Did the Dragon Idea Result From Dinosaur Fossils?

dragon concept, It has adorned cultures and traditions throughout history, and has even been divined in some societies.

Various cultures from all over the world, such as the Chinese, Babylonians, Peruvians, Swedes, and North Africans, all have legends of dragons. Even in Turkish Mythology, Sangal, Bukrek, Celbegen, Badrac and bend We also know that dragons exist. So what is the origin of this dragon legend? How did such a common story emerge in different geographies of the world?

The word “dragon” comes from the Greek word “drakōn” meaning “snake” and “water snake”.

It must be said from the outset that dragons are not creatures of the Western tradition. These creatures in chinese mythology occupies a very important place. In fact, according to the sources we can reach, the first dragon depictions have existed since the Shang Dynasty (1520 – 1030 BC).

In Chinese society, these creatures were called “loong”. Dragon depictions in Chinese mythology, contrary to what we are used to They are depicted as wingless, four-legged creatures with good intelligence.

The first dragon descriptions as written sources date back to before Christ.

Chinese historian of the 4th century BC Chang Qudiscovered a dinosaur fossil in what is now Sichuan Province in southwestern China,dragon fossil“By putting the label, it may have greatly influenced the definitions of dragons that have survived to the present day.

But dragon consciousness goes even further back.

Long before this date, the first dinosaur fossil was found in some first people We know from the cave drawings that it was noticed by Just like today’s paleontologists, people of that period also attributed meanings to these fossils they came across. And in this process, they combined the fossil parts they found in their minds to create the dragon image, and this information was passed on from ear to ear for generations.

Fossils found by humans may have given rise to this idea.

Historian Adrienne Mayor, in The First Fossil Hunters: Dinosaurs, Mammoths, and Myth in Greek and Roman Times (2000), some of the dragon stories are based on ancient fossil discoveries of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. inspired by but he does not attribute all the dragon stories to fossils because he states that Scandinavia has many dragon and sea monster stories, but no fossils have been found in the region for a long time.

However, there may be a scientific basis for the issue.

Anthropologist David E. Jones, in his book An Instinct for Dragons (2000), states that humans instinctively respond to snakes, big cats, and birds of prey. that you fear proposes a hypothesis. Referring to a study stating that approximately 39 out of 100 people are afraid of snakes, Jones states that this fear is also present in people in areas where snakes are rare.

He argues that the similar appearance of dragons in different geographies throughout history is due to this fear of predators, which has been around since the first humans. According to him, this fear led people to the existence of the dragon. led to believe.

When we think of dragons, we immediately think of gigantic fire-breathing creatures that we see in TV series and movies.

dragons; It is like a mixture of crocodiles, snakes and winged creatures. But more than that, the creature it most resembles is a dinosaur. With their gigantic size, long tails and hard skins; They share physical characteristics with dinosaurs. And they can fly just like winged dinosaurs. But we do not see the fire-breathing feature in any other creature.

Although not a fire-breathing creature bombardier beetle, very close to this concept.

When this insect senses danger, it combines the hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide that it accumulates in two different compartments in its abdomen with water and catalytic enzymes in a third compartment in its abdomen. a tiny explosion creates. Due to the high temperature and pressure, they squirt a liquid from their bodies into long distances.

In the light of these similarities, we can understand that dragons are a species of creature that has been constructed based on the physical characteristics of many living things and blended with the imagination of human beings.

Although civilizations that have found dinosaur fossils since the Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman and Chinese empires attribute the meaning of dragons to them, by the 19th century, scientists began to refer to these fossils. dinosaur started naming. However, this information, which has been passed on from ear to ear for thousands of years, has built the cultures of some societies and has become an important issue for their history. It seems that we will continue to see dragons, which we often encounter in today’s TV series, movies and literature, for many years.

• Sources: Smithsonianmag, Biologos, Thoughtco