by Shane Cessna
Amber (fossilized tree resin)1 has been known to entomb many things, including ants,2 ‘gladiator’ insects,1 crustaceans, water beetles, barnacles, oysters, clams and water striders.3 Evolutionists have a hard time explaining how large amber deposits formed, but a recent find is even more problematic for evolution and its long ages.
Amber droplets excavated from outcrops high in the Alps of northeastern Italy rocked evolutionary scientists because of what they contained. They revealed a pair of gall mites supposedly 230 million years old—100 million years ‘older’ than the next-oldest arthropod encased in amber.4 Mites are a type of arthropod, a group that includes insects and crustaceans.
So, what was so shocking about this particular discovery? If these tiny creatures evolved from some common arthropod ancestor, then the fossil record should show a variety of transitional forms from that arthropod ancestor to today’s gall mites. However, evolutionary scientists were astounded to find that these ancient gall mites look just like modern ones. Study lead author David Grimaldi said, “They’re dead ringers for (modern) gall mites.”5 The conclusion is indisputable since, as Grimaldi said of amber, “it preserves specimens with microscopic fidelity.”6
Thus, in the alleged 230 million years, there have been no evolutionary changes in these organisms. In fact, this sort of ‘stasis’ (looking much the same as modern-day representatives) is actually the rule, not the exception, for fossils in general.7 But for evolutionists, as one report on the discovery put it, “that’s surprising because the world has changed a lot from when these bugs were alive.”8 E.g. mites today live on flowering plants, but evolutionists believe that flowering plants had not yet evolved when those mites were entombed.
However, this is just what we would expect from the true history revealed in Scripture: mites produce only mites, and the long time periods are illusory. When we see any sort of beautifully preserved fossils, they are either very different from what is around today (because their kind went extinct) or, if obviously related to present-day creatures, they are virtually the same as these.
Scripture tells us that God created everything in six ordinary days, roughly 6,000 years ago. God told the creatures to reproduce ‘after their kind’ (10 times in Genesis 1). However, sin entered the world through Adam’s actions, and as a result the whole of creation was cursed (Romans 8:19–23). Eventually, God judged mankind’s sin and destroyed the earth with a global flood. The formation of amber, and all its many ‘non-evolved’ fossils, makes much more sense as a result of this Genesis Flood, around 4,500 years ago.