New Book Critiques Fossil Human Ancestors
The Bare Bones of Contested Bones
Description of the new book by Christopher Rupe and Dr John Sanford
The new book Contested Bones addresses the question; “Did apes evolve into man?” This book provides a comprehensive, insightful, and up-to-date analysis of the bones that have been called “ape-man” or “hominin” fossils.
For 150 years there has been continuous media hype over a series of bones and bone fragments that were said to prove ape-to-man evolution. One by one, these bones have been questioned, then challenged, and then have been either abandoned or simply put on the shelf. Tens of thousands of bones and bone fragments have now been catalogued, named, and often re-named. Some of these bones have been very strange indeed. Despite all this, the scientists who study these things now conclude that these bones DO NOT SHOW any clear progression from ape to man.
What do the bones show? They show that there are basically two types of bones of interest – bones of the ape type (cataloged Australopithecus), and bones of the human type (cataloged Homo). There are no bones that are clearly transitional between the ape type and the human type. There have been many attempts to find or fabricate a “missing link” that might bridge Australopithecus and Homo. But all these attempts have consistently been discredited. There are still two very distinct groups (genera) – Australopithecus (ape), and Homo (man). Importantly, the ape and human bones are often found mixed together in the same vicinity and in the same sediment layer. This shows that these apes and men lived at the very same time. So one did not come first, with the other following. The ape bones reveal cutting tool markings, suggesting that early man hunted, butchered, and ate these apes (as some men still do even today). So the bones show that Australopithecus (ape), and Homo (man) lived at the same time and interacted. This means that one did not evolve into the other.
How can we make sense of the actual fossil evidence? Surprisingly, the best framework for understanding these bones is in the context of the traditional Christian perspective, as described in the Bible. The biblical view is that all mammals were miraculously created as distinct kinds. So even though apes and men have various similarities, they have always been separate forms of life, and have always co-existed. Once there were more kinds of apes, but some have now gone extinct. This explains why some very strange ape bones that have been found. At about the same time, mankind was divided into many people groups after the Tower of Babel. Some of these people groups flourished, while other populations became isolated, inbred, and genetically compromised. This explains some of the very strange human bones that have been found (including “Erectus”, “Hobbit”, and “Naledi”). These small populations died off, leaving us with nothing but some bones, some tools, and some footprints.
Editor’s note: We are glad to have this new book by Rupe and Sanford to answer some of the questions raised by hyperactive news reports about alleged human ancestors. The book, 329 pages with color illustrations and numerous references, is a welcome set of research on these “contested bones” that are offered as proof of Darwinian evolution and millions of years. We will provide more information on this book as it becomes available. You can order it now at Amazon.com.