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Series Code: ASB
Program Code: ASB000111A
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00:04 And comes from the DVD series, "Awesome Science"
00:10 NOAH JUSTICE: We're here in Hot Springs, South Dakota, 00:12 at the mammoth site. 00:13 Let's go check it out. 00:21 In the 1970s, this area was being cleared 00:24 for a housing development. 00:26 But all construction stopped when mammoth bones were found. 00:31 As they unearthed the area, it quickly 00:33 became known as one of the largest 00:35 concentrations of mammoth fossils in the world. 00:39 Where did they come from? 00:40 Why did they die here? 00:42 Secular scientists have used carbon 00:44 dating to estimate these mammoths died here 00:46 26,000 years ago. 00:49 But with only 4,350 years since the Flood, 00:53 how does it fit in with the biblical worldview? 00:56 Are the dates we get from carbon dating right? 00:59 What other factors can give a more accurate date based 01:02 on the biblical time scale? 01:04 Finally, we don't see mammoths here today. 01:07 So what caused them to go extinct? 01:10 Does "The Bible" hold the key? 01:12 Find out all this and more next on "Awesome Science." 01:21 "Awesome Science" takes you on a field trip 01:24 to some of the most amazing geological and historic sites 01:27 around the world where we use "The Bible" as our history 01:31 guidebook to interpret what we see, 01:33 that "The Bible" can be trusted and empirical science falls 01:37 in line with the biblical account of creation, 01:39 the fall, and the flood. 01:42 Science, it's awesome. 01:49 [music playing] 02:02 The southeastern edge of South Dakota 02:05 is known for many famous sites-- Mt. 02:08 Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Wind Cave National Park. 02:13 But it's also home to the largest 02:15 find of mammoth fossils in the world at the Mammoth site. 02:20 In 1974, construction crews were leveling this area 02:24 in Hot Springs for a new housing development 02:27 when bones started showing up in the dirt. 02:30 Construction was immediately postponed. 02:33 And scientists were brought in to examine the bones. 02:36 The fossils were quickly determined 02:38 to be mammoth tusks and bones. 02:40 Experts thought that if there were 02:42 a few bones on the top of the soil, 02:44 there must be more down below. 02:47 Over a one year period they began to excavate the earth. 02:51 And the more they dug, the more they found. 02:54 The land owner, Phil Anderson, realized his 14 acres of land 02:58 would be more valuable as a resource for scientific study 03:01 rather than a housing development. 03:03 So a group was organized to buy the land from Phil. 03:07 Eventually a building was erected over the site 03:10 as scientists continued to dig. 03:13 As they examined the bones more carefully, 03:15 they found mainly Columbian mammoths, but also 03:19 a few woolly mammoths, This is the size 03:22 of a Columbian mammoth. 03:28 In addition, they have found a number of other mammal fossils, 03:32 some of which are extinct. 03:35 So far over 60 mammoths have been discovered. 03:38 But it is estimated that over 100 died there. 03:42 Digging still continues at this site today. 03:49 So what happened here? 03:51 How did so many mammoths die in this one spot? 03:54 When you visit the site, you will see many references 03:57 to the millions of years of evolution 04:00 with no consideration for the biblical worldview. 04:03 This doesn't mean you can't trust 04:05 some of the scientific methods they used, 04:07 but it's important to realize the worldview the visitor 04:10 center presents. 04:12 As the paleontologists began to dig, 04:15 they wanted to know why so many fossils were in the same place. 04:19 As the examined the sediments and geology of the area, 04:23 they began to form a theory. 04:25 hot Springs is known for its underground springs and mineral 04:28 water. 04:29 Underground springs have been known 04:30 to wear away rock layers below the surface, 04:33 creating a cavity, or cave, underground. 04:37 Eventually, the top rock layer can 04:39 fall into the cavity causing a sink hole in the ground. 