Lets discover if the Romans ever met the dinosaurs through ancient fossil discoveries. Signup for your FREE trial to Wondrium: [ Ссылка ]
This animated history documentary is a part of our How They Did It series on daily life in the past. In this episode we focus on the topic of ancient fossil discoveries. In theory such events seem plausible given the fact that today, common people will stumble upon such fossils. It stands to reason then that people in the past would also have bumped into dinosaur fossils as nature brought them to the surface or individuals dug down to encounter them.
The episode begins with a discussion of what we even mean by the term fossil. This is actually a quite generic term which can mean almost any preserved trace of past life. We then discuss the various means by which this might occur. The primary one being permineralization which results in the stereotypical stone dinosaur fossils.
Next we explore the numerous pieces of evidence which would support the claims that people from the past did indeed encounter fossils. This comes in both direct and indirect forms. Some amazing examples include fossil finds within Egyptian tombs, the reported discovery of massive giants beneath the earth, and anecdotes about fossil galleries such as the one created by Emperor Augustus. We finally finish with a recap of what can be concluded from this evidence. In the next episode we will explore how dinosaur and other pre-historic fossils may have influenced ancient mythology of things like dragons, giants, and cyclops.
As a big fan of dinosaur documentaries growing up, and of course Jurassic Park, I am amazed that I had never heard of this topic and am so happy to bring it to you today. Hopefully it serves as a more grounded discussion of dinosaurs and humans than the latest Hollywood movie Jurassic World Dominion (which I will totally still go after watching the off-the-rails madness that is the Jurassic World Dominion trailer). Let us know if you think the Romans ever found real dinosaur bones and what sorts of episodes you would like to see next!
Credits
Research = Chris Das Neves
Writing = Chris Das Neves
Narration = Invicta
Artwork = Penta Limited
Editing = Penta Limited
Sources and Suggested Reading
"The First Fossil Hunters" by Adrienne Mayor
"Natural History" by Pliny the Elder
"The Histories" by Herodotus
"Description of Greece" by Pausanius
"Book of Marvels" by Phlegon os Tralles
"Greek Questions" by Plutarch
"Life of Apollonius of Tyana" by Philostratus
#history
#documentary
#jurassicworlddominion
