Are these structures the product of primitive man?
Application: Their is no such thing as "primitive man." We are all created in the image of God.
In this L.I.F.E. Lesson, Dr. Bob visits the misnamed "Aztec" ruins in New Mexico. Here he discovers amazing, advanced construction by an capable community. Rather than reflecting a primitive culture, when viewed through a Biblical perspective, this is evidence of the incredible capability of humanity, even when living in difficult circumstances.
Supplemental Information
The Bible describes a period of massive upheaval on the earth: the global flood (Genesis 6–9). During the flood civilization was completely destroyed except for eight God-believing people. Humanity was forced to start over. It is in this historical context that some scholars believe men lived in caves and made use of stone tools. They are regarded as primitive. But these people were not primitive; they were living in primitive conditions. And they were not the products of evolutionary processes, moving from ape to man.
The early fossil remains are sometimes interpreted as a transition between ape and men. This is what is responsible for the view most people have of "primitive" man, or "cavemen." People may picture furry half-men, half-ape creatures crouched in a cave next to a fire, drawing on the walls with their newly developed stone tools. This is a false narrative. As far as Darwinian anthropology goes, we should keep in mind that these interpretations reflect an anti-God worldview and are not the result of the evidence. In fact, not only is there major opposition to these interpretations within the academic community, but the Darwinists themselves do not entirely agree on the details.
When God created Adam and Eve, they were fully developed human beings, capable of communication, society, and development (Genesis 2:19–25; 3:1–20; 4:1–12). Evolutionary scientists go to great lengths to “prove” the existence of primitive man. They find a misshapen tooth in a cave and from that create a misshapen human being who lived in a cave, hunched over like an ape. There is no way that science can prove the existence of primitive man by a fossil. Evolutionary scientists simply have a theory, and then they force the evidence to fit that theory. Adam and Eve were the first human beings ever created and were fully formed, had language, were intelligent, and walked upright.
Anti-God anthropologists (scientists who study human cultures through time) believe there must be a development of man from a primitive condition rather than the miraculous creation of man described in the Bible. The Biblical account describes people who were fully civilized, right from the beginning. The anti-God theory of evolution, applied to anthropology, seemed to gain support as the exploration of Africa and the Americas presented evidence of people who appeared technologically less developed than Europeans.
The Spanish conquests in the Americas raised in a particular way the problem of just what constituted "being human." This discussion even attempted to employ the Bible in its defense. Since the Native Americans were not mentioned in the Bible, did that mean they were not human? This idea was very popular because it was used as justification for Europeans (and later Americans) to take the land from these "non-human," "primitive" people. There was political and economic benefit to accepting an evolutionary version of history.
This same philosophy has been applied to the Puebloans who built these structures. There was political and economic benefit in declaring them primitive, and even questioning their humanity, since their land and the resources it contained were valuable. It was not beyond those telling the stories to take sides, even among these tribes. The Puebloans are often called Anasazi. This term is Navajo in origin, and means “ancient enemy.” The Pueblo peoples of New Mexico understandably do not wish to refer to their ancestors in such a disrespectful manner, the term they prefer is “Ancestral Pueblo” or “Ancestral Puebloan.”
Göbekli Tepe
While Göbekli Tepe may seem far removed from New Mexico and the Aztec Ruins, it demonstrates the challenges the evolutionary view of human culture creates. There are numerous inconsistencies with what evolution predicts (and requires) and what is actually observed in human history.
Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, with its massive, T-shaped 7-10 ton stone pillars cut and hauled from limestone quarries, creates a dilemma for evolutionary anthropologists. It dates from a time when humans are depicted as "hunter-gatherers" without the know-how, skills and labor to produce them. Anthropologist Graham Hancock says, “at the very least it would mean that some as yet unknown and unidentified people somewhere in the world, had already