by Brian Thomas, M.S.
Abstract
The discovery and verification of original soft tissue fossils has caused perhaps the most significant paleontological excitement in recent times. Neither evolutionary nor creationary researchers anticipated these phenomena. Published discoveries of original soft tissues including some of their constituent biochemicals, like collagen, elastin, osteocalcin, hemoglobin decay products, melanin, chitin and chitin-associated protein from fossil pockets around the world are reviewed. Decay rates and longevity studies of some biochemicals estimate an outside age limit for certain original soft tissue remains, and by extension for the geologic strata associated with their fossils. Secular paleontology struggles to interpret organically-derived fossil material with suggestions that various modes of taphonomy altered or sequestered the original organics into recalcitrant products. Investigations and reports of soft tissue fossil finds are cautioned to avoid overstating the case for biblical creation, but the data currently available are more consistent with an earth history spanning thousands, not millions, of years.For Full Text
View Below orIn M. Horstemeyer, ed., 2013, Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Creationism, Pittsburgh, PA: Creation Science Fellowship. Visit the ICC at www.creationicc.org.
