In the video below titled “Flood Geology Failures: Fossilized Caves,” I take a look at the peculiar—though not actually rare—discovery of fossilized caves—cave systems filled with sediments that have solidified into rock, essentially preserving a cave system as a fossil. I found myself thinking about these fossilized cave system when I read a piece of creationist literature discussing fossilized reptile skin which raised questions about remarkable fossil preservation.
In my video I take a look at this fossilized skin, particularly the fossilized reptile skin featured in an Institute for Creation Research article, emphasizing that while these fossils represent the skin’s original form, they’ve undergone mineral replacement or permineralization, thus not remaining organic skin but rather its geological imprint. I critique the creationist prediction that fossilized skin found will always reflect its original, functional form unique to its species, pointing out the scientific misunderstanding in such claims.
My main example, an ancient cave system discovered in Richard Spur, Oklahoma, is used to showcase the earliest known occurrence of epidermal integumentary structures from the Paleozoic Era. The preservation of these fossils, including detailed skin impressions, is attributed to a unique combination of fine clay sediments, oil seepage, and an oxygen-depleted environment within the cave system, contrary to the simplistic flood geology explanation that attributes such preservation to a global flood.
I continue by critiquing the young Earth creationist perspective that fails to adequately explain the formation and filling of caves with sediments during the supposed global flood described in biblical narratives. The complexity of geological processes involved in the formation of limestone caves, subsequent erosion, and the accumulation of sediments within these caves, which then fossilize to preserve a detailed record of ancient life forms.
Furthermore, the I point out the specificity of the fossil assemblage found within the Oklahoma cave system, including various extinct reptiles, synapsids (reptile-like creatures considered mammal ancestors), and amphibians, all preserved in exceptional detail. This specific assemblage challenges the flood geology narrative by presenting a highly selective preservation of species, which contradicts the indiscriminate nature of a global deluge.
I argue that the geological and paleontological evidence that contradicts the young Earth creationist model, highlighting the complexities of fossil preservation within cave systems and the implications for understanding Earth’s deep history. Furthermore I argue that the creationist interpretation oversimplifies the intricate processes of sedimentation, fossilization, and cave formation, ultimately failing to provide a coherent explanation for the observed geological record.
Naturalis Historia 