The Las Cruces Fossil Human Footprints

The use of fossil footprints in the creation/evolution debate has centered primarily on the Puluxy river dinosaur tracks. I deal very extensively on these tracks in my book "Earth's First Steps." Roland Bird found some dino tracks in a rock shop in NW New Mexico. At the time, the science of Ichnology was young and basically the playground of folk scientists. The owner of the shop was impressed with Roland's interest and said the proverbial "Get a load a This!" From the back room came a large slab with a "human print." The owner claimed it was found in the same strata anbd in close proximity to the dino tracks. But Birde was unimpressed. He could see that the print was a hoax, but playing along, he was able to convince the owner to take him to the Puluxy tracks. Once there, the wonder of the site was immediately evident to Bird. Creationists argue that Roland Bird (at the time he was affilitated with the American Museum of Nat Hist in NY) dismissed the "man tracks" because of his evolutionary bias. In fact, this is a common comment by creationists if anyone fails to see the "reality" of any evidence that they propose. But the answer is as obvious as the photo of the so-called man tracks that have miraculously emerged from the area of my excavations. They are an obvious fraud. Now here is something neat. Expecting such a miracle emerging, I and a collegue filmed and photographed the limestone bedrock and the indentations. They were indeed fascinating. On many of my guided tours to the site we would pause at the limestone bed and look at the pseudotracks. What "Dr" Patton and others don't tell you is that there are litterally dozens of indentations on the 100 ft long limestone bed leading up to my main excavation site. These indentations litteraly represent hundreds of shapes, and it is certainly possible that one could find a shape that would tickle anybodies fancy. For example, there is one indentation that looks like an elephant print. Others that look a someone wearing mocasins. Still others that look like a tripod impression. But none that represent any symmetry of locomotion in any type of trackway. Now the constraints I and any paleontologist worth his salt must adhere to regarding trackway research is that 5 consecutive prints need to be seen in order to build a compelling case concerning who the trackmaker was, and how it walked. I can guarantee you that there are no consecutives associated with the "patten" track. I have taught loads of people the difference between real trackways and pseudo tracks by comparing the limestone bed wiith the hundreds of remarkable tracks and trails I discovered about 1/4 mile past the bed. Every single person viewing the limestone indentations and my trackways could immediately see the difference. Even kids. Being formally trained in my doctoral work at the university of virginia in the sociology of science and religion, I was certain that in time the limestone pits would show up in the pseudoliterature of the fringe creationist groups. I knew of this fraud quite a while ago, but I have noticed that there has been an upsurge in adherance to it.

A second point. And a better one. The problematica that I discovered, one of the best of which can be pictured in the Smithsonian Magazine report (July 1992). Clearly mammalian in shape, with a style of locomotion similar to a bear -- the pidgeon-toed front feet, the universally depressed tracks, the appearance of nails, not claws. And five consecutives. I call them mammal-like, and the trackmaker is mysterious. But, There is only one trackway like this out of the thousands of tracks and trails that I have excavated. Osteologically, the vast majority (99.9 percent) of these trails match all the animals believed to have existed in the Early Permian. Here this and think about it: Before my excavations, which cover an ancient shoreline perhaps 100 or so miles long, the sediments containing the tracks were identified as Permian in age. There were no excavations conducted in this area for trackways. The sediments were dated through index fossils (marine invertebrates which are abundant in the limestone. The same limestone that the so-called human track was found. Many of these fossils occurred at deptth under the sea when alive, so I ask you, how the heck could there be one lone human track under the sea that is associated wih shells and other sea creatures that thrive at depth? You see, real science must identify the context whereby the human track is found, and must also provide systematics so that we can see that indeed that is a walking human, like the remarkable human trail fouund in Africa. Secondly, since all the tracks found by me were imprinted in terrestrial sediments, and represent fully terrestrialized reptiles and a small group of terrestrialized amphibians, along with shore-dwelling bivalves and other shoreline invertebrates, wouldn't it make sense that the man track be found in the abundant terrestrialized sediments, and not in the marine sediments? After all, the terestrialized sediments are just around he bend. I guess Patton and others must believe that this one track was imprinted by a lone human sunbather who went out for a swim. But their picture does not in the least show a swimming trace. And the so-called experiment done to recreate the enviornment that the track was found in was terrestrally produced. What are the odds of one lone track made underwater surviving the floood of Noah? And if it was the only one tthat did, then why are there thousands of tracks and trails of reptiles and amphibians that did along the shoreline? There are a number of very special conditions that need to exist in order for tracks and trails to be preserved, the most obvious one being a deformable surface and very gentile burial. Why doesn't Pattan go to the gulf and show us human tracks of people caught in the violent flood of huricane Katrina.

More later!
Cheers.

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