers got their ideas from the local cinema, comic books, newspapers or books from the local library.
It appears that even Dipeso did not truly believe the Julsrud collection was a fake. Before he returned to America to write the articles denouncing the collection, Julsrud stated,. "Mr. Dipeso declared to me that he had been completely convinced of the genuineness of my discovery. He wanted to buy for his museum a certain amount of pieces of Tarascan origin." Julsrud would not sell any of the artifacts but sent Dipeso to another man who dealt in antiquities. That dealer told Dipeso that Julsrud's ceramics came from a man and his three children who lived thirty minutes outside of town near the irrigation plant of Solis. Juisrud said, "Why then didn't Dipeso go there and find out the truth? The obligation of a serious scientist is to investigate himself and not give credence to the first man who tells him something."
In the first place, it was against the archaeological code of ethics and illegal for Dipeso to be acquiring Indian artifacts to take out of the country. Secondly, the black market antiquity dealer who sold Dipeso the artifacts had obvious motivation to make sure that Dipeso didn't buy from Julsrud, so we have no difficulty understanding why the dealer made up the story of the hoaxer family.
Francisco Aguitar Sanchaz, Superintendent of the National Irrigation Plant of Solis said, "That on the basis of four years intimate knowledge of the inhabitants of the entire area and of archaeological activity there, he could positively deny that there was any such ceramic production in the vicinity." The Municipal President of Acambaro, Juan Terrazaz Carranza, issued on July 23, 1952, an official statement No.1109 refuting Dipeso's allegation.
'This Presidency under my direction ordered that an investigation be carried out in this matter, and has arrived at the conclusion that in this municipal area there does not exist any persons who makes these kinds of objects."
There are many other problems associated with Dipeso's spurious allegations. He fails to mention that the ceramic artifacts of varying clay composition and styles had been individually and not mold-made. There were not only ceramic pieces but also stone pieces.
The ceramic collection has unsurpassed variety and beauty that has won the admiration of professional artists. No peasant family could possibly make thousands and thousands of non-duplicated sculptures with such skill and artistic finesse.
The famous Earle Stanley Gardner, whose detective mysteries became the basis for the famous Perry Mason television programs, was a forensic pathologist and attorney who served as district attorney for the city of Los Angeles for over 20. Mr. Gardner examined the collection and voiced the expert opinion of an experienced prosecuting attorney when he said that if a group of fakers had made all the pieces, their style would be recognizable on the whole collection.
"Every criminal, every criminal gang has its own method of operations. Police can often identify a criminal or gang from the method of a crime. It is obvious that no one individual or group could have made the pieces."
Charles Dipeso insisted in his insinuations that the collection was an elaborate hoax; the diggers making pits, burying the objects, and later digging them up. Dipeso finished his 1953 report with resounding confidence, "Our investigation proved conclusively that the figurines are not prehistoric and were not made by a superior prehistoric race that associated with dinosaurs."5
Much of Dipeso's report was absolutely unfounded or mere conjecture. What would be the motive for faking the objects? Economically, at 12 cents a figure, for a hoaxer to manufacture the objects, to say nothing of the additional costs to bury them and then dig them up again, Tinajero, a poor Mexican farmer, could never have afforded to make 33,500 figures under these circumstances.
The collection is not only skillfully made but contains dinosaur species that only a highly educated person who had burrowed deep into the recesses of paleontological literature could have known of the rare life forms. Odilon Tinajero had neither the artistic competence or educational background to perpetuate such a hoax. Tinajero left school in the fourth grade and could barely read or write.
Acambaro is a dry, arid, and relatively treeless area, yet all the ceramic objects had been baked in open fires. This would require many truckloads of firewood which is very expensive in Acambaro. It would have been consumed consistently. The smoke rising from the fire could not have possibly gone undetected by the entire community.
Professor Ramon Rivera of Acambaro High School's history faculty launched a month long investigation, interviewing people of all ages and occupations. Professor Rivera had a vast knowledge of the history of the area and close contacts with the inhabitants of Acambaro.
