Throughout history, people have uncovered fossils and tried to explain them using the knowledge and stories of their time. In this episode of The Past Macabre, host Stephanie Rice explores how ancient discoveries of prehistoric bones may have inspired some of humanity’s most enduring myths about dragons and other legendary creatures.

From China’s loong, whose image appeared in tombs thousands of years before the first dynasties, to the Greek and Roman tales of sea monsters and winged serpents, this episode traces how archaeology and paleontology overlap in uncovering the roots of these mythical beings and the human fascination with what fossils.

Offline Works Cited:

• Boaz, Noel T., and Russell L. Ciochon. 2004. The Bones of Dragon Hill. In Dragon Bone Hill: An Ice Age Saga of Homo Erectus, edited by Noel T. Boaz and Russell L. Ciochon. Oxford University Press.
• Crump, J., & Crump, I. 1963. Dragon Bones in the Yellow Earth: The story of archaeological exploration & research in northern China in the present century. Dodd, Mead, and Company.
• Romano, M., 2024. Fossils as a source of myths, legends and folklore. Rend. Online Soc. Geol. It, 62, pp.103-117.

For transcripts of this episode head over to: https://archpodnet.com/tpm/28

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• Loving the macabre lore? Treat your host to a coffee!
• Open Access Article | Finding the origins of dragons in Carboniferous plant fossils
• Website | Educational resources for teaching grades 8-12 about Greek myths related to fossils (interesting info for anyone, not just students)
• Open Access Article | Sea Monsters in Antiquity: A Classical and Zoological Investigation
• Open Access Book | Palaephatus, On Unbelievable Things (English Translation)

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