IN A FEW WORDS

Origins 9(2):59-60 (1982).

Brief summaries of the main conclusions of the leading presentations are given below for those who may find the complete articles too long or technical.

STRATIGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF VERTEBRATE FOSSIL FOOTPRINTS COMPARED WITH BODY FOSSILS

    Fossil vertebrate footprints are distributed through much of the geologic column. Reptile and amphibian footprints are most abundant and diverse in Permian through lower Jurassic rocks. At the end of the lower Jurassic there is a sharp drop in diversity, and essentially the only footprints found in upper Jurassic and in Cretaceous rocks represent a few types of large dinosaurs. Vertebrate footprints are rare in the lower Tertiary, but mammal and bird tracks are more common in upper Tertiary rocks. The distribution of reptile and amphibian fossil footprints in the geologic column differ sharply from the distribution of reptile and amphibian fossil bones. Why are reptile and amphibian tracks so rare in upper Mesozoic and Tertiary deposits, in which the corresponding bones are abundant? It is suggested that these data are explained most naturally by an earth history model which includes a worldwide flood.

THE GENEALOGIES OF GENESIS 5 AND 11: A STATISTICAL STUDY

    The geneaologies of Genesis 5 and 11 contain information on birth- and death-dates of a number of patriarchs. It is possible from this information to compute the lifespan of these individuals. When the ages at death are examined for this group, it is found that they present a nonrandom picture in that certain death ages arise with greater frequency than predicted. These results are compared with current demographic data.

THE TUNGUSKA EXPLOSION OF 1908

    In 1908 a cataclysm occurred in the central Siberian area of Russia. Initial reports described a glowing object in the sky which crashed to the earth and exploded into flames, destroying a large forested area.
    A scientific team was sent in 1921 to investigate the phenomenon. Initial theories attributed the event to meteor impact, but subsequent expeditions failed to find evidence to confirm this.
    Recently, other theories have been proposed to explain the Tunguska Explosion. These include some serious proposals such as cometary collision, contact with either anti-matter or a black-hole, and a more fanciful idea such as a nuclear device from an extraterrestrial object. The cometary hypothesis appears to be most strongly supported by the physical evidence which includes mode of impact and debris remnants. The anti-matter hypothesis proposes that annihilation occurred when anti-matter came in contact with the atmosphere. A black hole with a mass of approximately 10²³ grams could also have caused the above event. Supportive evidence for this hypothesis is not complete.