Rivera filed this report,
"The truth is that there is not the most remote idea suspicion of there having lived in Acambaro, or near or far from here, anyone who made in quantity or little by little such pieces. This fact has been investigated by all possible means, covering the time from more than a century ago up to now. There are old people living here who can still give details otherwise unrecorded from the date of the independence of this country."
Another consideration that is often ignored in the debate over the authenticity of the artifacts is that many of them are made of hard stones and not of ceramic. These stone objects show all the effects of erosion and the stone objects are of the same style as the ceramics and the erosion factor is almost impossible to fake.
In 1954, the storm of controversy surrounding the Julsrud collection reached such a crescendo of interest that official archaeologists of the Mexican Government decided to investigate. Dr Eduardo Noquera, director of Pre-Hispanic Monuments of the Instituto Nacional de Antropologiae Historia, was the lead investigator. Dr. Noguera was accompanied by Rafael Orellana, Ponciano Salazar, and Antonio Pompa y Pompa of the Instituto Nacional de Antropologiciae Historia, upon arrival they inspected the collection and proceeded to El Toro Hill to select undisturbed sites for excavation.
Dr. Noguera supervised the dig at a site that he and the other prominent Mexican archaeologists selected. After several hours of digging many figures were discovered. The archeologists declared that the pieces gave every sign of antiquity and of having been buried a long time ago. The figurines were dug up in the presence of a number of witnesses which included people from the local schools and members of the Chamber of Commerce. Immediately the archeologists congratulated Juisrud on his remarkable discoveries. Two of the archeologists promised to write about the discovery in a scientific journal.
Noquera realized that the dinosaur figurines posed a problem that could ruin his professional career. The archeologists simply faced a dilemma to either tell the truth, that regardless of what anybody may think they had chosen a site and dug up dinosaur figures or to hide the truth in some alternative explanation.
Noquera went back to Mexico City and three weeks later submitted a report with his subordinates that the collection must be a hoax because of the life forms involved - dinosaurs. Dr. Noquera wrote,
"Actually in spite of the apparent scientific legality with which these objects were found, it is a case of reproduction and to say falsification, made in a relatively recent epochs. In my opinion it is composed of three types of objects one of them figurines which pretend to be time reproductions of animals extinct for millions of years; possibly the maker of these objects was inspired by some books on paleontology which were in vogue at the end of the past century or the beginning of the present one."
Julsrud was gravely disappointed that in a span of a few weeks, the archaeologists first vindicated the collection and then cleverly maneuvered to deny their own discoveries. Juisrud, undaunted by all the academic goofy dust sprinkled over the collection by rigid orthodox scientist's to make it go away, pressed on in his efforts to convince the skeptics.
Eventually, an eminent scholar arrived on the scene in Acambaro who would expose the contentions of Julsrud's opponents with a series of arguments and facts that would prove to be indisputable. In the summer of 1955 Charles Hapgood, the Professor of History and Anthropology at Keene State College of the University of New Hampshire, spent several months in Acambaro and conducted a very detailed investigation of the collection. Charles Hapgood had already distinguished himself as the author of a number of books including "Earth's Shifting Crust" (1958), "Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings" (1966), and "The Path of the Pole" (1970).
Hapgood excavated a number of sites that were on previously undisturbed ground and found many pieces of ceramic figurines of the "Julsrud" type. To eliminate any possibility of fraud that Tinajero or anyone else had manufactured the ceramics, Hapgood decided to excavate beneath a house that had been built in 1930, long before any artifacts were found on El Toro Hill. They found a house directly over the site owned by the chief of police, asked permission to dig beneath the floor of his house. Permission was granted, and they dug a six-foot deep pit beneath the hard concrete floor of the living room, unearthing dozens of the controversial objects. Since the house had been built twenty five years before Julsrud arrived in Mexico, it exonerated Julsrud, eliminated the hoax theory and negated Dipeso's as well as Noquera's reports at all the important points.
