First, we should understand that projections of the age of fossils based upon archaeological findings often include speculation (archaeologists might say, "educated guesses") and that the common approach of overlaying them with the theory of evolution corrupts their value. We deal with these subjects in our booklet Creation or Evolution. Some fossils that are considered ancient may actually be more recent.

The Bible records the history of mankind from the creation of Adam and Eve. It does not deal with what we might call "manlike creatures" that lived on the earth before the creation of mankind, as we know it. Without divine revelation, there's no way of knowing what these creatures were or what purpose they served.

Twice, Adam is called "the first man" (1 Corinthians 15:45, 47). Clearly, Adam and Eve were the first human beings God made "in His own image" (Genesis 1:27). Their descendants have a spiritual component, called simply "the spirit" in Ecclesiastes 12:7 and "the spirit of the man" in 1 Corinthians 2:11. The joining of this spirit with the Holy Spirit of God is what makes conversion possible (Romans 8:16). Further, it sets humans made "in the image of God" off from prehistoric man.

For More Information, see Creation or Evolution: Does It Really Matter What You Believe?