"Physical anthropology-the study of human origins-is a field that througout history has been more heavily influenced by subjective factors than almost any other branch of respectable science." The field is still begging for empirical confirmation. The pressure for confirmation is so strong that it has led to some spectacular frauds. The origin of mankind is often portrayed by evolutionists in chart form. They show a series of drwings of monkeys gradually becoming ape-men, and then man. They try to show from the fossil record that prehistoric ancestors crawled upeard from jungle darkness to become mankind. Dr. Derek Ager, former President of the British Geological Association, admitted "practically every evolutionary story he had learned as a student has now been debunked." Such is the case with the stories of "prehistoric men."
1. Ramapithecus. The suffix "pithecus" means "ape." This fossil was found in India in 1932. Time Life books claim that "Ramapithecus is now thought by some experts to be the oldest of man's ancestors in a direct line." This hominid status is predicated upon a few teeth, some fragments of jaw and a palate unmistakably human in shape. This idea has been promoted through illustrations showing Ramapithecus routinely walking almost as upright as man, yet the fossil consisted of only a jaw and teeth. Most experts now concede that Ramapithecus was merely an extinct form of the orangutan. Orthodontists have shown that jaw angulation is an unreliable indicator relative humanness and should not be the determinig factor in deciding whether a jawbone is from a human or an ape. There is a large variation in the degree of angulation within both humans and apes.
2. Nebraska Man (Hesperopithecus haroldcookii). Field geologist Harold Cooke sent a tooth to Henry Fairfield Osborn, director of the American Museum of Natural History, in order to determine the creature to which it had belonged. Osborn and some tooth specialists agreed that it was the first evidence of an anthropoid ape in the Western Hemisphere. They named him Hesperopithecus, ape of the west. It was known as the "Nebraska Man." After a period of 4.5 years, the tooth was identified as the tooth of a wild pig. Prior to this expose, it ws felt that Nebraska man was halfway between Java Man and Neanderthal man.
3. Piltdown Man. In 1912, Charles Dawson and A.S. Woodward reported the discovery of an ape-like man in gravel near Piltdown, Sussex, England. What they found was a broken fossil skull and a jaw. IN 1953, Kenneth Oakley proved that the skull and jaw did not belong to each other. The "Piltdown man" turned out to be a modern human skull and a jawbone of an ape. These bones had been chemically treated to make them look old and the teeth had been filed down to make them look worn. The forger had diled down the highly cusped molars of the orangutan jaw to give them the flat appearance of human cheek teeth. However, the filing had not been in the same plane and should have been obvious to experts who examined the specimen critically. Modern "science" was fooled for more than forty years. The whole thing was a hoax. British Museum officals protected these fossils from unfrindly inspection, allowing them to mold public opinion for over forty years. This concealment of the evidence is a greater scandal than the original fraud.
4. Peking Man (Sinanthropus). These fossils were found in the 1920's about twenty-five miles from Peking, China. The evidence consisted of skulls and teeth but almost no limb bones. After their discovery and description, the original bones were "lost" between 1941 and 1945. Some believe that the disappearance of the bones and the concealment of the human remains at the site may have been a cover-up by evolutionists trying to keep belief in Peking Man alive. Others believe it was just a twist of fate. One reconstruction of the skulls was named "Nellie." Most of the skulls had been bashed inward and fossil remains of humans and their tools were found at the site. Peking Man was probably an extinct variety of apes, once hunted and eaten in China by humans, who considered ape brains a delicacy.
5. Australopithecus Afarensis. Australopithecus literally means "southern ape." In Ethiopis in 1974, one Austalopithecus afarensis skeleton was discovered about 40% complete by Donald Johanson. He named it "Lucy" after a girl mentioned in a Beatles' song ("Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds..."). Everyone agrees that from the neck up "Lucy" was gorilla-like. Also, from the neck down nearly every feature was non-human. "Lucy" was not a human ancestor. At best, she was a form of extinct ape; at worst she was a combination of two or three species. She is still touted as one of the best "evidences" for human evolution. Today these animals are no longer cosidered ancestors of man, but instead are a variety of extinct apes.
6. Java Man (pithecanthropus erectus). In the 1890's, Eugene Dubois went to the island of Java to discover the "missing link" and prove the theory of evolution. He found a skullcap, a thighbone and several teeth. This group of fossils was called "Java Man." Dubois only allowed a few privileged persons to see the fossils. Also, he did not reveal that he found the thighbone about a year later, about 45 feet away from the skullcap. Eugene Dubois was so obsessed with the findings of remains of ancient man that for thirty years he failed to make known the fact that close to the time he collected the famous Java Man fragments he also had found two human skulls (Wdjak skulls) in similar sediments. The "missing links" status of Java man would have suffered, if he had simultaneously revealed the Wadjak skulls. Later research has shown the leg bone is almost unquestionably from a human and the skullcap is very ape-like. Dubois announced at the end of his life that the fossils were not the remains of an ape-man and that the skull belonged to a giant gibbon.
7. Neanderthal Man. In 1856, workmen recovered a partial skeleton from a cave near Neander, Germany. Evolutionists seized upon Neanderthal as a missing link betwwen apes and men. Neanderthal was reconstructed to show how he walked with a stooped stance and with head set far forward. This appearance gave this man the the characteristic ape-like look to lend support for Darwin's theory. It is now felt that Neanderthal Man was fully human, suffering from bone deformities that may have been caused by diseases.
"Origin of man" reconstructions, which are commonly shown in books and museums, are based on very little evidence and a lot of imagination. Although millions of dollars have been spent, all the bones of the suppesed ape links could be place on a sigle table. On the basis of a few bone fragments or teeth, human-like faces have been added to ape bodies and vice versa. From bone fragments or teeth one cannot determine the shape of the nose, the eyes, the lips, or the ears, nor can one determine how much hair a person had or how much or where fat ws deposited under the skin. By using the same skeleton and varying these features, an artist can produce all sorts of characters. Most of the time the artists have an evolutionary bias. Again, circular reasoning is employed. By assuming evolution is true, artist draw and sculpt privitive expressions and characteristics. They then display these reconstructions as evidence for evolution. These drawings and busts have had a powerful impact on the public imagination. With the "Nebraska Man," artists drew two people from one tooth. If they had found a skeleton, they might have made a yearbook!
Prior to the Flood of Noah's day, people lived jundreds of years and had many children, thus there were probably millions of people living before the Flood. If most fossils were deposited during the Flood, one might ask "Why don't we find more human fossils?" First, consider that over 99% of the fossils are marine creatures of plants, and less than one percent are land animals. When land animals die in water, they usually bloat, float and come apart. It is difficult to trap and bury a bloated animal under wayer. Also, scavengers, seawater and bacterial action destroy everything.
One answer might be the love of money. There is much money available from the lecture circuit; from publications, such as National Geographic; and from organizations, such as the National Science Foundation. There is also the pride of life. Some fossil hunters have become famous and people seek their autographs. This is not the first time in history that people have falsely witnessed for money. The soldiers at the time of the resurection of Christ recieved money to pperpetuate the lie that the disciples stole away the body of Jesus while they slept. (See Matthew 28:12-14).
In conclusion, there are no such things as ape-men. There are fossils of apes, and there are fossils of men, but nothing in between. Men have always been men and apes have always been apes. There are slso some fasely-so-called scientists who have monkeyed around with the evidence.
The Mathematical Improbability of Life Occurring by Chance