Young Earth Creationists (YEC) are very creative in their explanations for what seem to be simple obvious contradictory evidence against their models. The “flood geology” (FG) model tries to explain most of the geologic record on the earth by Noah’s flood. Never mind that the entire world to the author of Genesis consisted of the Near East. Among the many geologic problems with FG is the world of dinosaurs. In this post, I just want to highlight dinosaur nests or clutches with eggs. The simple explanation for a batch of eggs gathered together is that it represents a clutch of dinosaur eggs laid down on land. When we see such clutches on multiple beds, then it is most likely that they represent separate clutches on beds laid down over a significant period of time. The problem for FG is that the rate of sedimentation that their model demands during the flood includes such high rates that there really is no time for exposed surfaces, much less, multiple surfaces.
Creation.com has an article Mike Oard titled: “Dinosaur eggs point to the global Genesis Flood”. It has a creative explanation where dinosaurs walk around, building nests on land then almost drown as a flood wave comes by. Once the wave has gone away and the land is then exposed, the dinosaurs lay eggs again in a clutch, only to be buried again. (Really, no joke, that is the proposal!). Apparently, they believe it doesn’t take long to lay eggs.
An article published in December, 2020 by Bi Shundong, et al, is particularly challenging to the FG model. In this case we have fossils of a late Cretaceous theropod dinosaur that died while sitting on the nest. You can read about it here: “Paleontologists Find Remains of Oviraptorid Dinosaur and Embryo-Bearing Egg Clutch”. The authors report that the nest had at least 24 eggs, some near hatching. Some of the shells are broken, revealing embryonic bones. This is interpreted as a nest with a brooding parent on the nest. The author does not describe the details of the surrounding rocks or speculate on how the dinosaur might have died. It does seem to have been an animal in a very normal state of life (or rather death).
The fossils were found in the Nanxiong Formation in China. The unit consists largely of continental red beds with desiccation cracks (mudcracks), dinosaur tracks, dinosaur nests, paleosols (ancient soil horizons) with abundant root traces, burrows and evaporite halite casts. (Buck, BJ, et al., 2004; Ma, M et al, 2018). Although the cast may have been different, it sounds like a typical non-marine depositional setting from today. Nothing about it suggests a massive flood. In fact, the fossils, features and geochemistry are consistent with the units having been deposited in an arid environment. (Yan, et al, 2007)
Many YEC authors interpret the Cretaceous to have been deposited during the flood. Dr Timothy Clarey in his book, “Carved in Stone” considers the top of the Cretaceous to be the high point of the flood. After this point, the waters began to recede. That would mean that at the point when the waters were highest, we have deposits that include paleosols, mudcracks, dinosaur tracks and egg clutches. In the midst of the proposed catastrophic plate tectonic world, suddenly things slowed down to permit the dinosaurs to mate, create a nest and brood long enough that the embryos developed almost to the point of hatching. This just did not happen in the minutes available in the YE model.
Could it be that the Cretaceous deposits formed in the post-flood era? YEC author Paul Garner observed, “The occurrence of in situ eggs and nests in Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous sediments indicates that at least these systems must be post-Flood.” (Garner 1996). If creation took place 6000 years ago, then essentially all of the Cenozoic sediments would have been deposited in 450 years. You can see the young earth stratigraphic column on the lower part of this webpage: Age of the Earth. Geologists recognize that miles of rock thickness have been deposited and mountains built up in that time. Many features are found throughout the section that demonstrate slow processes and slow rates. Flood geology was invented to try to reconcile one interpretation of Genesis with the rock record. Unfortunately, it fails. That is not because Genesis is not true but this interpretation cannot be supported. Like many other Christians, I believe that Genesis is the infallible Word of God, but interpretation is not infallible.
References:
Buck, BJ, et al., 2004, “Tertiary Dinosaurs” in the Nanxiong Basin, Southern China, Are Reworked from the Cretaceous, Journal of Geology, Geological Notes
Clarey, T, 2020, Carved in Stone, Geologic Evidence of the Worldwide Flood, Institute for Creation Research, Dallas
Fooshya, 2021, “World’s first dinosaur preserved sitting on nest of eggs with fossilized infants”, https://fooshya.com/2021/03/09/worlds-first-dinosaur-preserved-sitting-on-nest-of-eggs-with-fossilized-infants/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=eb99768061b79acadd5fdd6689b4d57d4691e96c-1615483141-0-AVduhQQmHKC7-yp657gGRarKcCYp65MdIOV1gxDGDaiMHou9MPnayQmDtoPoYlMVo9My_wrp452UJ1DAOY2OeVOv_QWicSaKS4sjfrXCNOxZkpTiW3Z3k91uJ_Q4APEziQzA_rOvs3hlmds2oTJUCxi2KfvmkzgciZXeFsJf3Z4kJ5yfJtoTJSOpDNFt9LmDBW_d5sJTM2HvwS7AYPyyVX23O8QWSWbgxUUN_yvRk6vxlHxp0IBvt0JrdaxEEPgRS2xXvrElx86HdIkhVairATg1sojbjavbmv8grJVpEQ3rgw8uPc-8pcfdWYjOomeI4kZM5P7XwqMaNN7Kc9cu0XZQkYjtruzhbuDHvqPoE7BWKzYyryWJNj6DQzDjk4ULg-sGtSquexq_VKtEJRc6F0giW0SoaQSS66mJjllBt-r0YqrDXyc-4vshbNwY7TuvRcjvFhxRnh6XhIHqMqD8b896Vp6Y1g-HbdhM97fIwj1uH5S3esgpenqx7z1ckP-EoQ
Garner, P. 1996. “Where Is the Flood/post-Flood Boundary? Implications of Dinosaur Nests in the Mesozoic.” Creation Ex Nihilo Technical Journal 101–106. Retrieved from https://creation.com/images/pdfs/tj/j10_1/j10_1_101-106.pdf
Ma, M et al, 2018, “Palaeoclimate evolution across the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary in the Nanxiong Basin (SE China) recorded by red strata and its correlation with marine records”, Climate of the Past, Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union
Oard, M, 2018, Dinosaur eggs point to the global Genesis Flood, Creation Ministries International, Creation.com website, https://creation.com/dinosaur-eggs-point-to-the-flood?fbclid=IwAR3j6KPhgwV4jjJ7ltFHAVivR5NhGM2N1nqOpQtHOJ8XxcYIqunJY_fDXns#.XZ6GH252INY.facebook
Sci-News.com, 2021, “Paleontologists Find Remains of Oviraptorid Dinosaur and Embryo-Bearing Egg Clutch”, retrieved from http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/oviraptorid-dinosaur-embryo-bearing-egg-clutch-09434.html
Shundong Bi et al. An oviraptorid preserved atop an embryo-bearing egg clutch sheds light on the reproductive biology of non-avialan theropod dinosaurs. Science Bulletin, published online December 16, 2020; doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2020.12.018′
Yan, Y, et al, 2007, Geochemistry of the sedimentary rocks from the Nanxiong Basin, South China and implications for provenance, paleoenvironment and paleoclimate at the K/T boundary, Sedimentary Geology
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