How we discovered Dinosaurs
Day 107 / 365
I was going through an AskReddit thread about how old Notre Dome was. One of the replies that particularly interested me was that Notre Dome was constructed more than 600 years before we knew that dinosaurs existed!
That got me thinking how did the discovery of dinosaurs happen? And what did people first think about when they found the huge dinosaurs bones and fossils.
Ancient Giants
Centuries ago, when people came across huge bones and fossils, they linked them to mythical creatures and giants. For example, in Ancient Greece a large femur bone was discovered and was thought to belong to a giant killed by Zeus — the god of thunder.
Till the 17th century, scientists didn’t thought that fossils were remains of dead organisms. In 1677, A fossil was discovered that resembled a giant thigh bone, and it was concluded that it belonged to an animal. The Scientist that discovered it actually suggested that it had belonged to a giant human being.
Dinosaurs lived in the Mesozoic Era about 230 million years ago. Yet it was just about 200 years ago that we figured out what they were!
This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here
Yesterday’s blog — Why are diamonds so expensive