Thursday, February 18, 2010

History Of Dragon

Dragon history can be summed up as follows: "The dragons of legend are strangely like actual creatures that have lived in the past. They are much like the great reptiles [dinosaurs], which inhabited the earth long before man is supposed to have appeared on earth." (Knox Wilson, "Dragon", The World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, 1973, pg. 265.)

In light of that statement from The World Book Encyclopedia, many people don't realize that paleontology (the study of past geological ages based primarily on the study of fossils) is a relatively new science. In fact, the concept of dinosaurs (giant lizards) only surfaced in its present form less than 180 years ago. Prior to that, anyone who found a large fossilized bone assumed it came from an elephant, dragon or giant. There wasn't any notion of "science" attached to these finds.

It wasn't until 1841 that English scientist Richard Owens suggested that the group of "newly discovered" animals be called "dinosaurs," which literally means "terrible lizards." Throughout the next few decades, the first artist depictions of dinosaurs were actually comical when compared to what we can scientifically discern today. How then, do pottery, linens, cave paintings, and written descriptions of "dragons" from 2,000 to 4,000 years ago depict dinosaurs better than what science could muster in the mid-1800's?

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