by Michelle Hozey

Created on: April 03, 2009   Last Updated: January 28, 2010

God, asteroids and volcanoes. What do those three items have in common? They are all three forces believed to have caused the extinction of dinosaurs. While there are many theories, no one knows for sure exactly what happened. Just as there are two sides to ever story, there are two sides to the dinosaur extinction debate. The most commonly accepted theories are based on evolution. Creationists, those who believe the earth was created by a supreme being, have their own theories on the topic.

Theories of Evolutionists

Some theories held by evolutionists include a disease epidemic; drastic climate change, such as with the Ice Age; competition with other animals; mental disorders, based on evidence of the miniscule size of dinosaur's brains in relation to their bodies; and overpopulation. Others theories are:

The Asteroid Theory
This is the most widely accepted theory. Scientists believe that a large asteroid or comet struck the earth around 65 million years ago. There was so much dust from the explosion that it blocked out the light of the sun for months or even years. Without the sun, plants were unable to photosynthesize, leaving the herbivores to starve. Consequently, the carnivores also starved. Evidence cited for this theory includes a huge asteroid crater found in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

Volcanic Activity
This theory states that a massive increase in volcanic activity could have led to the extinction of the terrible lizards. According to this supposition, a volcanic explosion of enormous proportions occurred approximately 65 million years ago. The volume of ash and debris combined with sulfuric acid and poisonous gases would have made the air impossible to breathe. In addition to poor breathing conditions, the ground would have been covered with molten rock.

Ice Age
In 2004 scientists found fossilized cold water plankton in what used to be a warm sea, giving aid to the theory that the dinosaurs were killed off by an Ice Age. The Ice Age theory suggests that the waters of the earth froze, the temperature was drastically reduced and the dinosaurs were killed.

Theories of Creationists

As previously stated, the most commonly accepted theories are based on evolution. There are, however, alternative theories that disagree with evolution altogether. Creationists believe in the divine creation of the universe. They have their own theories about the extinction of the dinosaurs, some completely differing from modern science, and some similar. Creationists

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