Man track controversy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The man track controversy, also known as the "Glen Rose Man", refers to the alleged discovery of human footprints alongside dinosaur tracks in the limestone beds of the Paluxy River near the Glen Rose Formation, which suggest humans co-existed with dinosaurs. These claims are strongly believed by strict young earth creationists, including its most recent proponent Carl Baugh in contrast to the prevailing scientific consensus that humans evolved long after dinosaurs.

Some local residents removed tracks and sold them. Others manufactured and sold fakes, further muddying the waters.

Strict creationists first claimed in the beginning of the 20th century that prehistoric fossil human footprints or "giant man tracks" occur alongside dinosaur tracks in the Paluxy River, specifically at the Taylor Site. This was first documented by Clifford Burdick in an article and later expanded upon by Stanley E. Taylor in a creation vs. evolution documentary, called Footprints in Stone, both of which garnered great attention towards creationism. Early on, these supposed footprints were disputed by other creationists including Dr. Ernest Booth and Wilbert Rusch, then president of the Creation Research Society. According to dating laboratories employed by Stanley Taylor, the rock samples from the area were calculated to be approximately 38,000 years before present. However, other laboratory datings contend the strata to be nearly 100 million years old.

After much research and study took place in the 1970s and 1980s, scientists proclaimed that the tracks were not of human origin. In 1986, the Institute for Creation Research published Impact, an article admitting that the Taylor Trail appears "obviously dinosaurian" and that "none of the four trails at the Taylor Site can be today regarded as unquestionably human." ^[1]. Since the article was published, many creationists have since rejected "man track" claims, although a few have held their belief. Most now believe that the man tracks are instead eroded, elongated dinosaur tracks.

There have also been other man track claims in different geographic locations.

1 The Findings from the perspective of Catastrophism
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] The Findings from the perspective of Catastrophism

The findings of human traces at the Paluxy River are also described from the perspective of non-religious catastrophism in the tradition of Immanuel Velikovsky.In that same environment similar coherencies in findings and findings of human bones as well in considerably older layers of the Palaeozoic are reported (see: Michael Cremo & Richard Thompson, "Forbidden Archaeology", 1998). The palaeontologic interpretation of the human like foot prints at Paluxy River as longish tread marks of dinosaurs, claiming that they tread on their forefoot and metatarsus simultaneously – the Metatarsus-Theory of Kuban – is discounted by Hans-Joachim Zillmer. He argues ^[2], theropods for balance reasons (statics of their body structure) and the maximum tolerable load for their joints could not walk on their forefoot and metatarsus at the same time.