Fossilized Dinosaur Brain Tissue

Author: Clayton Wheeler

Imagine going for a stroll at the beach, watching the ground pass under your feet as you amble along, and you find a mud-brown lump that forever revolutionizes the realm of paleontology. This is reality for Jamie Hiscocks, who in 2004 discovered the first known example of fossilized dinosaur brain tissue in a rock pool in Sussex, England.

According to scientists, the “130-million-year-old” specimen likely belonged to a dinosaur similar to an Iguanodon, the iconic thirty-foot long herbivore with a cone-shaped spike on each thumb. Research at the University of Cambridge revealed that some of the dinosaur’s cortical tissues, meninges (membranes that cover the brain), and even smaller capillaries were beautifully preserved. Needless to say, this is a rare find; in order for the tissue to be preserved as it was, certain conditions must have been met. Paleontologist and author of the study (which was published last Thursday), David Norman, and others at Cambridge, hypothesize that “…this particular dinosaur died in or near a body of water, and its head ended up partially buried in the sediment at the bottom.” Norman goes on to add that the lack of oxygen (which would have prevented bacteria from decomposing the tissues, which are usually among the first to decay), and the acidity in the water contributed the preservation of the specimen.

Of course, scientists agree that the dinosaur found the water. And those myriads of dinosaurs, different varieties from (supposedly) different times, all clumped together in what are now deserts? They conveniently gathered in the water too, apparently. A particularly interesting book I read proposes a much different answer. The tale tells of a man by the name of Noah, and a global flood that swept the land and all life, save for those with Noah on his ark. According to the Holy Bible, the “130-million-year-old fossil” cannot be as ancient as scientists claim. Genesis 7:22-24 states: “²²All in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit[a] of life, all that was on the dry land, died. ²³So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive. ²⁴And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.”

Was the fossil preserved over millions of years, as popularly believed by scientists? Or was there a great flood that obliterated nearly all life in a very short amount of time, as stated in the Bible? The term “dinosaur” did not exist until 1842. Before then, the large, reptilian beasts were referred to as dragons. Tales of these dragons spread from the Himalayas and China to South America, where there are cave paintings of men riding what are unmistakably dinosaurs. How could ancient Peruvians have known what an intact dinosaur looks like if they all went extinct millions of years ago? Even in recent years, there have been reports of dinosaurs in the basin of the Congo River. The answer lies in Genesis 7:13-16: “¹³On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark— ¹⁴they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. ¹⁵And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. ¹⁶So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.”

Author: Clayton Wheeler

Clayton Wheeler is a student in Central Indiana and is currently pursuing a career in law enforcement. Despite living in a house tucked away in the countryside, his true home is Freedom Church, located in Lebanon, Indiana. Clayton was once almost led completely astray from God’s light, but has since returned to his faith in the promise of the cross. He is now striving to improve his character, and to live his life in obedience. He hopes to rescue lives not only physically, but spiritually as well, and seeks to be an example to teach others to fear no evil. His love for writing started early, and spends much of his leisure time writing about topics from life sciences to politics.