The Young Earth and Swimming in the Sahara
Have you ever wondered why the ancient Egyptians chose an arid, sandy place to live?
"This here's the spot!"
"What? Where? We're standing in sand, and it's hot enough to boil a monkey's brain. Kind of arid, ain't it?"
"It's good for my sinuses. Let's commence to building us a civilization".
As you well know, that didn't happen. In a like manner, if you read your Bible, you'll see that the Promised Land is frequently referred to as "flowing with milk and honey" such as in Numbers 13:27. (Not literally, of course. It was an expression to say that it was a fabulous place.) People wanted to take it away from the Israelites for a long time, partly because it was a nice place and also because they hated God's people.
It may come as a shock, but the Sahara was not always a desert. It was populated, had people fishing in the lakes, and more. The wet Sahara has been known for a spell, but recent discoveries make the picture more impressive. This all fits with the biblical creation models of climate after the Ice Age.
"This here's the spot!"
"What? Where? We're standing in sand, and it's hot enough to boil a monkey's brain. Kind of arid, ain't it?"
"It's good for my sinuses. Let's commence to building us a civilization".
As you well know, that didn't happen. In a like manner, if you read your Bible, you'll see that the Promised Land is frequently referred to as "flowing with milk and honey" such as in Numbers 13:27. (Not literally, of course. It was an expression to say that it was a fabulous place.) People wanted to take it away from the Israelites for a long time, partly because it was a nice place and also because they hated God's people.
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| This painting in the Cave of Swimmers is located in the Libyan Desert area of the Sahara Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Roland Unger (CC by-SA 3.0) |
Wim Van Neer of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences and his colleagues recently catalogued numerous fossilized aquatic animals found in today’s Sahara Desert. The excavations were from the Takarkori rock shelter in southwest Libya in sediment layers claimed to be 4,650 to 10,200 years old. Many of the animal bones showed clear evidence of cut marks from human activity.To read the article in its entirety, click on "Ancient Sahara Was Wetter Than Expected". You may also find "Climate Models and the Wet Sahara" useful.