04:43 These sinkholes can then fill in with Water 04:46 after examining the geology at the site, 04:49 it is thought that this area was once one of these sinkholes 04:52 where the mammoths and other mammals 04:54 fell into and couldn't get out. 04:56 So they died here. 04:58 Back when mammoths were roaming the area during the Ice Age, 05:01 this area of South Dakota had a different climate. 05:05 Because of the flora fossil evidence, 05:07 it's been suggested this area was once a cold, treeless, 05:11 grassland with scrubby brush. 05:13 To the south, were temperate grasslands. 05:17 This is much different than today 05:18 where we find pine studded forests 05:20 and semi-arid grasslands. 05:23 Scientists have suggested, from the fossil evidence, 05:26 that many of these mammoths were traveling 05:28 through here around the first snow of winter or early spring. 05:31 There were probably not a lot of grasses and plants 05:34 to eat at that time of year. 05:36 The sinkhole provided warm water, 05:38 estimated to be at least 95 degrees, 05:41 with fresh grass on the edges. 05:43 The mammoths and other creatures were looking for food. 05:46 So they went down for a bite. 05:49 When they got down, they quickly ran into thick mud. 05:52 They could have gotten stuck in the mud 05:54 and unable to climb the steep slippery walls out of the hole. 05:58 So they died there. 06:00 Other mammals fell in as well, possibly looking for food 06:03 or even munching on a stranded mammoth. 06:06 Based on the bones and teeth, scientists 06:09 have been able to determine all these mammoths were young adult 06:12 males. 06:13 Based on the behavior of elephant herds, 06:16 it is known that young adult males are often kicked out 06:19 of a herd and travel alone or together until they 06:22 formed their own herds. 06:25 Young adult mammoths would probably not 06:27 have the wisdom or herd protection to avoid 06:29 the danger of a sinkhole. 06:31 Seeing food down below, they likely 06:33 walked right into a trap. 06:36 It is thought that this sinkhole was open for 300-700 years. 06:40 But the preservation of the bones 06:42 may indicate a much quicker demise. 06:48 The story we just reviewed is based 06:50 on the ideas of secular scientists 06:52 who believe this all happened 26,000 years ago. 06:56 They assume this long age because of their worldview. 07:00 But when we use a biblical worldview, 07:02 we can accept many of the interpretations of observations 07:05 made here at the mammoth site. 07:07 Only our time scale is different. 07:10 "The Bible" indicates that about 4,350 years ago, 07:14 the global flood destroyed the entire earth. 07:17 All the people and land animals died 07:20 except for Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark. 07:24 Fossil evidence from the Flood indicates the earth probably 07:27 had a much more temperate environment before the Flood 07:30 with very little dramatic seasonal changes. 07:33 But after the Flood, the climate changed drastically. 07:36 With the catastrophic geologic activities going on 07:40 during the Flood, and their waning thereafter, 07:43 the oceans heated up, providing perfect conditions 07:46 for increased evaporation that resulted 07:48 in a massive amount of snow and ice 07:50 accumulating in the mountains. 07:52 So that 30% of the continents were eventually 07:55 covered in ice in less than 300 years. 07:58 The animals came off the ark and began to multiply and spread 08:02 across the globe. 08:03 The water trapped in the ice caused the ocean levels 08:06 to be lowered by up to 300 feet below what it is now, 08:10 resulting in some of the continental shelves being 08:12 exposed. 08:14 The Bering Strait area, between modern day Russia and Alaska, 08:17 was dry land. 08:19 And animals and man could walk across. 08:21 In addition, during the first part of the Ice Age, 08:24 there was an ice free corridor along the east side 08:27 of the Rocky Mountains. 08:28 Many animals and humans came through this corridor 08:31 into what is now America and Mexico. 08:34 Eventually, they made it into South America. 08:37 Later in the Ice Age, this corridor 08:39 was cut off by the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets 08:42 coming together. 08:44 The Columbian mammoths, which have shorter hair, 08:47 moved south while a majority of the woolly mammoths 08:50 were able to tolerate cooler temperatures in the north. 08:53 From the fossil evidence, we are fairly 08:55 confident that the area north of the ice sheets 08:58 was covered with vast grasslands. 