The Dinosaur Next Door | The Institute for Creation Research

The Dinosaur Next Door

Dinosaurs continue to play an important role in science education, for few subjects command students' attention as well as dinosaurs do. Evolutionists shrewdly use them as a tool to teach evolutionary thinking, often employing the statement "millions of years ago, when dinosaurs ruled the earth...". Creationists often use them, too, for the Bible claims that "in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is" (Exodus 20:11), which necessarily includes the dinosaurs. If evolution is true, there should be no evidence that they lived at the same time as humans; but if creation is true, we should find historical memories of encounters with them.

Without a doubt, if you saw a huge dinosaur, you would tell your kids about it. And when they had kids, they would pass the story on. Eventually, as the creatures became rarer, the story would be embellished by added details, but a kernel of truth might remain in the folklore of civilizations. And that is what we find. Individuals who were known to history as real people encountered or chronicled great reptilian beasts called dragons. Alexander the Great, Beowulf, Herodotus, Asian kings, Indian warriors, St. George who "slew the dragon," sailors of many nations and centuries, and many more are remembered for their exploits with extraordinary creatures.

In recent years, several creationists have also discovered physical evidence of human encounters with such beasts. For example, American Indians have many legends of fearsome creatures such as the thunderbird, but they also left numerous rock pictographs indicating they had real interaction with them, both flying and walking. Drawings in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and elsewhere document this.

A monastery in Cambodia built in about 1200 A.D. includes carvings of numerous creatures on its ornate walls, creatures that evidently lived nearby. It also includes an explicitly clear carving of a stegosaur. Remember, dinosaurs were not discovered and reconstructed by scientists until the 1800s.

Aborigines of Australia etched an episode of numerous hunters gathering around a watery inlet and spearing a marine reptile like a plesiosaur, complete with long neck and powerful flippers. They must have killed and butchered it, for the pictograph also depicts its internal organs.

Experts have documented many thousands of ceramic figurines in Mexico, collected by a local merchant. Excavated from graves predating all known cultures, they date back to at least B.C. times. Many of the figurines are apparently of dinosaurlike creatures portrayed in living postures. It appears that an entire culture was engaged in their production.

In Peru, numerous burial stones have been excavated from graves. They depict various scenes, from human medical operations (or perhaps human sacrifice) to men interacting with great beasts that look like modern reconstructions of dinosaurs. Some have long necks and long tails; others have pointed structures on their spines, small forearms, and vicious teeth.

To those who value the biblical data, the frequent mention of "dragons" is of interest, as is the lengthy descriptions of "behemoth" and "leviathan" in the book of Job, written soon after the great Flood. God is the speaker in the narrative that describes behemoth in Chapter 40 as being of enormous size, with bones like iron and a tail like a cedar tree. The leviathan in Chapter 41 has terrible teeth, scaly skin, and the ability to breathe fire. Sounds like a dinosaur to me.

Surely the evidence is clear--dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time, just as it says back in Genesis!

* Dr. Morris is President of the Institute for Creation Research.

Cite this article: Morris, J. 2008. The Dinosaur Next Door. Acts & Facts. 37 (6): 13.

The Latest
NEWS
April 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things...

NEWS
Human Evolution and the Inner Ear
The vain attempt by evolutionists to make an evolutionary connection between people and ape-like ancestors continues. This time, it is in regard to...

CREATION PODCAST
Defending the Faith with a Rocket Scientist | Creation.Live Podcast:...
How do engineering principles, biological complexity, and a solid understanding of apologetics work together to further the cause of Christ? Why...

NEWS
Aerobic and Anaerobic Hot Spring Bacteria
God designed a domain of prokaryotes called Archaea that thrive in harsh and extreme environments. In 1969, two microbiologists, Thomas Brock and Hudson...

CREATION PODCAST
The Soulless Hominid Theory: A Fatal Flaw in Old Earth Creationism...
Welcome to the second episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit...

NEWS
Humpback Whale Calls Echo Creation
There is nothing simple about the system of communication called language, whether animal or human.1 Human language is a very sophisticated...

NEWS
Mary Parker, Creation Ministry Partner of Dr. Gary Parker, Is...
Mary Parker, the wife and co-laborer of Dr. Gary Parker, went home to be with her Lord on March 20, 2025. Dr. Parker was a popular and effective...

NEWS
Plants Rely on Quantum Mechanics
Scientists will probably never fully understand photosynthesis as additional research uncovers even more fascinating mysteries.1,2 ICR’s...

NEWS
Martian Polar Ice Cap ''Surprisingly Young''?
A team of German planetary scientists has concluded that a three-kilometer-thick northern polar ice cap on Mars has a “surprisingly young”...

NEWS
''Blood Worm Moon'' Total Lunar Eclipse 2025
Barring cloud cover, about 75% of the country saw the total lunar eclipse, aka the “Blood Worm Moon.” Texas had good weather conditions...