Ed...

Evolution is still called a "theory" for that very reason. It is not something replicable in the lab. Science is the practice of recreating cause and effect.

So too for Paleontology. It involves theory, but no fact.

How can you recreate time...the past...in a lab? You can't, so both of these "sciences" relies on guesswork from clues.

In essence, as I see it, they are both closer to religion than science, as they rely more on theory than on provable scientific methodology.