09:00 And only later, at the end of the Ice Age 09:02 did it grow very cold. 09:04 Several thousand years ago, this area of South Dakota 09:07 was near the southern edge of the ice sheet 09:09 were mostly Columbian mammoths roamed. 09:12 But this was not 26,000 years ago, 09:15 it was only a few thousand years ago in the centuries right 09:17 after the flood. 09:23 Excavation of fossils here at the Mammoth Site 09:25 has been happening since 1975. 09:28 Many of the mammoth bones have been 09:30 left where they are found for study and for visitors 09:33 to observe. 09:34 If bones are taken from the ground, 09:37 they're quickly prepared for preservation. 09:40 Every bone has been mapped carefully. 09:42 And the data processed in a computer 09:44 to give the scientists a 3D rendering of the area, 09:46 showing the positions the mammoths were buried in. 09:50 Exposing the bones is a painstaking process. 09:54 Workers remove the surrounding dirt 09:55 with trowels and small brooms. 09:58 For delicate work, they use small dental tools 10:01 and soft brushes taking care not to chip the bone or ivory which 10:05 can be very brittle. 10:07 Once the sediment is removed, workers paint the bone 10:10 with a protective resin to give the delicate fossil 10:12 added strength. 10:14 The Mammoth Site is very unique in that many fossils are 10:17 scattered among a small area and easy to find. 10:21 The sinkhole area provides a great place for us 10:23 to study the mammoths since they all 10:25 died so close to one another. 10:32 Radio carbon dating was used by secular scientists 10:35 here at the site to conclude these fossils are about 26,000 10:39 years old. 10:40 Since "The Bible" indicates the Flood happened around 10:43 4,350 years ago, the events here the Mammoth Site 10:47 had to have happened since that time. 10:49 The very fact that these fossils are near the surface 10:52 tells us that they died after the flood, 10:55 because the Flood laid down thousands of feet of sediments 10:58 below these mammoth fossils. 11:00 So how do we know for sure the actual date 11:03 these mammoths died? 11:05 If we are going to accept the secular scientists' ages based 11:08 on carbon-14 dating, then it is important to understand 11:11 how carbon dating works and what the numbers really mean. 11:15 First of all how is carbon-14 produced? 11:18 When cosmic rays bombard the Earth's atmosphere, 11:21 they produce fast moving neutrons. 11:23 These excited neutrons then collide with nitrogen atoms 11:26 in the atmosphere changing them into radioactive carbon-14 11:30 atoms, which then bond with oxygen atoms 11:32 to make carbon dioxide. 11:34 Plants absorb this carbon dioxide, 11:36 containing carbon-14, during photosynthesis, 11:39 as well as carbon-12, the most common isotope of carbon. 11:43 When animals eat the plants, the carbon-14 enters their bodies. 11:47 You can only use radiocarbon dating 11:50 to determine the age of things that were once alive. 11:53 Different radiometric dating methods are used to date rocks. 11:57 The carbon-14 in the bodies of the animals 11:59 breaks down into nitrogen-14 and escapes at the same rate 12:03 as new carbon-14 is added. 12:05 So the level of carbon-14 remained stable. 12:08 When an animal dies, the carbon-14 12:11 continues to break down to nitrogen-14 and escapes 12:14 while no new carbon-14 is added. 12:16 By measuring the amounts of carbon-14 and carbon-12 12:20 in a sample, and then comparing them 12:22 to the amounts of carbon-14 and carbon-12 in organisms today, 12:26 scientists calculate how long ago the animal died. 12:29 But not all radiocarbon atoms decay at the same rate. 12:33 Each carbon-14 atom reverts to nitrogen-14 12:36 at a different time. 12:38 So radiocarbon decay is considered a random process. 12:41 A special instrument called an accelerator mass spectrometer, 12:45 or AMS, is used to measure the ratio 12:48 of these isotopes of carbon in a sample, like the mammoth bones. 12:52 The decay of carbon-14 into nitrogen-14 can be measured. 12:56 And we can determine that rate of decay. 13:00 The time it takes for half of the radiocarbon to decay 13:03 is called a half life. 13:05 The half-life of radiocarbon is 5,730 years. 13:09 If you started with 1,000 atoms of carbon-14, in 5,730 years 13:15 you would have only about 500 remaining. 