In 1968 Charles Hapgood returned to Acambaro accompanied by Earle Stanley Gardner of Perry Mason fame. Mr. Gardner was not only trained in criminology but was also an investigator of archaeological problems. He was supremely impressed with the vastness and the variety of the collection. It was quite clear that Mr. Gardner considered the fake theory completely false, outrageous and deceptive!
The radiocarbon 14 method of dating was still in its infancy, but Hapgood acquired specimens for C14 testing.6 Gardner and Andrew Young (inventor of the Bell Helicopter) financed the testing.
Hapgood submitted the samples to the Laboratory of Isotopes Inc. in New Jersey. The results were as follows:
Sample No. 1
(I-3842) 3590 + - 100 (C.1640 BC)
Sample No. 2
(I-4015) 6480 + - 170 (C. 4530 BC)
Sample No. 3
(I-4031)3060 + - 120 (C. 1110 BC)
The radiocarbon dates of up to 4,500 B.C for Carbon on the ceramics would make the collection the oldest in the Western Hemisphere.
In 1972, Arthur Young submitted two of the figurines to Dr. Froelich Rainey, the director of the Pennsylvania Museum for Thermoluminescent Dating. The Masca lab had obtained thermoluminescent dates of up to 2,700 B.C. In a letter dated September 13, 1972, addressed to Mr. Young, Dr Rainey said:
"...Now after we have had years of experimentation both here and at the lab at Oxford, we have no doubt about the dependability of the thermoluminescent method. We may have errors of up to 5-10% in absolute dating, but we are no longer concerned about unexpected bugs that might put the whole system in doubt. I should also point out, that we were so concerned about the extraordinarily ancient dates of these figures, that Mark Han in our lab made an average of 18 runs on each one of the four samples. Hence, there is a very substantial bit of research in these particular pieces... All in all the lab stands on these dates for the Julsrud material, whatever that means in terms of archeological dating in Mexico, or in terms of 'fakes verse's authentic' pieces."
But when the lab at the University of Pennsylvania found out that dinosaurs were part of the collection, they retracted their thermoluminescent. They asserted that the ceramics gave off regenerated light signals and could be no more than 30 years old.
A thermoluminescent technician admitted that no other ceramics existed, in his experience, that produced regenerated light signals, and no other thermoluminescent dating of ceramics had ever been done by utilization of a regenerated light signal. In short, the testing was a hocus pocus, laboratory trick to avoid the obvious conclusion that dinosaurs and man lived together.
John Tierney determined to expose the University of Pennsylvania's shenanigans by testing with standard procedures. Tierney had two fragments of Julsrud type ceramics excavated at El Toro Mountain in Acambaro and in 1956, in Julsrud's presence, Tierney submitted these pieces to Dr. Victor J. Bortolet, Director of Research of Daybreak Nucleari Archaeometrics Laboratory Services for dating. Dr. Bortulot determined the pieces' upper limit of age to 2,000 years old, thus, invalidating the Masca report which claimed the objects were made thirty to one hundred years ago.7
John Tierney took a half dozen samples of Julsrud ceramics of different clay composition to a team at Ohio State University. The team of experts consisted of Dr. J.O. Everhart (Chairman of the Department of Ceramic Engineering) Dr Earle R Caley, (among the world's most respected archaeological chemist) and Dr Ernest G Ehlers (mineralogist in the geology department at Ohio State University). They reported that they could not believe the artifacts were made in modern times nor could they believe they were made by some amateur who tried to perpetuate a fraud. Upon my notifying them that they had authenticated Julsrud artifacts they lapsed into a profound and apparent permanent silence.
