What Did History Do with the Dinosaurs?

Genesis 1:24
“And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.”

We are often asked why, if the Bible’s account of creation is true, don’t dinosaurs appear in any historical documentation. After all, according to the Bible, both the great land creatures and humans were created on day six of creation week.

The first thing to remember is that the term “dinosaur” is a modern term that has no historical usage. However, there are plenty of descriptions of dinosaur-like creatures throughout history. Virtually every culture has legends of dragons and other serpent-like creatures. The thunderbird of the America Indians sounds a lot like a flying reptile. This conclusion is supported by the fact that there are numerous rock carvings of what appears to be a flying reptile. Such carvings can be found in many places, including Arizona, Utah and Colorado.

Another rock carving in Utah resembles a long-necked dinosaur like an apatosaurus. It can be argued that Asia also had its share of dinosaurs. A carving found at an 800-year-old Cambodian monastery looks like a textbook depiction of a stegosaurus. But Central and South America seems to hold the record for dinosaur depictions. These include a man riding a dinosaur and a triceratops. Figurines have also been found in ancient graves that look like dinosaurs.

So history offers a good deal of witness to historical human contact with what we today call dinosaurs.

Prayer: Father, frustrate the efforts of those who would obscure and censor Your Holy Word and the history it presents. Amen.

Author: Paul A. Bartz

Ref: Acts & Facts, 6/08, p. 13, John D. Morris, “The Dinosaur Next Door.” Photo: Dinosaur carving Ta Prohm temple Cambodia. By Harald Hoyer CC by SA 2.0