Are you sure ? Cause when copying the files using the -p options, it preserves the timestamps, and I retain the same info as my original file

Well, it stands to reason that when you ask to preserve the timestamps, they are preserved :).

But yes, I'm quite sure - ctime in Unix filesystem is the inode change time, not creation time. Take a look at the man page for the stat system call. Then take a look at this.

CU
Robartes-