Fossil pollen in Grand Canyon Overturns Plant Evolution
by Carl Wieland
Finding fossil pollen grains in rock classed as ‘Precambrian’ (long
before seed plants are thought to have evolved) is as devastating to the whole evolutionary
framework as finding a human bone in a Carboniferous coal seam. Geologist Dr Clifford
Burdick, a creationist, was the first to report finding fossil pollen grains of
seed plants in the so-called Hakatai Shale, a layer of the Grand Canyon classified
as ‘Precambrian’.1,2 These
findings have been challenged by Dr A. Chadwick, another creationist, and others
as possibly due to contamination from the atmosphere.3,4
A research team of scientists from the Creation Research Society in the United States
initiated a project to settle the question. They took several samples from the Hakatai
Shale, and also from the so-called Supai Formation and Hermit Shale layers.
At each sample site, the first three to four inches (7.5 to 10 centimetres) of exposed
rock was chipped off, to avoid any surface contamination (the pores in the rock
are in any case too fine to allow pollen to penetrate to any significant depth).
Then the rock beneath was sampled, taking care to avoid any cracks and fissures.
The team opened previously sealed, sterile plastic bags just long enough to allow
freshly flaked-off rock to drop in. They quickly resealed them. In addition, the
collection was done in winter, with snow at the canyon top and all shrubs and trees
dormant.
Great care was taken in the laboratory to avoid contamination. In addition, control
experiments were performed in which, among other things, slides were exposed to
the air in various actively used laboratories for a total of some 400 slide-exposure-days.
Each slide was exposed for between seven and 57 days. In that time, only three possible
pollen grains appeared on the exposed slides, although there were many other contaminants
found - fungal spores, plant hairs, epitheleal cells (skin tissue), and even cells
resembling blood cells. Thus, the chances of pollen from the air falling on to the
slides in the short time they were exposed during preparation were extremely small.
The Results
From the nine samples taken (three from each formation), 43 slides were made. Sixteen
of these showed the pollen of seed plants and/or cells of cryptograms (spore-bearing
plants; a fern, moss or fungus is a cryptogram).
Identification was assisted by the independent assessments of a professional palynologist
(someone who studies pollen) who did not know that the specimens came from ‘Precambrian’
rock.
The accompanying photo shows just one of the finds. Interestingly, all the pollen
was found in the Hakatai Shale specimens. One would expect air-borne contamination
to have an equal chance of contaminating specimens from all three layers.
Conclusion
The weight of evidence favours the conclusion that fossil pollen is contained in
‘Precambrian’ shale. This is contrary to expectations based on the accepted
geological column.
Further reading
Footnote
Anyone interested in this research is encouraged to read the three recent reports
in the Creation Research Society Quarterly.
- Howe, G.F., 1986. ‘Creation Research Society Studies on Precambrian Pollen:
Part I—A Review’. Creation Research Society Quarterly, 23:
99-104.
- Lammerts, W.E. and Howe, G.F., 1987. ‘Creation Research Society Studies on
Precambrian Pollen—Part II: Experiments on Atmospheric Pollen Contamination
of Microscope Slides’. Creation Research Society Quarterly. 23: 151-153.
- Howe, G.F., Williams, E.L., Matzko, G.T. and Lammerts, W.E., 1988. ‘Creation
Research Society Studies on Precambrian Pollen, Part III: A Pollen Analysis of Hakatai
Shale and other Grand Canyon Rocks.’ Creation Research Society Quarterly,
24: 173-182.
References
- Burdick, C.L., 1966. ‘Microflora of the Grand Canyon’.
Creation Research Society Quarterly. 3: 38-50.Return to text
- Burdick, C.L., 1972. ‘Progress Report of Grand Canyon Palynology’.
Creation Research Society Quarterly. 9: 25-36.
- Chadwick, A.V., 1973. ‘Grand Canyon Palynology—A Reply’.
Creation Research Society Quarterly. 9: 238.Return to text
- Chadwick, A.V., 1981. ‘Precambrian Pollen in the Grand Canyon—A Re-examination’.
Origins 8(1): 7-12.
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