Does the fossil record prove that evolution is true?

Question

If this were so, why have we not found the incredible number of fossils of transitional species that supposedly exist along the evolutionary line of all known living organisims today?

Exactly what fossils have been found of these supposed transistional species, Geomatic? Also, I understand that not all organisms get the chance to fossilize but are you saying that the the overwhelming and vast majority of the transitional species that should have existed did not fossilize while so many others did?

Answer 1

But we have -- you need to get to a good museum and learn about evolution and the fossil record.

Answer 2

1) Science does not prove anything. Science only falsifies. If something cannot be falsified with repeated testing it becomes a theory. A theory is an idea or a unified set of ideas that aims to explain something about the world around us. It has been repeatedly tested and has not been falsified. It is not some haphazard conjecture as it is sometimes made out....I mean after all, gravity is a theory.

2) We have found transitional fossils that help support evolutionary thought. However, fossils are hard to make. Only hard parts can make it into the fossil record and even that's hard to do. Organisms rot, they get busted up, they get eaten, they get strewn out all over the place. It is possible (definitely) there are species we will never know about because they didn't fossilize.


*****Vast number of fossils? The fossils found to date are only a very, very small percent of what has ever existed. Its not the the vast majority of transitional organisms that never got fossilized, its the vast majority of all organisms that didn't fossilize.

As for transitional fossils, pick one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_transitional_fossils

Answer 3

Simple. Science doesn't "prove" things EVER. You want to attack the use of that word, because it overstates what science is capable of. The scientific method does not "prove" things, it poses hypotheses and tests them to see if they hold up. Just because they hold up under experimental evidence does not mean they are "true". Take gravity for instance. There is a mountain of evidence that can be used to validate Newton's theory of gravity, but this is not the same as "proof" it is true. In fact we know it isn't true because there are also observations it cannot account for, and this is why we know Einstein's version of gravity is more accurate. Fossils are simply pieces of evidence which supports the theory of evolution. This does not prove evolution is true any more than the success of Newton's theory of gravity at predicting celestial orbits proves his theory is true. If irrefutable evidence came up that contradicted evolution, like God manifesting itself one day and pulling some unicorns out of Its butt, then we would have to question the validity of evolution. It's not anything anyone would expect to happen, but neither was the gravitational lensing that showed Newton's theory required adjusting to fit experimental evidence. The reason we believe in evolution is simply because we have not yet found evidence that contradicts it. This does not mean such evidence will never be found. We simply don't know what we don't know, and this is why fossils or any other piece of evidence never proves evolution to be true in the absolute sense. It just fundamentally is not how science works. I believe in evolution, but that seems like it would be a decent start anyways. Good luck, and I hope you make your existence a magnificent one!

Answer 4

The fossil record indicates the line of evolution, no doubt about it. However, the fossil record of different species is not complete and the sequential "frames" are still missing.
Fossilisation is a rare phenomenon and all species or life forms do not get "chance" of fossilisation due to limited "conditions for fossilisation", hence we have missing links or gaps in knowledge and information. The evolution of life forms spread over some +500 million years through the history of mother earth.
May be ongoing search and research would one day bridge most of these gaps.
thnks

Answer 5

> Does the fossil record prove that evolution is true?
Nope. Nothing proves that the vast evolutionary story over the past 3.8 billion years is true. The theory of evolution is the best explanation for the observations, though.

> why have we not found the incredible number of fossils
We have not found an incredible number of fossils. It's very unlikely for an organism to be fossilized... and very unlikely again for the fossil to show up where we're looking for it.

Answer 6

Prove? No. That's not how science works.
It strongly supports evolution - as do a bunch of other things.

There are tons of transitional fossils. In fact, almost every fossil is a record of some transitional species.
It sounds like you've been listening to creationist propaganda.

Answer 7

It makes no sense to argue this detail other than evolution is not a be all end all process. Its more a matter of how the environment changes that causes the result most people say is evolution. Its quite clear for example if the environment was to revert to how it was way back dynosours would live again but the environment changes as nature mandates so whatever happens to the biosphere is up to natural events- Whatever they are.

Answer 8

I'm sorry, but I'm pretty ---- sure Adam didn't pick up a bone and made Eve. Sorry that ---- just don't fly! The reason women have a rib less, is to accommodate a growing baby within. Life is powerful. ever changable, and highly adaptable. Life IS evolution. Evolution is life.Life is like a war. Even our DNA is constantly changing, striving for dominance like in the rest of nature, never resting. The environment decides which one of those genes, is going to be the winner.

Answer 9

Sounds like you got a bunch of answers from a lot of ignorant people. I am a fossil collector, and when I first tried to find fossil sites from universities, I was told California was a poor place for fossils sorry. They did send me some sites I could search for. I have found and discovered fossils sites all over California. I have collected every kind of fossil you can name except human. Including meteorites and Indian artifacts. I have said fossils can be found anywhere in the world. There are millions of dinosaurs in many sites. Fossils are very common. Everyone on earth could have a complete dinosaur bone. The fact that soft gellyfish have been found fossilized proves anything can be preserved. So where are the transitional forms? Don't tell us to go to some good museum - I have been to most of them. Go ahead, name one specific transitional fossil. One top paleontologist said to a friend of mine, If had known of one transitional fossil he would have included it in his book. All of the evidence for evolution has been proven to be misidentified, proven false, or a hoax by secular scientists: including Miller-Urey Experiment, Homology, recapitulation in embryos, Archaeopteryx, Peppered moths, fruit fly experiments, horse series, human fossils.

Answer 10

If I really believe that the earth is flat and the moon is made of blue cheese can you convince me otherwise?

Science seeks to reveal facts whereas religion states unproven "truths".

There never was a debate about angels dancing on the head of a pin. It started out as a rhetorical illustration to demonstrate the futility of out-of-touch theological debates.

It was only in 1821 that Mary Anning discovered the first fossil and that had to be accepted by the scientists of the time. Early days yet.


Where reason ends belief begins.

Answer 11

The fossil record is physical and tangible, and therefore directly measurable and comparable to other known physical evidence and phenomena. The stories in The Bible (and other such works) are opinion and allegory, with very little factual proof.
"Archeaology is the search for FACT, not TRUTH. If it's truth you're after, Dr. Tyree's philosophy class is right down the hall."