In 1997 B.C Video released the program Jurassic Art with the Acambaro segment which was originally supposed to have been a part of NBC's television special, "The Mysterious Origins of Man." The program features Neil Steede, President of the Early Sites Research Society West and Mexican Epigraphic Society, attempting to debunk the collection, claiming it is of recent manufacture. Toward the end of the program, it is revealed that he sent two samples from the Juisrud type ceramics (one of a human figure and the other a dinosaur figure) to an independent C14 laboratory. Startling results came back. The human figure was dated at 4,000 years BP (Before Present) and the dinosaur figure at 1,500 years BP. Steede tap danced around implications, embarrassingly embracing the human figurine as credible, while waltzing past the dinosaur figurine, claiming the laboratory test must not have given a true reading. In reality, the dinosaur figurine created too much tension for orthodox science and Steede had to find an out. The solution was simple. He discarded the dinosaur date.
The Japanese company, Nissi, sponsored a television crew to go to Acambaro and produce a program for Japanese T.V regarding the Acambaro figurines. The program entitled "Did the Ancients See Dinosaurs" was aired on February 2, 1997 in Japan. There is a stunning moment in the program as the Japanese narrator is looking over an animal figurine, and he holds it up next to his Japanese book on dinosaurs. Amazingly, the Julsiud dinosaur figurine matches the color drawing of an Amargasaurus cazaai in the Japanese dinosaur book. The narrator quickly picks up another dinosaur figure and thumbs through the dinosaur book. This figure is very similar to the Sauraloplus osborni as drawn in the Japanese dinosaur book. The narrator ponders the perplexing problem that ancient people about 4,500 years ago must have seen dinosaurs because they could not have known what they looked like by merely seeing their skeletons in the ground. The narrator points out that when modern man found dinosaur skeletons such as Sir Richard Owen, that the life-sized models of Megalosaurus, Iquanodon and Hylaeosaurus were ridiculously inaccurate.
Footnotes
1. Charles Hapgood, MYSTERY IN ACARNBARO, An Account of the Ceramic Collection of the Late Waldemar Juisrud in Acumbaro, GTU, Mexico. (Self Published, 1972).
2. Lowell Harmer. MEXICO FINDS GIVE HINT OF LOST WORLD, Los Angeles Times, (March 25, l951).
3. William N. Russell "Did Man Tame the Dinosaurs?" Fate, (March, 1952), pp 20-27; "Report on Acambaro," Fate. (June, 1953), pp.31-35.
4. Charles C. Dipeso, "The Clay Figurines of Acambaro," Guanajuato, Mexico, American Antiquity, April 1953, pp388-389.
5. Charles Dipeso, "The Clay Monsters of Acambaro," Archaeology (Summer, 1953), Pages 111-114.
6. Taylor and Berger, American Antiquity (Vol.33, No.3), 1968.
7. John H Tiemey, "Pseudoscientific Attacks On Acambaro Artifacts: The Ceramic Technology of Intellectual Suppression," World Explorer Magazine (Vol.1 #4), pp52-61. Preliminary Report From Second Expedition
by Dr. Dennis Swift
The claim has been made that only Waldamar Julsrud's excavations ever produced the distinctive ceramic objects that make up this collection. Why haven't other excavations found Julsrud type ceramics and dinosaur figurines? In August of 1999, Dr. Dennis Swift and Dr. Don Patton ventured back to Acambaro to seek answers to such questions. By chance while having dinner at a local Acambaro restaurant we met Ernesto Narrvete Marines. In the 1970's Ernesto was commander of the Federal Police for the Celaya zone of Guanajuanto, which includes the Acambaro area. Ernesto received a tip one night in 1978 that illegal excavations were taking place on Chivo (goat) Mountain and that the artifacts were being traded for pistols, rifles, machine guns as well as other weapons on the black market. Commander Ernesto Marines, who was trained at Scotland Yard, conducted a thorough investigation. The investigation revealed that artifacts dug up on Chivo Mountain were being taken to the border at Laredo, Texas and traded for arms, which was a Federal crime.
When Ernesto apprehended Jaime Aquirre and Raul Hernandez on Chivo Countain had in their possession 3,300 Julsrud type pottery figurines. The commander catalogued the collection as evidence and told us that he personally observed nine dinosaur figurines. Ernesto drew a sketch for us of the dinosaurs he had seen in the collection. These illegally excavated artifacts were handed over to Dr. Luis Moto, Mayor of Acambaro in 1978-1979, and kept in City Hall.
