The last time a dinosaur fossil was discovered that contained “soft tissue” young Earth creationists jumped up and down with joy, claiming that it was proof that not only is planet Earth and the entire universe only 6000 years old, but that dinosaurs actually co-existed with human beings. The tissue was found inside of leg bone of a Tyrannosaurus rexm in 2005.
If the thought of an 8 ton T-rex playing with the kids in the back yard isn’t enough to produce a good belly laugh, then I don’t know what is!
In reality, which people who believe in such silly nonsense are very, very disconnected from, discovering soft tissue inside of the bone does not prove that the dinosaur died recently. What it does prove is that everything that science knows about fossilization and decomposition is correct.
It just so happens that in this incredibly rare circumstance, the beast was not mauled over by scavengers, thus not damaging the existing tissue. The T-rex was rapidly buried, and then began to fossilize as normal – a process where minerals replace biological tissue, thus preserving the structure in “rock.”
Normally, bacteria are able to penetrate even the toughest bone through nerve paths and small blood vessels to allow the decomposition to take place. In this rare occurrence, the marrow was dehydrated and then sealed off by the fossilization process, leaving what is a truly amazing, unique, and singular scientific discovery.
I wonder if the young Earth conspiracy theorists stopped to wonder why, if the Earth was so young and dino deaths so recent, then why don’t most fossils have similar traits? I suppose to answer that question would be to admit that the T-rex discovery is an incredibly atypical exception, and not the rule. Under such a set of circumstances, logic dictates that their initial conclusion was flawed and erroneous to begin with.
Undeterred by things such as “science” and “facts,” the same conspiracy theorists continued to perpetuate their myth right up until this week, when it was announced that a mummified dinosaur was discovered with “soft flesh.” The specimen is a hadrosaur, and its name is Dakota.
With only hearing the words “soft flesh” and mummified, the young Earth creationists had new fuel for their conspiracy theory, and are currently spreading propaganda about a 6000 year old Earth, and tales of dinosaurs and man living side by side in blissful harmony. It’s true.
Sometimes these conspiracy theorists attempt to lend themselves credibility by calling themselves “creation scientists,” as if to pretend that any sort of creation myth is scientific in any way. Nevertheless, these “scientists” are, as you read this, proliferating tall tales about how poor mummified Dakota and its “soft tissue” are yet again evidence that the Earth is no older than a few millennia.
Never mind that the research is hardly complete, never mind that the sex of the beast has yet to be determined, never mind that no peer-reviewed studies have been published…
…And never mind that Dakota’s “soft tissue” is not actually “soft” at all!
That’s right, the hadrosaur does not contain any tissue that is actually soft. You see, in this case, “soft tissue” merely describes the kinds of tissue that was fossilized. It is not a description of the feel or the condition of the tissue. Large portions of Dakota’s skin and muscle, soft tissues that are usually lost to decomposition, were fossilized via normal methods. The “soft tissues” are now mineralized rock, and they have been for millions, and millions, and millions of years.
Ouch, that’s a tough blow for “creation scientists.” Had they merely read an entire article in The Washington Post, for example, then they would’ve known the same information that I do.
Surely they can’t be as stupid as to launch an entire information campaign based on merely reading a headline? Of course not, the deception is willful and it shows intent. Conspiracy theorists are not rational thinkers. They will stop at nothing to present their point of view as factual, including lying, even if the conspiracy theory is supposedly in the name of some god or another.
The Dakota fossil will surely yield some interesting and new discoveries about majestic creatures that became extinct tens of millions of years ago, but they do not show evidence that the world is any younger, or that Neanderthals kept triceratopses as pets.