13:18 Dating dead things that are supposed 13:20 to be millions of years old is considered impossible 13:23 with radiocarbon dating because the half-life is 13:26 just a few thousand years. 13:28 There should be no radiocarbon in a bone that 13:30 is millions of years old. 13:32 Yet secular scientists claim they can still 13:34 date dead things using radiocarbon dating 13:37 and get ages of tens of thousands of years. 13:40 But there is a catch here, because there 13:42 are some basic assumptions made by the scientists 13:45 when radiocarbon dating is used. 13:48 First, they assume carbon-14 has always 13:50 been produced at the same rate that is being produced now. 13:54 Second, they assume that there was 13:55 no contamination of the sample by outside sources 13:58 of carbon-14. 14:00 If they get dates that don't match 14:02 with their assumptions of how old something is, 14:04 they say it was contaminated. 14:06 Third, they assume they know the amount 14:08 of carbon-14 the specimen started with. 14:12 Think of an hourglass. 14:13 If you walk into a room and see the sand moving from the top 14:16 to the bottom, but you didn't see it start, 14:19 you don't know how long it's been 14:20 going because you don't know how much was 14:22 in there in the beginning. 14:24 Fourth, they assume the atmosphere 14:26 has had the same carbon-14 concentration in the past 14:29 as it does now. 14:31 And fifth, the biosphere, or place on Earth 14:33 where organisms live, has always had 14:35 the same overall carbon-14 concentration 14:38 as the atmosphere. 14:39 These are big assumptions. 14:41 And an error in any one of them would cause 14:43 dates that aren't reliable. 14:46 For instance, scientists have now 14:47 documented that the atmosphere's concentration of carbon-14 14:51 varies considerably according to the latitude. 14:54 They have also determined several geophysical causes 14:57 for past and present fluctuations 14:59 in carbon-14 production in the atmosphere. 15:02 They attempt to correct their calculations based 15:05 on these ideas, but they are still 15:07 using unprovable assumptions. 15:09 If we used "The Bible" as our authority 15:11 on the age of these mammoths, we know 15:13 that there are less than 4,350 years old because they 15:17 died after the Flood. 15:20 This program is brought to you by 15:24 An organization committed to producing high quality 15:27 science-focused television content 15:30 all from a Biblical worldview. 15:32 Awesome Science is our kids series hosted by Noah Justice 15:36 In every episode, Noah visits the national parks 15:39 and historical sites to help you understand 15:41 earth's history using a Biblical worldview. 15:45 Find us online to watch all of our shows, 15:48 Noah's bloopers, behind the scenes videos, and special interviews. 15:53 You can also visit and like our Facebook page. 15:56 Where we post updates, announcements, and post extra videos. 16:00 Our YouTube channel also hosts many of videos and bonus segments. 16:04 Thanks for visiting. We hope you enjoy our great content. 16:10 With our Bible as the guide on the age of the Earth, 16:13 we can also use other scientific investigations 16:15 that show radiocarbon dating may not 16:17 be the most reliable method for dating these fossils. 16:21 We know from measurements, for instance, 16:23 that the Earth's magnetic field is decreasing by half 16:26 in strength every 1,400 years. 16:28 That means 1,400 years ago, it was twice as strong 16:32 as it is now and four times as strong 2,800 years ago. 16:36 Also, sunspots will affect the earth's magnetic field. 16:40 How do these factors affect the radiocarbon numbers? 16:43 The magnetic field partially shields the earth 16:46 from the influx of cosmic rays, the rays that 16:48 change nitrogen atoms into radioactive carbon-14 atoms. 16:52 A stronger magnetic field in the past 16:55 would have reduced the influx of cosmic rays 16:57 into the atmosphere, which would have reduced 16:59 the amount of radiocarbon produced in the atmosphere, 17:02 lowering the amount of carbon-14 entering the biosphere 17:05 on the Earth's surface. 17:07 Finally, the catastrophic Flood would have buried almost all 17:10 of the carbon in the pre-Flood biosphere. 17:13 A teeny percentage of this carbon 17:15 would have been carbon-14, but mostly carbon-12 17:18 which makes up 98.9% of all carbon atoms. 