not determine that beyond a shadow of a doubt, the pottery was formed by human hands nor can the geologist be absolutely certain that the sandstone was formed the way he proposed. However, using the idea of uniformitarianism, both scientists can state that because there is no evidence proving otherwise, this must have been formed in this way. The archeologist knows of no other being that could have made the pottery, so it is logical for him to assume that it was formed by human hands. On the same level, the geologist knows of no other processes that could form a rock such as the described sandstone and must assume that it was formed by a process he can readily see today: erosion and deposition. In this way, uniformitarianism helps us to form a history of the earth. A black rock with a very porous surface is evidence for volcanic activity and large deposits of sediment that resembles ground moraine of modern glaciers can be assumed to be ground moraine of previous glaciers. The idea of uniform natural laws which govern processes is a very logical one. However, one must realize that no one can be absolutely certain that what we say happened actually happened. That is simply the chance we must take. We can only use our skills of observation and intellect and make educated guesses at what occurred. Uniformitarianism is almost exactly that. It is an educated guess using observational and purely objective evidence. This way, we can make our best attempt at putting together the vast and complicated history of earth....
