Analysis of a Phony Creationist Fossil

Thu, Aug 14, 2008 at 5:42:03 pm PDT

Following up on that ridiculous “fossil” recently announced by a creationist group, that purports to show a human footprint partially overlapped by a dinosaur’s, Glen Kuban has a great piece that goes into detail on the ludicrous claims of Alvis Delk and the Creation Evidence Museum: The Delk Print.

(“Alvis Delk” is really a cool name, though. Sounds like a Coen Brothers character.)

Although both scientific and public opinion seems to be running against the authenticity of the find, some of its supporters have remarked that its authenticity has not been “disproven” so far. This reveals a misunderstanding of the scientific process. If someone told you that there is a blue elephant on Pluto, your inability to fully disprove it does not make it so, or even likely. When extraordinary claims are made, the onus is on the claimants to properly support their assertions in a thoroughly documented and detailed scientific report. Neither Lines nor Baugh have come close to doing this with the Delk print, nor any of the “over 80” human prints Baugh claims to have documented in Cretaceous rock. Even major creationist groups such as “Answers in Genesis” agree, and acknowledge that there has never been a compelling case of human remains or footprints in Mesozoic rock (Snelling, 1991).

Baugh was quoted by May (2008a) as stating that he is “so confident in the authenticity of the specimen that he is ready to put his reputation entirely on the line.” Not to worry. Considering that he has a reputation for promoting sensational and unsupported claims, I am confident that his reputation will remain intact with this latest find.

Read the whole thing...