Human Activity and Vertebrate Evolutionary History | The Institute for Creation Research

Human Activity and Vertebrate Evolutionary History

God gave humans a dominion mandate1 and expects us to exercise responsible stewardship “over all the earth.”2 After the Flood, God reaffirmed the mandate in Genesis 9:1-10.

But humans are being blamed by secular scientists for threatening—of all things—vertebrate evolutionary history! A recent article speaks of “the evolutionary history of the world’s terrestrial vertebrates: amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles” and how the “evolutionarily distinct species” of today are supposedly being obstructed by the “human footprint.”3 Ironically, there is nothing known for sure about the alleged evolutionary history of vertebrates—they have always been distinct from other life forms.4 In fact, the article admits as much when it states:

You are alone on your branch of the evolutionary tree of life. Aardvarks, crocodiles, and kiwis were all separated from their closest evolutionary relatives tens of millions of years ago and bear a unique evolutionary history.3

The fossil record shows that aardvarks, crocodiles, and kiwis have always been aardvarks, crocodiles, and kiwis. However, “phylogenetic [evolutionary] relationships among the animal phyla are very difficult ones to resolve.”5 Their “closest evolutionary relatives” are unknown, conveniently existing tens of millions of years ago. A couple of evolutionists have clearly stated the problems:

Faced with these intrinsic obstacles and with little evidence from the fossil record to help, it is hardly surprising that disagreement over the origin of chordates [a large phylum containing all vertebrates] has been common.6

The emergence of gnathostomes [a superclass of the above-mentioned vertebrates] from jawless vertebrates marks a major event in the evolution of vertebrates. This transition was accompanied by many morphological and phenotypic innovations....How these novelties emerged and how they facilitated the divergence, adaptation and dominance of gnathostomes as the major group (99.9%) of living vertebrates are key unresolved questions.7

Vertebrates have no deep evolutionary past. The article addresses the threat to the world’s animals—a valid concern—but corrupts the issue unnecessarily with the unobserved process of vertebrate evolution and deep evolutionary time. “Using extinction-risk data for around 25,000 species, the researchers found at least 50 billion years of evolutionary heritage to be under threat.”3

The article also states, “The researchers found that regions under high human pressure coincided with those containing irreplaceable reptilian diversity.”3 It cryptically addressed “high human pressure” but didn’t mention, for example, that huge amounts of lava can release as much CO2 as mankind will produce for the entire 21st century.8

Paul tells us to worship the Creator and not the creation, warning against those “who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”9 One does not have to bring up unknown and unobserved vertebrate evolution and its extreme ages in order to exercise care for the created environment and the animals it contains.

References

  1. Genesis 1:28.
  2. Genesis 1:26.
  3. Human activity threatens vertebrate evolutionary history. ScienceDaily. Posted on sciencedaily.com June 3, 2020, accessed June 13, 2020.
  4. Morris, J. and F. Sherwin. 2010. The Fossil Record: Unearthing Nature’s History of Life. Dallas, TX: Institute for Creation Research.
  5. Hickman, C. P. et al. 2017. Integrated Principles of Zoology, 17th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 213.
  6. Kardong, K. 2012. Vertebrates: Comparative Anatomy, Function & Evolution, 6th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 74.
  7. Venkatesh, B. et al. 2014. Elephant shark genome provides unique insights into gnathostome evolution. Nature. 505: 174-179.
  8. Capriolo, M. et al. 2020. Deep CO2 in the end-Triassic Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. Nature Communications. 11: 1670.
  9. Romans 1:25.

* Mr. Sherwin is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research and earned his M.A. in zoology from the University of Northern Colorado.

Cite this article: Frank Sherwin, D.Sc. (Hon.). 2020. Human Activity and Vertebrate Evolutionary History. Acts & Facts. 49 (8).

The Latest
NEWS
The Mosasaur: A Giant Sea Dragon
Mosasaurs (order Squamata) were massive marine lizards that were common in the pre-Flood oceans. Therefore, it is not surprising that their fossils...

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
Summer 2025
...

NEWS
Was Life Detected on a Distant Planet?
There was celebration, albeit briefly, for the discovery of potential life on a planet called K2-18b, which is 124 lightyears away from Earth. The...

NEWS
Ichthyosaur Graveyard Explained by the Flood
Ichthyosaurs are marine reptiles that occur globally in the same rock layers as dinosaurs. Specimens with babies support the idea that they gave live...

CREATION PODCAST
What Do We Do With Geology's Unconforming Features? | The Creation...
Welcome to the fifth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old...

NEWS
Freshwater Fish Fossil in Australia
Yet another fish fossil has been discovered. This one was found in the Australian desert and was dated by evolutionists to be “15 million years...

NEWS
May 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans...

NEWS
Acoustic Communication in Animals
We are all familiar with vocalizations in the animal world. For example, dogs bark, birds sing, frogs croak, and whales send forth their own distinct...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Crystals!
by Michael Stamp and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

APOLOGETICS
Playing Chess with Little Furry Critters
God’s multifarious and marvelous designs for basic creature needs are so innovatively clever and providentially purposeful that Christ’s...