Bible Question:
Did dinosaurs coexist with humans?
Bible Answer:
There is a great deal of evidence that humans and dinosaurs did co-exist. They lived at the same time. However, we are not referring to fossils in the ground. The evidence exists in the drawings of ancient artifacts that show dragons and humans together. It is also important to note folks of long ago drew images of dinosaurs on pots, stones and other artifacts. Now if they did not live at the same time as dinosaurs, how did they know how to draw them? How did they know what they looked like? We did not know what they looked like until recent history with all of the archaeological activity. This is an important question since we are erroneously told today that dinosaurs died off before man came into existence. The answer to the question is simple. They saw them. They knew what they looked like and so could draw images of them.
The website answersingenesis.org has a detailed explanation of this petroglyph that is important reading. At the webpage titled, “Where’s the Evidence of Dinosaur and Human Co-existence?,” Answers In Genesis provides some additional information about the coexistence of dinosaurs and humans. They provide additional information on the page titled, “Why Don’t We Find Human & Dinosaur Fossils Together?” The author who wrote this article explains that the reason human and dinosaur fossils are not found together is that: 1) humans do not fossilize like non-humans, in this case, 2) there were very few humans before the flood to fossilize, and 3) humans most likely would have avoided being near dinosaurs because dinosaurs could have easily killed them. He also adds,
The first issue to consider is what we actually find in the fossil record.
• ~95% of all fossils are shallow marine organisms, such as corals and shellfish.
• ~95% of the remaining 5% are algae and plants.
• ~95% of the remaining 0.25% are invertebrates, including insects.
The remaining 0.0125% are vertebrates, mostly fish.
The number of dinosaur fossils is actually relatively small, compared to other types of creatures. Since the Flood was a marine catastrophe, we would expect marine fossils to be dominant in the fossil record. And that is the case. Vertebrates are not as common as other types of life-forms. This makes sense of these percentages and helps us understand why vertebrates, including dinosaurs, are so rare and even overwhelmed by marine organisms in the record.”1
A 2023 study has concluded that humans and dinosaurs did live together. The Discover Magazine stated the following,
A 2023 study suggests that early mammals, including ancestors of humans and placental mammals like dogs, rabbits and cats, lived alongside dinosaurs before a massive asteroid impact wiped out the dinosaurs. This discovery challenges previous beliefs about the timeline of mammal evolution and suggests that mammals thrived after the extinction of the dinosaurs, leading to the diverse mammalian world we see today.
. . .
Ultimately, the researchers and other paleontologists conclude that early mammals, ancestors of humans, coexisted with dinosaurs 66 million years ago.2
The study referred to by Discovery Magazine is titled “A timescale for placental mammal diversification based on Bayesian modeling of the fossil record.”
Conclusion:
It is clear from Job 40:15-41:34 that God describes two types of dinosaurs, one of them being what we call a dragon. When God spoke to Job, it is obvious that God assumed Job understood what God was talking about. Now that is Old Testament proof that dinosaurs lived at the same time as humans. God bless.
References:
1. Bodie Hodge. “Why Don’t We Find Human & Dinosaur Fossils Together?” Answers In Genesis. (answersingenesis.org/dinosaurs/humans/why-dont-we-find-human-dinosaur-fossils-together/)
2. “New Evidence Points to Dinosaur and Human Coexistence.” Discover Magazine (https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/did-humans-and-dinosaurs-ever-live-together)
Suggested Links:
Where do the dinosaurs fit in and cavemen?Were dinosaurs on the ark?
When were dinosaurs created and were the days the same length as they are now?
What is the meaning of the dragon in the Bible?