How do fossils prove evolution?

Question

I am not trying to be one of the annoying christians that say they dont, I just do not see how they do and thought one of you could explain it to me.

To me, saying a fossil proves evolution (or god or anything of that matter) is like finding an candy wrapper in my desk and claiming I ate an apple.

to me, fossils say 'something was alive but it died'

Answer 1

They don't prove evolution any more than watermarks prove water. Natural selection is demonstrated in a laboratory test quite easily, and fossils provide evidence for what natural selection has done in the past.
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Your definition could be more accurate. A dead bird on the side of the road is not a fossil. It would only be a fossil when it becomes mineralized.

Answer 2

Certain molecules (Called Isotopes) change their chemical composition over time at a steady rate. By observing how much of these chemicals have changed, scientists can determine the age of something that was once living.

Something like this:
Chemical A turns into chemical B at a rate of 1ounce every ten minutes in a body, starting as soon as the body dies. If there are 15 oz of chemical B, you can determine that the body was alive 150 minutes ago.

Obviously, it is a much more exact and complicated process used in analyzing fossils on a molecular level, but the end result is that the time when the animals were alive can be determined.

This doesn't prove evolution, but it does show that the Earth and life on it goes back much further than 6000 years (as some conservative believers claim).

It does however make it more plausible that life could have evolved over time, by showing that there was a lot more time than was previously supposed. It is a lot easier to suppose that apes developed from lizards over millions of years, for example, than over a few thousand. The extra time means extra generations for mutations to appear and be selected by the environment.

Answer 3

Fossils do not prove evolution happens, but they do support the theory of evolution.

Fossils show us the shape and some details about the animals that were alive.

The layer of rock that the fossil is found in indicates the age of the fossil, so it is possible to put the fossils into chronological order.

The theory of evolution says that one species slowly changes over time until it is sufficiently different to be classed as a new species.

When we put the fossil record in chronological order this is exactly what we see. Creatures over time change in shape in small steps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_whales

This has been done for millions of fossils.


You need to remember the difference between a scientific fact and a scientific theory.

Gravity is a fact. Things fall. The Theory of Gravity tries to explain why this happens.


Evolution is a fact:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nylonase
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRSA

these bacteria have evolved.

the theory of evolution tries to explain why. It makes predictions that are testable, such as what we should see in the fossil record.

So far no one has produced one shred of evidence that contradicts the basic tenants of the Theory of Evolution.

Every fossil ever found has supported the Theory of Evolution.

Answer 4

They can simply show that creatures were once at an earlier stage of development, and as the fossils become more modern, it can be seen that these creatures have changed to meet new requirements. It basically shows evidence of natural selection.

You can follow a time line and see how a species changed over the course of millions of years to suit climate change, or other forces. It can also reveal creatures dying out completely because for whatever reason, they could not adapt quickly enough, or at all to keep up with the changing environment.

Answer 5

I think to make the correct comparison you'd find an apple peel and then you could claim you ate an apple. :)

The theory behind fossils that prove evolution is the fact that, throughout the history of the world, as things died some of them became encased in mud which had more mud on top of it and pressure over a long time created rock, with the imprint of the original thing in it.
I"ll start with some basic statements and progress from there.

1-rock on earth has formed over time, and rock is created by a combination of pressure on dirt, mud, and sand, as well as time.
2 - garbage (leaves, bones, etc) that became trapped during this process left its imprint once the transition to solid rock was complete.
3 - these imprints are called fossils.
(I'm pretty sure you're still agreeing with me at this point)
4 - Rock takes a hell of a long time to form: If I took sand and mud and put something heavy on it for pressure... rock doesn't spontaneously form.
5 -therefore, anything that is found in rock is QUITE old.
6 - older rocks are further down than newer rocks, except in cases of earthquakes where rocks were pushed up or down in places.
7-think of a garbage dump, and usually, the 20 year old trash will be under yesterdays' trash. If you dig to the bottom of a trash heap, you will find, say, antique bikes. If you look on top, you will find modern bikes. I think you would agree that, although the two bikes have the same function, their differences in design show that one older model gave way to a newer model that is used today.

From this, it is believed that older fossils represent older or even extinct life forms.

From this, scientists have extrapolated that since older humanoid forms were more monkey-like that some sort of evolution occurred to bring us where we are today.

I believe that the Bible tells us exactly what happened, and the science can tell us why. It is when we try to play science against religion that we get into trouble. Who is to say that both are not correct? I believe that God created the earth and guides every process of my life. If he can do that, can he not also orchestrate evolution or any other process on earth?

Granted science isn't perfect. Scientists are disproving theories everyday, and they're just as fallible as you and I. However, God gave us the capacity to think and reason, and as long as we do that using the truths of the Bible as well as the evidence all around us, I don't think it is wrong for us to believe in any theory we can possibly imagine, as long as it does not overshadow the truth in our lives of God as Father and Jesus as Savior and the fact that regardless of how our bodies came to be formed the way they are, God had and intimate hand in it and made us in His image, to worship, love, and depend on him every day.

Answer 6

That depends on what sort of evidence you expect, I suppose.

Fossils can help you determine how animals developed and gradually evolved into new species. This is possible because we have several ways of determining the age.

Now fossils aren't the 'ultimate evidence' in support of Evolution, it's just another set of data which led to Darwin's radical idea of Evolution. So far, all new data has corroborated Evolution (including the very latest discoveries in genetics), so a more pertinent question would be, what disproves Evolution? So far, nothing has.

Answer 7

They are sorted, layer by layer from life simpler and less like modern life, to more complex and more like modern life.

You would never find a flower fossil in a layer formed during the Pennsylvania period for instance. You will only find them in the late Jurassic period up. This is called the Law of Fossil Succession.

If the creationist were right, flowers should be AS COMMON in the lower layers as they are in the top. But they aren't there AT ALL. http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/succession.html

Add to that the really nice lines of transitional fossils that are around and you have a really solid case: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_transitional_fossils

Answer 8

You hit it right on the head. "...fossils say 'something was alive..." That is the one vital thing they show. With our knowledge of geology, we are then able to date when those creatures were alive.
This shows a the fascinating story of life becoming ever more complected. We see traits passed on, and slightly modifying over the hundreds of millions of years that we have Fossils from. This is what people are speaking about when they say Fossils support evolution.

Answer 9

A fossil does not prove evolution by itself, however, a fossil taken inot account with earlier and later fossils proves transition from one form to another and sometimes to an organism still alive today.

Fossils are arranged in layers (strata) and depending in which layer they are found we can normally date them quite well.

Answer 10

You are confusing proof with evidence. Fossils are evidence of evolution because they are found in layered beds which, over the entire world, indicate increasing complexity of species from the earliest (bottom layers) to more recent (highest layers) times. They also show species of similar types, gradually changing over time and confined to specific geographical areas - as Darwin demonstrated with his studies of finches on different islands. I think if you are interested - and I'm not at all convinced that you are - you should go to more trouble than to consult, skeptically, a few strangers around the world with no discernable qualifications in the subject and very often an agenda to push. In other words, get a book on palaeontology. Dismiss what you read by all means - but there is no substitute for actual study.