Among the many most generally promoted examples of fossil folklore is a supposed hyperlink between the Central Asian horned dinosaur Protoceratops and the griffin, a gold-guarding legendary creature combining options of lions and birds. First proposed within the Nineteen Nineties, this geomyth postulates that tales of Protoceratops fossils have been transmitted westward alongside commerce routes from Asian gold mines to tell griffin lore among the many historical Greeks. An analysis of the Protoceratops-griffin hyperlink, nevertheless, finds it uncompelling.
The Protoceratops-griffin geomyth. The concept fossils of Mongolian horned dinosaurs impressed or influenced the mythology of the griffin, historical chimaeras of birds and lions in response to standard archaeologists, is likely one of the hottest and promoted examples of fossil folklore in trendy instances. This concept, first proposed within the early Nineteen Nineties, has obtained little in the way in which of educational scrutiny, nevertheless. Picture credit score: Witton et al., doi: 10.1177/03080188241255543.
The particular hyperlink between dinosaur fossils and griffin mythology was proposed over 30 years in the past in a sequence of papers and books written by folklorist Adrienne Mayor.
These began with the 1989 Cryptozoology paper entitled ‘Paleocryptozoology: a name for collaboration between classicists and cryptozoologists’, and was cemented within the seminal 2000 guide ‘The First Fossil Hunters.’
It means that an early horned dinosaur of Mongolia and China, Protoceratops, was found by historical nomads prospecting for gold in Central Asia.
Tales of Protoceratops bones then traveled southwest on commerce routes to encourage, or at the least affect, tales and artwork of the griffin.
Griffins are among the oldest mythological creatures, first showing in Egyptian and Center Jap artwork throughout the 4th millennium BCE, earlier than turning into well-liked in historical Greece throughout the eighth century BCE.
Protoceratops was a 2-m-long dinosaur that lived in Mongolia and northern China throughout the Cretaceous interval, between 75 and 71 million years in the past.
Like griffins, Protoceratops stood on 4 legs, had beaks, and had frill-like extensions of their skulls that, it’s been argued, could possibly be interpreted as wings.
Within the first detailed evaluation of the claims, College of Portsmouth Mark Witton and his colleagues re-evaluated historic fossil data, the distribution and nature of Protoceratops fossils, and classical sources linking the griffin with Protoceratops, consulting with historians and archeologists to totally perceive the traditional, non-fossil primarily based view of griffin origins. In the end, they discovered that not one of the arguments withstood scrutiny.
Concepts that Protoceratops could be found by nomads prospecting for gold, as an illustration, are unlikely when Protoceratops fossils happen a whole lot of km away from historical gold websites.
Within the century since Protoceratops was found, no gold has been reported alongside them.
It additionally appears uncertain that nomads would have seen a lot of Protoceratops skeletons, even when they prospected for gold the place their fossils happen.
“There’s an assumption that dinosaur skeletons are found half-exposed, mendacity round virtually just like the stays of recently-deceased animals,” Dr. Witton mentioned.
“However usually talking, only a fraction of an eroding dinosaur skeleton will likely be seen to the bare eye, unnoticed to all aside from sharp-eyed fossil hunters.”
“That’s virtually definitely how historical peoples wandering round Mongolia encountered Protoceratops.”
“In the event that they needed to see extra, as they’d have to in the event that they have been forming myths about these animals, they’d should extract the fossil from the encompassing rock.”
“That’s no small process, even with trendy instruments, glues, protecting wrapping and preparatory strategies.”
“It appears extra possible that Protoceratops stays, by and huge, went unnoticed — if the gold prospectors have been even there to see them.”
Equally, the geographic unfold of griffin artwork by historical past doesn’t align with the situation of griffin lore starting with Central Asian fossils after which spreading west. There are additionally no unambiguous references to Protoceratops fossils in historical literature.
Protoceratops is just griffin-like in being a four-limbed animal with a beak. There aren’t any particulars in griffin artwork suggesting that their fossils have been referenced however, conversely, many griffins have been clearly composed from options of residing cats and birds.
“Every part about griffin origins is in keeping with their conventional interpretation as imaginary beasts, simply as their look is completely defined by them being chimeras of massive cats and raptorial birds,” Dr. Witton mentioned.
“Invoking a task for dinosaurs in griffin lore, particularly species from distant lands like Protoceratops, not solely introduces pointless complexity and inconsistencies to their origins, but additionally depends on interpretations and proposals that don’t face up to scrutiny.”
“You will need to distinguish between fossil folklore with a factual foundation — that’s, connections between fossils and fantasy evidenced by archaeological discoveries or compelling references in literature and paintings — and speculated connections primarily based on instinct,” mentioned Dr. Richard Hing, additionally from the College of Portsmouth.
“There’s nothing inherently improper with the concept that historical peoples discovered dinosaur bones and included them into their mythology, however we have to root such proposals in realities of historical past, geography and paleontology. In any other case, they’re simply hypothesis.”
The workforce’s paper was printed this week within the journal Interdisciplinary Science Critiques.
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Mark P. Witton et al. Did the horned dinosaur Protoceratops encourage the griffin? Interdisciplinary Science Critiques, printed on-line June 20, 2024; doi: 10.1177/03080188241255543