Painting of a griffin, a lion-raptor chimera, next to fossils of Protoceratopsa horned dinosaur. The latter is said to have influenced the legend and appearance of the former, but our study suggests there is no convincing link between dinosaurs and griffins. Credit: Dr Mark Witton
A new study refutes the theory that griffin myths were inspired by Protoceratops dinosaur fossils, revealing inconsistencies in geographic and historical evidence and arguing for a return to traditional interpretations of these mythological creatures.
A new study challenges the popular and widely held claim that dinosaur fossils inspired the legend of the griffin, the mythological creature with the head and wings of a raptor bird and the body of a lion.
The specific connection between dinosaur fossils and griffin mythology was proposed over 30 years ago in a series of articles and books written by folklorist Adrienne Mayor. It began with the 1989 Cryptozoology article titled “Paleocryptozoology: a call for collaboration between classicists and cryptozoologists,” and were cemented in the seminal 2000 book “The First Fossil Hunters.” The idea has become a staple of books, documentaries and museum exhibits.
This suggests that one of the first horned dinosaurs from Mongolia and China, Protoceratops, was discovered by ancient nomads searching for gold in Central Asia. Tales of Protoceratops The bones then traveled southwest on trade routes to inspire, or at least influence, the stories and art of the griffin.
Griffins are among the oldest mythological creatures, first appearing in Egyptian and Middle Eastern art during the 4th millennium BC, before becoming popular in ancient Greece during the 8th century BC.
Protoceratops was a small dinosaur (about 2 meters long) that lived in Mongolia and northern China at the time
” data-gt-translate-attributes=”({“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”})” tabindex=”0″ role=”link”>Cretaceous period (75 to 71 million years ago). They belong to the group of horned dinosaurs, making them a relative of Triceratops, although they do not have facial horns. Like griffins, Protoceratops They stood on four legs, had beaks, and had frill-like extensions of their skulls that some believe could be interpreted as wings.
Critical reassessment by scientists
In the first detailed assessment of the claims, study authors Dr. Mark Witton and Richard Hing, paleontologists at
” data-gt-translate-attributes=”({“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”})” tabindex=”0″ role=”link”>University of Portsmouthreassessed the historical fossil record, distribution and nature of Protoceratops fossils and classical sources linking the griffin to the Protoceratopsby consulting historians and archaeologists to fully understand the conventional, non-fossil-based view of the griffins’ origins. Ultimately, they found that none of the arguments stood up to scrutiny.
Ideas that Protoceratops would be discovered by nomads searching for gold, for example, are unlikely when Protoceratops The fossils are found hundreds of kilometers from ancient gold sites. In the century that followed Protoceratops was discovered, no traces of gold were reported near them. It also seems doubtful that the nomads saw much Protoceratops skeletons, even if they prospected for gold where their fossils are found.
Comparisons between the skeleton of Protoceratops and ancient griffin art. Griffins are all very clearly based on big cats, from their musculature and long, flexible tails to their manes (indicated by curled “hairs” on the neck) and birds, and differ Protoceratops in virtually every measure of proportion and form. Image compiled from illustrations by Witton and Hing (2024). Credit: Dr Mark Witton
“It is assumed that dinosaur skeletons are discovered half-exposed, lying almost like the remains of recently deceased animals,” Dr Witton said. “But generally speaking, only a fraction of an eroding dinosaur skeleton will be visible to the naked eye, unnoticed by all but sharp-eyed fossil hunters.
“This is almost certainly how ancient people wandering through Mongolia encountered Protoceratops. If they wanted to see more, as they would need to if they wanted to create myths about these animals, they would have to extract the fossil from the surrounding rock. This is no easy feat, even with modern tools, glues, protective packaging and preparatory techniques. It seems more likely that Protoceratops the remains, by and large, went unnoticed – if gold prospectors were even there to see them.
Alternative explanations for Griffin images
Likewise, the geographic spread of griffon art throughout history does not fit the scenario that the griffon tradition began with the fossils of Central Asia and then spread westward. Nor are there any unambiguous references to Protoceratops fossils in ancient literature.
Protoceratops The griffin only bears resemblance to the griffin because it is an animal with four limbs and a beak. No details in griffin art suggest that their fossils were referenced, but, conversely, many griffins were clearly composed of features of living cats and birds.
Dr Witton added: “Everything about the origins of griffins is consistent with their traditional interpretation as imaginary beasts, just as their appearance is entirely explained by their being chimeras of big cats and birds of prey. Invoking a role for dinosaurs in griffin lore, in particular
” data-gt-translate-attributes=”({“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”})” tabindex=”0″ role=”link”>species from faraway countries like Protoceratopsnot only introduces unnecessary complexity and inconsistencies into their origins, but also relies on interpretations and propositions that do not stand up to close scrutiny.
The authors are keen to point out that there is excellent evidence for the cultural importance of fossils throughout human history, as well as countless examples of fossils inspiring folklore around the world, known as “geomyths”.
Richard Hing said: “It is important to distinguish between fact-based fossil folklore – that is, the connections between fossils and myths evidenced by archaeological finds or compelling references in the literature and works of art – and the speculated connections based on intuition.
“There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the idea that ancient people found dinosaur bones and incorporated them into their mythology, but we must ground these propositions in the realities of history, geography and of paleontology. Otherwise, it’s just speculation. »
Dr Witton added: “Not all mythological creatures require explanation through fossils. Some of the most popular geomyths — Protoceratops and griffins, fossil elephants and cyclops, dragons and dinosaurs – have no evidentiary basis and are entirely speculative. We promote these stories because they are exciting and seem intuitively plausible, but this ignores our growing knowledge of fossil geomyths based on facts and evidence. These are just as interesting as their conjectural counterparts and probably deserve more attention than fully speculated geomythological scenarios.
Reference: “Did the horned dinosaur Protoceratops inspire the griffin?” » by Mark P. Witton and Richard A. Hing, June 19, 2024, Interdisciplinary scientific reviews.
DOI: 10.1177/03080188241255543