The artifacts were accepted as genuine by the Federal Court of Mexico when they were used as prima facie evidence in the trial of Jaime Aquirre and Raul Hernandez. Jaime and Raul were sentenced to the Federal prison in Mexico City where they are still serving time. If Jaime and Raul had been peddling phony pottery, fakes of modern manufacture, they would not have been sentenced to prison. Furthermore, the fact that Jaime and Raul were sentenced for trading genuine artifacts should silence the critics who say that no other Julsrud type ceramic pieces have ever been found by others.
While in Acambaro the authors were introduced to Dr. J. Antonio Villia Hennejon who has a medical practice in Guadalajara and Acambaro, Mexico. Dr. Herrejon personally excavated ceramic artifacts on Bull Mountain and Goat Mountain from 1950 to 1955.
Dr. Herrejon insisted that the ground he dug in was hard packed with no loose soil. This was confirmed in personal conservation with other participants in such excavations who remain in Acambaro; i.e. Porfirio Martinez Espinoseo, who accompanied us to Goat mountain and showed us where in his youth he had excavated hundreds of ceramic artifacts. Twice Dr. Herrejon accompanied Julsrud on burros to an area below Goat Mountain, near a lake. There he said on terrain that was overgrown with grass and cactus, they dug up many ceramic pottery pieces including enough dinosaur figurines to fill two bags to be carried back on a burro.
Antonio Herrejon recalled that in the 1940's and early 1950's virtually nothing was known about dinosaurs in Mexico. They had no books, pamphlets, matchbox covers, movies or other information about dinosaurs. Herrejon postulated that the only dinosaur skeleton on display in Mexico in the 1940's was that of a brontosaurus at the Chupa railroad station in Mexico City.
The figurines he saw in the late 1940's and early 1950's were simply curious looking creatures that many years later were correctly identified as particular dinosaur species. Dr. Herrejon said that even most of the Brontosaurs looking dinosaurs did not look like a "typical" saurian dinosaur. We pressed him as to what he meant by "typical?" He replied, "they had spines all down their backs, little spines." We drew dinosaurs with conical dermal spines and Antonio pointed vigorously stating in Spanish, "That's it, That's it".
Dr. Herrejon unwittingly had helped to verify the authenticity of the Julsrud dinosaur figurines. No one knew in the 1940s, 50's, that some species of Saurian dinosaurs had dermal spines. They were perceived as represented on the Sinclair gasoline filling station signs. It was the work of Stephen Czerkas in a 1992 article that brought to light this aspect of dinosaur anatomy (Geology, V.20, No.12, 1992, p.1068-1070).
Dr. Herrejon was intimately aware of the details and of the immensity of the Julsrud collection (33,700 ceramic pieces). He said it was simply astonishing that not one piece was a duplicate of another. They were all individually distinct. Others who closely examined the collection have also observed this fact. Antonio commented, "If there was a fabrication who was its artist?" No single artist could make 33,700 figurines, all different in style. If there was a hoax then there must have been many artists. How could such a conspiracy be kept silent all these years? Surely someone would have known about such activities.
Dr. Swift inquired of Dr. Herrejon as to the condition of the artifacts when they were excavated. Antonio said that they were encrusted with dirt and other materials (patina). During Easter week of 1951 Antonio spent two days with Julsrud cleaning the dirt and patina off recently excavated ceramic pieces.
Herrejon and Julsrud did not realize that the absence of patina on the objects would later erupt into accusations that they could not be old or authentic. Julsrud ignorantly commenced the cleaning of all the artifacts back in the 1940's. The job was completed by Tinejero and his helpers.
However, there are many eyewitnesses who saw Julsrud's excavating of the ceramic pieces and confirm that the artifacts had patina and dirt on them.
In the process of handling of several hundred pieces of the Julsrud collection, the authors have observed pieces that still have dirt embedded in the crevices as well as some patina on the surface.
