So do you think they will ever find an elf, pixie or dragon skeleton? Are the myths of old possibly in fact true? Perhaps the mighty flood or even wars took these possible threats out. What do you think?
2007-01-30 04:15:26 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
Most myths are based on the misinterpretation of fact.
When scientists dig in the places where the ancient Greeks claimed that cyclops lived, they find the bones of mammoths. Human bones and mammoth bones share most of the same proportions, so it is easy to see how the bones could be reconstructed incorrectly to stand on two legs since the Greeks did not know of elephants. The skull is the only part that significantly differs in shape. The large hole in the center of the skull where the trunk attached could easily be mistaken for a large central eye. The two tusks would appear to be huge teeth. What does the resulting misconstruction of the skeleton look like? It looks like a giant, tusked cyclops.
When scientists dig where the myth of the griffon originated, they find the bones of proteceratops. These bones do look almost identical to the myth of a lion with an eagle's head and beak. The only difference is the frill on the back of the protoceratops' head, which could easlily be misidentified as the remains of wings, which griffons were claimed to also possess.
As an example of more modern misinterpretation of facts, the frequent postings on this site about how scientists have recently found the bones of dragons is based on a special on Animal Planet a few years ago called Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real. It reairs from time to time and continually fools people. However, if you actually watch the whole thing, you will hear Patrick Stewart state at the very beginning "If dragons were real, this is what we'd find." All the "fossilized evidence" in the special is pure fiction.
So my opinion on elves, pixies, and dragons is that they are rooted in fact, but have been seriously misinterpreted for generations and the current myths bare little similarity to reality.
2007-01-30 05:16:00 · answer #1 · answered by scifiguy 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well I know for a fact that they did find dragon skeleton, but forgot where. It was on the news about a month ago. Now elf, pixie fairies No I don't think so.
2007-01-30 12:27:21 · answer #2 · answered by honeybunny 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Seriously, I doubt Tolkien even know about the "hobbits" when he wrote his books, and believe that it they were named that because of the books (not the other way around).
I think that many mythical creatures and myths will trace their beginnings to exposed fossils and people explaining them.
2007-01-30 12:28:29 · answer #3 · answered by Pirate AM™ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes i believe all myths hold some piece of truth even if the whole myth is not!
2007-01-30 12:26:14 · answer #4 · answered by Avaria 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I saw that article this morning. You know, my first thought is perhaps it is a form of primordial dwarfism.
2007-01-30 13:45:02 · answer #5 · answered by TrueSunn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