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Daniel and the Dinosaur Den?

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CLAIM: The Biblical Daniel slayed a dinosaur in ancient Babylon. (Hodge & Welch, 2011 , p. 4, 14) (Thomas, 2013 , p. 18) (Hovind, 2003 , 28:26) RESPONSE:  The idea that the prophet Daniel may have slain a dinosaur during the reign of Cyrus over Babylon only makes sense if more likely interpretations of the text are ignored for a modern reading (similar to the idea that Marco Polo saw living dinosaurs during his travels in China ). Dr. Brian Thomas of the Institute for Creation Research describes the case briefly in his 2015 book  Dinosaurs and the Bible while discussing proposed historical encounters between humans and dinosaurs as an argument for young-Earth creationism: "The few dinosaurs that remained were often hunted, as many dragon legends portray. St. George was reputed to have slain a dragon in the Middle East in the late AD 200s , and another legend holds that the prophet Daniel killed a dragon near Babylon centuries earlier. These two examples represent scores of...
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Did St. George kill a dinosaur?

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  CLAIM:  St. George killed a dinosaur near the end of the third century CE. (Ham, 2006 , p.161) (Ham, 2013 , p.35) (Hodge & Welch, 2011 , p.18) (Hovind, 2003 , 31:46) (Petersen, 2012 , p.165) (Thomas, 2013 , p.18) RESPONSE:  In his 2013 Dinosaurs and the Bible , young-Earth creationist Brian Thomas notes that he believed, as do many other creationists, that St. George's legendary encounter with a dragon is actually shaped around a historical encounter with a late-surviving dinosaur: "The few dinosaurs that remained (after the Flood) were often hunted, as many dragon legends portray. St. George was reputed to have slain a dragon in the Middle East in the late AD 200s, and another legend holds that the prophet Daniel killed a dragon near Babylon centuries earlier. These two examples represent scores of historical accounts from around the world." (Thomas, 2013, p.18) St. George was a historical figure, though he was not reputed to have actually killed a living, breathin...
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The Chinese Zodiac - Evidence of late-surviving dinosaurs?

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  CLAIM:  The Chinese Zodiac, likely created during the Zhao period in the 5th century BCE, depicts dragons as living creatures alongside other known animals like bulls, monkeys, and roosters. Why would there be a random mythical animal thrown in for no reason? (Hodge & Welch, 2011 , p.5) (Thomas, 2013 , p.18) RESPONSE:  Just because animals were depicted by ancient cultures does not mean these depictions were intended to depict biological organisms by default. For the ancient Chinese, dragons were real, but not because they were animals that could be found like a rat or an ox. They were quasi-spiritual entities associated with the divine: they were guardians of heaven and of the underworld, deities that controlled nature and presided over the operations of the world, they ruled over the seas, occasionally took on human forms, were companions of rulers, or even demons or workers of chaos. (Carr, 1990) They were associated with the world but not entirely a part of it, ...
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The Narmer Palette

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  CLAIM:  The Narmer Palette, an ancient Egyptian stela carved around 3200-3000 BCE, features two very distinct sauropods. (Clarey, 2015 , p. 21) (Hovind, 2003 , 32:36) (Thomas, 2013 , p. 45) RESPONSE:  Brian Thomas utilizes the Narmer Palette, an Egyptian ornamental/possibly ceremonial siltstone carving created around 3200-3000 BCE, in his 2013 Dinosaurs and the Bible  in defense of ancient peoples being familiar with long-necked sauropod-like creatures, claiming that it is one of several artifacts that refute the idea that the hippopotamus was the largest animal known to the inhabitants of the Ancient Near East. "One in particular depicts two colossal creatures. Apparently, ancient Near Easterners were quite familiar with at least one creature that dwarfed the hippo. An exquisitely carved commemorative plaque called the Narmer Palette depicts a triumphant pharaoh on one side and symbols of greatness on the other. It looks as though the pharaoh in question wanted ot...
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The Kachina Bridge "Sauropod" in Utah's Natural Bridges National Monument

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  CLAIM:  A petroglyph discovered at the Kachina Bridge, Natural Bridges Monument in southeastern Utah that likely dates from around 1000 CE depicts a sauropod, likely a Diplodocus. (Dupre, 2014 , p.4-6) (Ham, 2013 , p.36) (Ham, 2017 , p.162) (Hodge & Welch, 2011 , p.5) (Hovind, 2003 , 36:59) (Swift, 1997 ) RESPONSE:  The Kachina Bridge "sauropod" in Utah's Natural Bridges National Monument has had a wide circulation in young-Earth circles as evidence that humans existed with dinosaurs. However, detailed analysis by paleontologist Phil Senter and archaeologist Sally Cole has refuted the idea that the figure is a sauropod and responses to their work have been left wanting. COMPOSITE NATURE OF THE PETROGLYPH Senter and Cole's examination indicates that the "sauropod" is not a single animal, but comprises two separate petroglyphs: one forming the "neck" and "back", and the other contributing to the overall shape, with the "legs...
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The "Pterosaur" of Black Dragon Canyon, Utah

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Photo c. Senter (2012, p.3) CLAIM:  A petroglyph from the Fremont culture discovered in Black Dragon Canyon, Utah (San Rafael Swell) depicts a pterosaur complete with a head-crest. (Hodge & Welch, 2011 , p.5) (Ham, 2006 , p.162) (Ham, 2013 , p.36) (Swift, 1997 ) RESPONSE:  The so-called "Black Canyon Pterosaur" refers to a rock art panel in Black Canyon, Utah, which some young-Earth creationists have interpreted as depicting a pterosaur. However, the petroglyph is actually a composite of separate anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures characteristic of the Barrier Canyon style. In the late 1940s, researcher John Simonson outlined the pictograph with chalk, perceiving it as a single image of a winged monster, which he believed resembled a pterosaur. (Senter, 2012, p.2-3) This interpretation was accepted by some young-Earth creationists as evidence of a recent human-dinosaur co-existence as early as 1997 (Swift), even though an accurate representation of what lay beneat...
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Edmontosaurus petroglyph in Havasupai Canyon?

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CLAIM:  A petroglyph in Arizona’s Havasupai Canyon, carved by the Havasupai people sometime after they arrived in the area between 1000 and 1300 CE, shows the unmistakable depiction of a hadrosaur, specifically an Edmontosaurus . (Ham, 2017 , p.162) (Hovind, 2003 , 35:03) (Swift, 1997 ) RESPONSE:  While some young-Earth sources continue to claim that a petroglyph of a hadrosaur, specifically an  Edmontosaurus , has been found in Havasupai Canyon, detailed analyses suggest that these interpretations cannot be supported. ANALYSIS OF THE PETROGLYPH Phil Senter's 2012 study on alleged dinosaurs found in ancient rock art, published in Paleontologia Electronica , critically examined the Edmontosaurus  claim and concluded that the figure is actually a stylized bird. Senter highlited the similarities between this petroglyph and other bird images found in the canyon, including eagle depictions with a hooked head and long tail similar to the claimed hadrosaur. The "J" shape at...
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