The Theory of Evolution begins at the first replicators. However, there is no direct or fossil evidence for this. Dinosaurs are one thing. This starting point is a creation by man, based on genetic centric thinking, which may not be the best assumption. The DNA is the hard drive and not the processor.
If you started with replicators, for the sake of argument, the question becomes, where does all the needed materials and logistics to replicate come from, so they can replicate? A replicator by itself does not replicate. It needs logistical support; raw materials and enzyme complexes. In the lab, humans can provide this. But where did this support come from, before life and only naked replicators?
The replicators theory has the first replicators all set up for success, which make no sense, unless the protein had previously reach a level of sophistication to provide the logistics.
For the created replicator theory to work, we will need essentially a basic cell, with all the logistics to perform all the needed process steps. That is one recipe for success. When modern DNA is duplicated, and is packed into condensed chromosomes, the DNA is off line. The rest of the cell does the work. It makes more sense that proteins and enzymes need to evolve, even before replicators, or the replicator will not be able to do anything; too many bottlenecks. They would need to wait and would break down waiting.
It makes more sense for the protein to evolve first, so we have a way to provide the key logistics to push the replicators over the top. Protein are simply polymers of amino acids, which is simple and straight forward. RNA and RNA polymerization is more complex; multi-group monomers; phosphate, sugar and nucleic acids, than the simple protein monomers. Protein has an edge with amino acid easy to make with simple materials. The Miller experiments were able to make more amino acids types than natures uses. It can be done in both oxidizing and reduced environments.
The wild card is water. Protein create surface tension in water, so water will process these raw protein, the same way; minimizing the surface tension in the water. This is a good way for water to grade protein by residual surface tension. This then will encourage higher and lower tension packed protein, to come together to lower the composite surface tension. This grading and combining is not random but has sweet spots. While water packing protein, lowers entropy and adds an entropic potential; catalytic. Water is a major processor, getting protein ready, so they can also process.
One problem with protein polymerization is water is a product of amino acid polymerization. When done in water, protein tends to back add water and reverse the protein. However, when water packs protein, this offers a way to shield the oily core from the water reversal. I can see packed protein reversing, but only so far; become smaller oily membrane protein.
The Miller experiments also produce resinous solids, too complex to analyze in the 1950's. This suggests the precursors of what we call fossil fuels, may have been around before life, and was part of the abiogenesis mixture; oils and membrane. Polymerizing amino acids in oil has the advantage of making water reversal harder, and the water produced will separate out of the oil and sink.
