Fake News: This Fossil Was Painted On
Another fake fossil used
to document evolution
has been exposed
by Jerry Bergman, PhD
Modifying fossils to prove evolution,[1] or to prove some private interpretation of evolution, or to bring more money from a sale of the item, are not uncommon. The search words “fossil fakes” in Google-Scholar brought 19,400 results.[2] Furthermore, scores of books have been penned on the subject of fossil fakes.[3]
Certain fake types are so common that specific studies focus only on one type of fake, such as fake trilobites found in Morocco.[4] Cases that come to the attention of the media or public are often significant because they were used as important “evidence” for evolution. Examples include the Piltdown Man hoax and Nebraska Man (a peccary tooth).
Other motivations for faking items are notoriety and money. Some frauds affect a lot of people, such as fakes that were marketed as very valuable and consequently were sold for large sums of money. Examples include fake art work, fake letters claimed to be written by famous persons, and even, in one case, fake antique furniture that was newly constructed but claimed to be made in the 18th century.[5] In one case, the sale of fake furniture brought close to three million dollars.
Another Darwinian Fake Comes to Light
The case reviewed in this paper involves “a famous 280-million-year-old fossil found to be a fake.”[6] This fake is of the extinct reptile Tridentinosaurus antiquus, a 20 cm (8 in.)-long, lizard-like reptile with a slender body, relatively long neck, and pentadactyl (five-toed) limbs. It was first discovered in 1931 in the Italian Alps.
This fossil’s main claim to fame was being one of the oldest fossils of a backboned lizard found buried in Italy. The excitement was also due to the claim that the fossil, dated by evolutionists to be 280 million years old, was an important evidence for early-reptile evolution. Even more important was the fact that the fossil displayed evidence of soft tissue.
The fossil behind the debate. Note it appears even from the naked-eye analysis that that crude black marking was added on the side of the abdomen of the fossil. From Rossi, et al., 2024.
The evidence for soft tissues was that its body outline was darker, especially when framed against the surrounding light-colored rock. Unlike hard bones and teeth, soft tissues disintegrate comparatively rapidly over time. Consequently, specimens uncovered with evidence of intact skin as Tridentinosaurus antiquus are considered major finds. This fossil has also baffled paleontologists for almost a century for several reasons.[7] One reason is because the “study of the evolution of reptiles is a prominent research field in paleontology…. the diversity of early reptile-like animals is still poorly understood.”[8]
Uncovering the Fraud
The fossil had never been analyzed in detail using modern analytical techniques. Its taphonomy (the study of how an organism becomes preserved as a fossil) and phyloposition in the fossil record were all unknown. Due to its importance for evolution, Rossi et al. rigorously analyzed the fossil to determine the origin of the black body outline. The team wanted to determine if the fossil actually consisted of the remains of “organically preserved soft tissues which, in turn, could reveal important anatomical details about this enigmatic protorosaur.”[9]
To complete this evaluation, the researchers used the following techniques to analyze the fossil: ultraviolet light (UV), 3D surface modeling, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), micro X-ray diffraction (μ-XRD), Raman and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transformed infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. The conclusion of the analyses was “the material forming the body outline is not fossilized soft tissues but a manufactured pigment indicating that the body outline is a forgery.”[10] Specifically, they determined that the “manufactured pigment” was common black paint that was painted on the small, 20 cm-long reptile.
Why Did It Take Almost a Century to Reveal?
One would think that even a simple look at the fossil using a standard dissecting microscope would have revealed that the black material was painted on. Rossi, the lead investigator, thought that evaluation by the naked eye would have indicated possible problems with the fossil.[11] This somewhat obvious fact was likely ignored because evolutionists wanted to believe it was central evidence for evolution.
It was obviously painted after it was carefully cleaned as part of the presentation procedure completed for all fossils. One headline stressed the impact of the analyses that found the fraud was no trivial matter. The headline read, “Archaeologists stunned by truth behind 280-million-year-old fossil.”[12]
Some History of the Tridentinosaurus antiquus Forgery
Many experts were uncertain about what group of reptiles this strange lizard-like animal belonged to. Even its geological history was problematic. It was at first classified as a member of the group Protorosauria, reptiles known for long necks that evolutionists believe became extinct towards the Late Triassic Period. One report decided that the findings had forced the team to ask “new questions about the validity of this enigmatic taxon.”[13] The report added that we have not yet revealed the full story of this enigmatic protorosaur.
