Unraveling the Mysterious Past: The Long History of Discovering Dinosaurs
Even though scientific interest in dinosaurs is relatively new, our species has been puzzling about the prehistoric creatures for centuries. The first person to discover a fossilized dinosaur remains a mystery, as people all over the world have been recognizing and wondering about dinosaurs and other fossilized creatures for centuries, from the Greeks to Native Americans.
Prehistoric people may have even picked up fossils and fashioned them into tools or decorations, imbuing them with special significance. Fossilized dinosaur eggshell fragments have even been used in necklaces, although the identity of the creators and their motivations remain unknown. The long, deep history with dinosaur bones is a testament to humanity’s enduring fascination with these prehistoric giants.
However, western scholars and naturalists of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries often had a very different understanding of fossils compared to ancient and aboriginal cultures. While many ancient and aboriginal cultures considered dinosaur bones to be the remains of real creatures, western savants often passed off fossils as “weird sports of nature” that were created by supernatural forces within the earth. This was due in part to religious dogma that dictated the world was only a few thousand years old, leaving no room for fossils in biblical chronologies.
It took decades of research, discovery, and re-discovery of older ideas before naturalists realized that fossils were true vestiges of prehistoric life and that extinction was a reality. By 1800, a scientific understanding of prehistory was finally starting to form.
The Trail of Dinosaur Discoveries
Although giant ground sloths, mammoths, and mosasaurs were among the first fossil celebrities, European naturalists began to pick up the trail of dinosaurs around the same time. However, they didn’t know what they were looking at, as the word “dinosaur” wasn’t even coined until 1842 by the British anatomist Richard Owen.
Prior to that, dinosaur bones were often thought to be the remains of reptiles and other large creatures. The fragmentary nature of the earliest dinosaur finds further obscured the true identity of the fossils. Science historians David Spalding and William Sarjeant cataloged some of the earliest recorded dinosaur finds, including a fossil femur described by the British naturalist Robert Plot in 1677, which he believed to have come from an elephant brought to Britain by the Romans.
In 1699, naturalist Edward Lhuyd misidentified several dinosaur teeth as fossil fish teeth, and other naturalists continued to write about the strange bones and teeth that they acquired for their museums and personal collections. Spalding and Sarjeant provide a full listing of the misapprehended “dinosauriana”, including a theropod limb collected by John Woodward in the early 1700s, vertebrae and a femur found in France, a large dinosaur limb bone found in southwestern New Jersey in 1787, and a spinosaur tooth mistaken for a crocodile fossil and called Suchosaurus by Richard Owen in 1824.
One of the most fascinating examples is when Meriwether Lewis – of the legendary Lewis and Clark expedition through the Louisiana Purchase – noticed a large bone in a cliff near what is now Billings, Montana in 1806. He thought the bone belonged to an enormous fish, but based on his notes and description, paleontologists are confident that Lewis had actually spotted a dinosaur rib in Montana’s fossil-rich Hell Creek Formation.
The Slow Progress of Dinosaur Science
Naturalists in Europe and North America certainly cataloged and collected dinosaur bones, but the rare, fragmentary nature of the fossils led researchers to attribute the bones to familiar animals, albeit of giant size. Even William Buckland, who described Megalosaurus, thought his animal was akin to a giant monitor lizard.
It wasn’t until Richard Owen coined the word “dinosaur” that the various scattered, enigmatic remains started to come together within a peculiar group of hitherto unknown animals. And it was several more decades still before discoveries of partial skeletons began to reveal the true form of dinosaurs.
Despite these hiccups caused by reliance on religious authority about the history of the world, our species has been wondering about the lives of the animals we now call dinosaurs for centuries. Dinosaurs have been with us in one form or another far longer than the word “dinosaur” itself.
Uncovering the Hidden Histories of Dinosaur Civilizations
The study of dinosaur fossils and the cultures that encountered them in the past has revealed fascinating insights into the hidden histories of these prehistoric creatures. Across the globe, ancient and indigenous peoples have recognized and revered dinosaur remains, often imbuing them with spiritual significance or incorporating them into their cultural practices.
In North America, for example, the Lakota Sioux in what is now South Dakota have long held the belief that the Thunderbird, a mythical creature with a wingspan spanning miles, was responsible for the creation of the Black Hills region – an area rich in dinosaur fossils. The Lakota’s oral traditions and creation stories suggest a deep understanding of the prehistoric creatures that once roamed their lands.
Similarly, in China, the Xingjiangchelys, a type of ancient turtle, has been found in association with dinosaur fossils and rock art depicting what appear to be sauropod-like creatures. These discoveries suggest that ancient Chinese cultures were aware of and even revered the dinosaurs that inhabited their landscapes.
Across Africa, rock art and cave paintings have been discovered that appear to depict theropod dinosaurs, such as the Tyrannosaurus rex-like creatures, indicating that early human inhabitants of the continent were familiar with these fearsome predators.
In South America, the Nazca Lines – a series of geoglyphs etched into the Peruvian desert – include depictions that some researchers believe may represent pterosaurs, the flying reptiles that soared alongside the dinosaurs.
These examples illustrate the fascinating hidden histories of how ancient cultures around the world grappled with the existence of these prehistoric giants, long before the term “dinosaur” was even coined. By carefully studying the intersection of archaeology, anthropology, and paleontology, we can uncover a richer, more diverse understanding of humanity’s long-standing relationship with the awe-inspiring creatures we now call dinosaurs.
Emerging Theories and New Discoveries
As our understanding of dinosaur fossils and the cultures that encountered them continues to evolve, new theories and discoveries are reshaping our knowledge of these prehistoric creatures and the ancient world.
One intriguing theory suggests that some ancient cultures may have even domesticated certain species of dinosaurs, using them for transportation, agriculture, or even spiritual practices. Recent discoveries of dinosaur-like footprints and trackways in various archaeological sites around the world lend support to this idea, hinting at the possibility of human-dinosaur interactions in the distant past.
Moreover, new archaeological techniques, such as advanced imaging and dating methods, are allowing researchers to uncover previously hidden or misidentified dinosaur fossils and artifacts. These discoveries are shedding light on the diverse ecosystems and intricate social structures of ancient dinosaur civilizations, challenging long-held assumptions about the prehistoric world.
As we continue to explore the rich tapestry of human-dinosaur interactions throughout history, the hidden histories of these remarkable creatures are slowly being revealed, providing a deeper understanding of our shared past and the enduring fascination with the lost kingdoms of the dinosaurs.