17:22 Carbon-12 is stable and does not undergo radiometric decay. 17:27 We can see, today, the size of the coal beds, oil deposits, 17:31 oil shale, natural gas deposits, and all 17:34 of the fossils in limestones and other sedimentary rocks 17:37 indicating the huge quantity of plants and animals 17:41 that must have been alive when the Flood struck. 17:43 There was likely 500 times more carbon 17:46 in the pre-Flood biosphere than what 17:48 we see in our biosphere today. 17:50 If there was so much more carbon-12 17:52 in the pre-Flood biosphere, then the proportion 17:54 of carbon-14 to carbon-12 would have been very much smaller 17:57 than the proportion in today's biosphere. 18:00 Why? 18:01 Because the earth had so much more plant life. 18:04 And carbon-14 production was greatly reduced back then 18:07 because the Earth's magnetic field was so much stronger. 18:11 Because secular scientists don't consider the Flood 18:13 as an actual event, they would assume the plants 18:16 buried in the coal beds had the same proportion of carbon-14 18:20 as plants do today. 18:21 And their radiocarbon dating would yield ages much higher 18:24 than the true biblical age of the Flood. 18:27 So in the case of the mammoths found at the hot springs, 18:30 because they lived after the Flood, 18:32 the 26,000 year age is inaccurate, mainly 18:35 due to the change in the earth's magnetic field since the Flood, 18:39 and the inaccurate assumptions used by secular scientists. 18:43 Using the biblical time scale allows 18:45 us to be much more accurate in dating these mammoths. 18:48 Science, it's awesome. 18:54 In Genesis 1, on Day 6, God made all the land dwelling animals. 19:00 This would have included the kind of animal 19:02 which could have looked something like an elephant. 19:05 The modern day scientific order for all animals 19:08 fitting into this kind is called proboscideans, 19:11 which means an animal with a long, flexible snout or trunk. 19:15 The better known proboscideans are elephants, mastodons, 19:18 the Columbian mammoth, and the woolly mammoth. 19:21 Secular biologists say that modern day elephants didn't 19:24 descend from the mammoths. 19:26 And that's probably correct. 19:28 But they do share a common ancestor 19:30 from the same created kind. 19:32 When it was time for Noah to load the animals on the ark, 19:34 he only took a male and female of the elephant kind. 19:38 In these two animals, was the DNA 19:40 to produce the subsequent varieties in the elephant kind 19:43 from the mastodon, to the African elephant, 19:46 and the Columbian and woolly mammoths. 19:48 Once off the ark, these animals of the elephant kind 19:52 reproduced. 19:53 With the variety of characteristics in their genes, 19:55 some descendents had thicker hair and larger builds, 19:58 while other descendents had smaller builds and little hair. 20:02 As these animals continued to reproduce 20:04 and spread out into different areas with various climates, 20:08 certain traits became dominant. 20:10 And unique populations developed around the globe. 20:13 Those with long hair would not survive in the hot areas 20:16 very well, but thrived in colder climates. 20:19 While those with little hair would be better suited 20:21 to warmer climates. 20:23 The same distribution of genetic traits 20:25 can be seen today with humans around the world. 20:28 Humans are dark and light, tall and small, 20:32 and all degrees of hairy. 20:34 We called people with similar characteristics people groups 20:38 rather than different races, because we all 20:40 came from the same original pair of humans, Adam and Eve. 20:43 There is only one human race. 20:46 Secular biologists will say that the evolution of proboscideans 20:50 occurred over a 70 million year period 20:53 because they hold to a worldview that 20:54 embraces uniformitarianism, which 20:57 says that everything we see today 20:59 came about from slow and gradual processes. 21:02 But as we look back in the fossil record, 21:05 all we find are clear specimens of the proboscidean kind, 21:08 not of any in-between or transitional forms. 21:11 This would be consistent with the biblical record 21:14 of the elephant kind being created by God 21:16 just a few thousand years ago. 21:18 So how could you tell a mammoth from a mastodon? 