Answers to Atheists • Fossils • Intelligent Design

CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION IN ONLY 5 MILLION YEARS?

Recent studies have confounded the sudden emergence of complex life forms in the Cambrian Explosion to a mere 5 to 10 million years. Previous evidence gave the period 20 million years or more but this evidence further complicates the explosion of life– seemingly emerging from thin air in a geologic blink of time.

Fossils suddenly emerge within a small segment of the narrow window of the Cambrian

Through the 1990’s the Cambrian period was thought to have begun 570 million years ago (“mya”) and end 510 mya (a 60-million-year period), within a 20-40 million year window. Today, radiometric dating of crystals by geochronologist have narrowed the Cambrian period downward.  These studies further suggest that the “Cambrian Explosion” occurred within a very narrow window within the Cambrian epoch.  Estimating that the emergence of these novel life forms emerged in as little as 5 -10 million years.1 

“Compared with a 3+ billion year history of life on earth, this period can be likened to one minute in 24 hour day.”

“Traditional Theory of Evolution Challenged” Lili pg. 10

Other related blogs: Deep Divergence in Precambrian layers, Cambrian Layers missing Transitionary Forms or Missing Links, Darwin’s Missing Fossil Evidence, Prebiotic Soup Missing in Fossil Record, and Punctuated Equilibrium Offered to Explain Missing Links in Fossil Record.

1 “Calibrating Rates of Early Cambrian Evolution” by Biwrubg et al. pg 1297

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