This fossil is not alone in revealing problems in which past conclusions about the fossil were incorrect. Rossi et al. stated, “The application of modern analytical techniques can assist in unmasking and quantifying the extent of forgery, especially in historically collected fossils.”[14]
Summary
The availability of a large assortment of tools to evaluate fossils leads to the question, “How many well-known fossils that support evolution likewise are, in part, or whole, fraudulent?” The work by Rossi et al. also revealed how a fossil can lead to wrong conclusions that take a generation or more to uncover. No doubt a careful analysis of a large number of important fossils that are part of the backbone of current evolution speculations will reveal more than just a few other examples exist.[15]
See also Valentina Rossi’s discussion of the fossil at The Conversation, 21 Feb 2024, where she says that “The market for fake fossils is a huge problem today.”
References
Dr Bergman discusses frauds prompted by Darwinian beliefs from Darwin’s time to the present.
[1] Baisas, Laura. “Famous 280-million-year-old fossil is partially fake.” Popular Science, February 2024; https://www.popsci.com/environment/famous-280-million-year-old-fossil-is-partially-fake/.
[2] https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C36&q=fossil+fakes&btnG=.
[3] Graham, Ian. Fakes and Forgeries. Evans Publishers, London, England; Wiesenauer, Ewald, “Fossil forgeries: ‘Complete’ belemnite animals from the Posidonia shales of Holzmaden.” Geological Curators Group 2(9-10), October 1980; Phillips, Dennis. “Fossil forgeries: Constructed cephalopods at the British Museum.” Geological Curators Group 2(9-10), October 1980.
[4] Corbacho, Joan, and Joan A. Vela. “Falsification of the trilobites of Northern Africa.” Batalleria Journal 13(0214-7381):29-36, January 2006.
[5] Lauter, Devorah. “Top French art expert heads to trial for allegedly selling fake antique furniture to the Palace of Versailles.” Artnet, 24 November 2023.
[6] Baisas, 2024.
[7] Baisas, 2024.
[8] Rossi, Valentina, et al. “Forged soft tissues revealed in the oldest fossil reptile from the early Permian of the Alps.” Palaeontology 67(1):1-12; E12690/, 15 February 2024.
[9] Rossi, et al., 2024.
[10] Rossi, et al., 2024. Emphasis added.
[11] Starr, Michelle. “Ancient fossil that baffled scientists for decades finally reveals its true identity.” Science Alert; https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-fossil-that-baffled-scientists-for-decades-finally-reveals-its-true-identity, 16 February 2024.
[12] Marshall, Nilima. “Archaeologists stunned by truth behind 280-million-year-old fossil.” Independent; https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/rridentinosaurus-antiquus-fossil-paint-alps-b2497255.html, 17 February 2024.
[13] Peters, David. “Early Permian Tridentinosaurus ‘finally reveals its true identity’ – not yet.” The Pterosaur Heresies; https://pterosaurheresies.wordpress.com/2024/02/18/early-permian-tridentinosaurus-finally-reveals-its-true-identity-not-yet/, 18 February 2024.
[14] Rossi, et al., 2024, p. 9.
[15] Rossi, et al., 2024.
Dr. Jerry Bergman has taught biology, genetics, chemistry, biochemistry, anthropology, geology, and microbiology for over 40 years at several colleges and universities including Bowling Green State University, Medical College of Ohio where he was a research associate in experimental pathology, and The University of Toledo. He is a graduate of the Medical College of Ohio, Wayne State University in Detroit, the University of Toledo, and Bowling Green State University. He has over 1,300 publications in 12 languages and 40 books and monographs. His books and textbooks that include chapters that he authored are in over 1,800 college libraries in 27 countries. So far over 80,000 copies of the 60 books and monographs that he has authored or co-authored are in print. For more articles by Dr Bergman, see his Author Profile.