Pre-flood Potential: More than Capable

A question many people ask about the ark is, “How could Noah build something so large and sophisticated?”

Many people believe that ancient man was not intelligent enough to design and build something as large and complex as the ark. But they failed to consider some important details.

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When Noah built the ark, more than 1,600 years after creation, his culture had made significant technological advances. The Bible does not tell us how advanced that civilization was, but we know it was fully capable of metalworking. There is no reason to think it was not also highly proficient in using stone and wood for construction purposes.

Technology Does Not Equal Intelligence

Many people assume that since ancient cultures lacked technological achievements, they must have been intellectually inferior. However, the ability to build a computer or smartphone does not make a person more intelligent than Albert Einstein (1879–1955) or Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727).

A culture’s level of technology is not an accurate indicator of its intelligence. Technologies are often built upon the work of preceding generations. Early man did not possess our advanced technology, but we should not view our predecessors as less intelligent than we are. In fact, we can see evidence in the world around us that ancient people were highly intelligent.

Developing Technology

Genesis states that people in the pre-flood world played musical instruments and worked with bronze and iron. We also know that Noah was capable of building the ark. What other technologies might they have developed?

As people filled the earth, certain innovations surely grew. Tools for farming and construction, along with roads and various means of transportation by land and water, were surely invented. The longer lifespans could have enabled innovators and inventors to collaborate for decades, or even centuries, to produce sophisticated technologies.

To learn more about the intelligence of man, be sure to visit our Ancient Man exhibit, located on the third deck of our life-size Noah’s Ark. Start planning your trip to the Ark Encounter today!