There are some within the religious community that still insist that the biblical account of creation is an accurate description of how mankind came into being despite an abundance of evidence to the contrary. However, instead of citing the evolutionary reasons for rejecting the Bible's take on the issue of human origins - which some Christians tend to have a strong aversion to - I want to instead concentrate on some archaeological and anthropological reasons.

The Bible indicates that mankind has existed for approximately 6,000 years. This is indicated by the biblical genealogies from Adam to Jesus and the two millenia since that time. However, the scientific disciplines of archeology and anthropology tell us that humans have been around far longer than 6,000 years. Here is what the online encyclopedia Wikipedia has to say about the timeline of human existence:

"Anatomically modern humans first appear in the fossil record in Africa about 130,000 years ago, although studies of molecular biology give evidence that the approximate time of divergence from the common ancestor of all modern human populations was 200,000 years ago."

A report from a team of international researchers lends further credence to the accuracy of the 200,000 year timeline. Here is an excerpt from that report taken from an article on the Arizona State University website:

“Our findings show that at 164,000 years ago in coastal South Africa humans expanded their diet to include shellfish and other marine resources, perhaps as a response to harsh environmental conditions,” notes Marean, a professor in ASU’s School of Human Evolution and Social Change. “This is the earliest dated observation of this behavior.”

The article goes on to give commentary on the findings of the report.

"Further, the researchers report that co-occurring with this diet expansion is a very early use of pigment, likely for symbolic behavior, as well as the use of bladelet stone tool technology, previously dating to 70,000 years ago.

These new findings not only move back the timeline for the evolution of modern humans, they show that lifestyles focused on coastal habitats and resources may have been crucial to the evolution and survival of these early humans.

After decades of debate, paleoanthropologists now agree the genetic and fossil evidence suggests that the modern human species – Homo sapiens – evolved in Africa between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago."

In my home state of Oklahoma (USA) there is evidence of paleoindian tribes hunting bison as early as 11,000 years ago (Cooper Bison Kill Site). Evidence in other parts of the North American Continent indicate human occupation anywhere from 13,000 - 50,000 years ago.

Not all Christians believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old, but I would imagine that they would all probably have to agree that, if the bible is to be taken literally, it makes it clear that mankind has only been in existence for approximately 6,000 years. The enormous disparity between the scientific and the biblical time-lines for human existence make it impossible that the two could ever be reconciled.