Fossilization: Millions of Years?

No eggs are being fossilized today. Not reptile eggs. Nor crocodile eggs. Nor any type of egg, even when buried in mud or vegetation. No remains of eggs, such as broken egg shell or hatched eggs, are being fossilized today.

We should take a break here to mention that fossilization does not take millions of years. The process of fossilization is happening today. What we don't see are animal tracks being fossilized. Nor eggs or egg shell being fossilized.

"Exceptionally preserved sauropod eggshells Embryos have few hard parts and they decay away to nothing very quickly.

discovered in Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) deposits in Patagonia, Argentina, contain skeletal remains and soft tissues of embryonic Titanosaurid dinosaurs. To preserve these labile embryonic remains, the rate of mineral precipitation must have superseded post-mortem degradative processes, resulting in virtually instantaneous mineralization of soft tissues. - Schweitzer, et.al "Molecular Preservation in Late Cretaceous Sauropod Dinosaur Eggshells" (2005)

In other words mineralization (the creation of a fossil) happened virtually instantaneously, meaning in days or weeks, not millions of years.

In his 1989 article published in the journal Geology Today David Martill describes how, under the right conditions:

“lithification [fossilization] was instantaneous and fossilization may have even been the cause of death.” - D.M. Martill, “The Medusa Effect: Instantaneous Fossilization,” Geology Today 5 (1989)

It does not take millions of years, or even thousands of years, for fossils to form. So what is it that is needed, that's not happening today? The answer: rapid burial deeply in sediment with the necessary chemical properties. Rapid and deep, yet gentle burial is required to preserve a footprint or egg from scavengers, weathering, and other forces that might damage it. That's not happening today. It has not happened throughout history, except during the global flood described in Genesis in the Bible.

Teddy Bear image credit: Mick C - Image cropped - CC License.

The answer to the question on the previous page, "Were fossil dinosaur eggs laid normally?" is, no. The evidence points to the existence of very unusual conditions.

Let's Summarize The Evidence

(1) Some fossil dinosaur eggs were laid in clutches, but not nests. Some were laid as individual eggs, scattered about. There is no strong evidence that fossil eggs were laid in nests.

(2) Fossil dinosaur eggs were laid on extensive flat bedding plains -- flat expanses of mud or wet sand -- with no vegetation.

(3) Clutches (with associated individual eggs) are close together, and have been found at multiple levels in the same location.

(4) There is no strong evidence that dinosaurs remained with their eggs. They laid the eggs and moved on (or floated).

(5) Pathological eggs with multiple shells are much more common than they should be, indicating the dinosaurs were under stress.

(6) Eggs have been found in marine deposits, with some eggs found in deposits that could only form underwater.

(7) Eggs are subject to predators, and had to have been buried deeply and quickly in order to protect them.

(8) Eggs are fragile and needed to be buried gently, otherwise they will be broken or washed away (washed out of their clutches).

(9) Many of the eggs had not hatched, indicating they were buried before they could hatch.

(10) In some cases huge numbers of eggs are found in one location, such as an estimated 300,000 at a location in France.

(11) For fossilization to occur there had to be water carrying a heavy load of sediment (fast and deep burial), of the correct chemical composition.

It's obvious that this is not painting a picture of conditions that exist today. What past events would provide the conditions that meet all of these criteria?

The Answer: Briefly Exposed Diluvial Sediments (BEDS)

If you have not read it already, I refer you to the page on Briefly Exposed Diluvial Sediments (BEDS) - tap here.

BEDS provides a reasonable description of what may have happened during the Biblical global flood. Please note that, although the illustration above shows a tiny island, it is just an illustration. Areas of hundreds of square miles were probably exposed in some cases.

A global flood, as described in the Bible, would result in all of the above. As water washed over the land inundating and then retreating from the land with tides, weather, and geological events, all the while continually rising higher, vast flat areas would be covered with sediment with no vegetation. Exactly what we see in the rock record.

With the water rising, the earth shaking, and monster storms continually roaring through, dinosaurs would be stressed to the max. They'd be holding their eggs in, waiting for normal conditions, until they could wait no longer. There was nothing to use to build a nest, and the eggs had to come out. Some dinosaurs laid their eggs in the mud in the normal pattern. Others laid eggs as they walked along. Some tried to build a somewhat normal nest by mounding up mud. But in the end, the eggs were laid. The last couple laid with multiple shells. And the dinosaurs moved on, seeking to avoid the rising waters. The eggs were quickly buried as the next surge of water brought more sediment. However, not necessarily...

A few dinosaurs would have laid their eggs in a location where they had time to hatch before the next wave of sediment laden water came in. As a result of stress they had held the eggs in much longer than normal, and the embryos were already well developed before the egg was laid. So the incubation time was short and they hatched quickly, or were well developed embryos when their eggs were buried.

The present is not the key to the past. The physical evidence shows the past was very different and thats why we see things (fossilization of footprints and eggs) that we don't see happening today. The key to understanding the past is the eyewitness record of the Bible.

Tracks and Eggs: Powerful Evidence

The question is simple. What scenario best fits the dinosaur track and egg evidence we actually observe? Only a global flood as described in the Bible.

The geological, climate, weather and other processes we see operating today, and theorize happened in the past, do not provide rational explanations. The slow erosional processes we see today could never have produced sufficient sediment to bury tracks and eggs quickly and deeply. The ratio of carnivore tracks (dominant) to herbivore tracks (almost non-existent) does not describe a sustainable situation, but instead is a picture of coming extinction. Which is what happened. Dinosaur tracks and eggs on flat bedding plains that go for miles, with no vegetation, describe conditions that never existed... except during the global flood.

There is no other explanation. The Bible says there was a global flood. Such a flood was a huge physical event that would leave behind evidence. And it did. Massive amounts of evidence all over the world. I refer you to our Science Pastor web site (tap here) where you'll find short videos and web pages with more evidence of a global flood.

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