How does fossil evidence support the theory of evolution?

Answer 1

They tell you what lived in the past and when,

Answer 2

The fossil record shows the following general trends:

• Simple organisms are found in the oldest strata, more complex organisms in newer strata.
• Fossil forms generally adhere to the nested hierarchies of Biology. Among other things, this means: no primates before mammals; no mammals before synapsids; no synapsids before tetrapods; no tetrapods before vertebrates; no vertebrates before animals; and so on.
• Fossils show various diverging trends, progressing towards more modern forms.
• Numerous morphological intermediates in the fossil record demonstrate transitions.

Answer 3

Paleontology actually does not support evolution. Evolution supposedly occurs with small distinct changes in an organism over a long period of time. This change will cause one species to transform into another.In The Origin of Species, Darwin accepted this fact and explained:"If my theory be true, numberless intermediate varieties, linking most closely

all of the species of the same group together must assuredly have existed...

Consequently evidence of their former existence could be found only

amongst fossil remains"

Unfortunately the fossil record does not support evolution. No record of intermediate species have been found.

Vertebrate paleontologist Robert Carroll, a committed evolutionist, comes to admit that the Darwinist hope has not been satisfied with fossil discoveries:

"Despite more than a hundred years of intense collecting efforts since the time

of Darwin's death, the fossil record still does not yield the picture of

infinitely numerous transitional links that he expected".

Fossil record show stasis. Organism have barely changed over time. Remain more or less the same. Darwins finches are example of genetic variation that led to different breeds of the same species. So it does not go against stasis.

Fossil records also show the sudden appearance of a species. they did not gradually transform as evolution has hypothesized.

With that, i conclude that Paleontology does not support evolution.

Answer 4

Different radioactive elements have different half-lives and therefore provide natural clocks that "tick"at different rates. Carbon-14, for example, has a half-life of about 5730 years. Carbon-14 is taken up by living things when they are alive. After an organism dies, the carbon-14 in its body begins to decay to form nitrogen-14, which escapes into the air. Carbon-12, the most common isotope of carbon, is not radioactive and does not decay. By comparing the amounts of carbon-14 and carbon-12 in a fossil, researchers can determine when the organism lived. The more carbon-12 there is in a sample compared to carbon-14, the older the sample is.

Carbon dating, though, is only useful if the sample is less than some 70.000 years old. Older than that, and the amount of C14 becomes too small to accurately measure. If a sample is completely fossilized, then there's simply not enough carbon in the sample to measure. Therefore older remains, such as dinosaur fossils, require different dating methods, such as U/Pb and Ar/Ar.

The comparisons of ages of fossils allow us to build a clearer image of the evolutionary history of life on Earth.

Answer 5

It doesn't, really. Think, why haven't we found any fossils of all of those "missing links," but plenty of the animals in between? It means there never were any missing links. Also, fossils don't just form, there has to be some kind of natural cataclysm like a volcanic eruption or flood. If you ask me, all this fossil evidence supports the creation account. Honestly, it's far more logical than evolution.

Answer 6

Fossils show that life did not always have the forms that it has now. They shows that significantly different lifeforms existed in the past, and now no longer exist.

Fossils also show that life in the past has progressed in a series of forms that each seem remarkably similar to both earlier and later forms, indicating that heredity is a factor in their emergence.

Fossils show that the life that existed in the past adhered to the same set of nested hierarchies as life today, and that, as time progresses, the forms in these hierarchies of fossils approach the forms in extant life.

Answer 7

By showing the march through long time of ever transitioning species. The definition of evolution.

Answer 8

It shows when the animal that made a fossil was alive.