21:21 The mammoth's genes produced large, flat teeth 21:24 suitable for shearing and grinding grass for food. 21:27 The mastodon, on the other hand, had 21:29 teeth with high pointed ridges. 21:32 These teeth allow the mastodon to eat 21:33 a lot of things the mammoths could not chew effectively, 21:36 including branches, twigs, leaves, and roots. 21:41 The theory of evolution says that animals gradually 21:44 developed new characteristics through mutations 21:46 in their DNA that allowed them to survive 21:48 in various environments. 21:50 But this is biologically impossible. 21:52 Evolutionists believe that random changes in the DNA 21:55 slowly accumulated to add new features like ears, legs, 22:00 trunks, and tusks, to form an elephant. 22:02 But this is based on the belief that all organisms on Earth 22:05 share a common ancestor, not on actual observable evidence. 22:11 Based on observational science, we 22:13 know that mutations tend to remove information 22:15 from the DNA of creatures. 22:17 And that those mutations cannot create new traits like a trunk 22:21 from an animal that never had one. 22:23 The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota, 22:26 is a unique location that gives us 22:28 a glimpse into life at the end of the Ice Age. 22:31 Very few places on earth give us such a collection 22:34 of mammoth fossils so well-preserved. 22:37 Secular scientists look at this site 22:40 and think in terms of tens of thousands of years 22:43 and many ice ages in Earth's past. 22:45 But their dating methods and ideas about the past 22:49 just don't match up with the facts. 22:52 The biblical time scale of only a few thousand years 22:55 with catastrophic events explains the evidence the best. 22:58 The Flood gives us the right conditions for an Ice Age 23:01 to quickly develop after the great deluge. 23:04 The retreating of the Ice Age helps 23:06 us understand how the mammoths and many other mammals 23:09 went extinct because of the huge dust storms. 23:13 The world wide Flood itself wiped out 23:15 most life on earth except for one man and his family, 23:19 and representatives of every land animal on the ark. 23:22 The ark shows us evidence of God's love 23:25 and grace to the human race. 23:27 God could have wiped man totally off the face of the Earth, 23:31 but He chose to save Noah, his family, and the animals 23:35 from utter destruction. 23:37 "The Bible" tells us that there is another destruction coming 23:40 because of God's judgment against sin and rebellion. 23:43 And just as God provided an ark for Noah, 23:46 God has exercised His love and grace toward man 23:50 by providing His Son, Jesus Christ, 23:52 to receive the punishment for our sins. 23:55 Men back in Noah's day could've turned from their evil ways 23:59 and been saved from the flood by getting on the ark. 24:02 But all refused God's grace. 24:05 "The Bible" tells us that we can repent of our sinful heart 24:08 and turn towards a loving God confessing, 24:11 that Jesus died for our sins, and turning to Him by faith. 24:15 We shouldn't repent and turn to God simply 24:18 to avoid the coming destruction. 24:20 But we should turn to God because we realize 24:23 we are sinful and in great need of God's salvation 24:26 through Jesus. 24:28 If you have not done so already, we 24:30 invite you to repent and turn to God today 24:33 through faith in His Son, Jesus. 24:35 Awesome Science is a video series produced by 24:40 Awesome Science Media produces many other great shows, 24:52 Ark Animals 24:57 We broadcast our episodes throughout the world 25:00 on television networks, TV stations, and online platforms. 25:05 We're making a difference by challenging the deceptive 25:08 evolutionary worldview, which directly opposes the Word of God 25:13 Our mission is to provide youth with a firm foundation 25:16 based on solid scientific evidence that supports their 25:20 Biblical worldview. We also want to encourage youth 25:23 to pursue the Truth, and maybe even make a career from their 25:27 interest in science and the Bible. 25:29 Thank you for watcing our shows. 25:32 Please keep up with us as we continue to build new content 25:35 which builds up your faith in the Word of God. 25:39 Join us next time as we continue to examine our world 25:42 through a biblical world view. 25:43 And remember science, it's awesome. 25:47 [music playing] |
Revised 2018-03-22