African people knew dinosaurs long before European scientists: this is the discovery made in a recent study published in the journal of Geological Society. A team of scientists working at archaeological and paleontological sites in South Africa decided to conduct specific historical-paleontological research in order to understand how long African populations have known the nature and presence of dinosaur fossils in their territory. Surprisingly, the team, having interviewed representatives of villages of various ethnic groups and carried out extensive bibliographic research, which included the analysis of several paleontological discoveries, found not only that these people are familiar with the fossils, but also that they probably correctly attribute them to prehistoric nature that has existed much longer than official science .
Historically, it is actually attributed to English naturalists description of the first dinosaur fossilbetween the 18th and 19th centuries, although the first known performance took place in 1676, Robert Plot. However, he mistakenly thought the find, now recognized as a dinosaur, was a bone from a gigantic human being. This bone belonged to a Megalosaurus, a medium-sized carnivore that lived in Europe during the Middle Jurassic. Although its subsequent identification as a reptile enabled the birth of modern paleontology, Megalosaurus was probably not the first dinosaur discovered by our species.
The team of scientists – composed of anthropologists, local folklore experts, zoologists and paleontologists – actually provided evidence that Africans knew dinosaur fossils at least 500 years before the discovery of the megalosaurus, without taking into account hypotheses that include knowledge even older. , preceding the invention of writing. In fact, African populations have come into contact with dinosaur fossils several times, mainly through the discovery of remains inside some caves.
For example, in southern Africa, some populations found several skeletons inside place of Bolahla, Lesotho, interpreting them as belonging to a dragon-like monster. His name also varied depending on the language, but everyone knew his bones were ancient. In Lesotho, the monster was called “Kholumolumo”, while in the neighboring province of South Africa, the Xhos – a people of hunters and herders – called the creature “Amagomonggo”. In all cases, according to their mythology, the monster was reptilian in shape, and its bones were sporadically brought to villages about 1,000 years ago.
Today we know that bones were part of it Massospondylus caritus, a dinosaur with a long neck and a small head. And thanks to the story of its discovery, we know that Africans believed in the existence of a gigantic extinct reptile long before the arrival of English settlers. But obviously, let’s not kid ourselves: these ancient peoples ignored much of Earth’s history, and to them dinosaurs were more mythical figures than real animals.
However, it is true that Africa – especially South Africa – is rich in fossil deposits in which it was possible to notice the emerging bones that belonged to these mighty titans millions of years ago, and therefore it is logical to believe that these people continued to find new finds, without knowing how old they are and without modern dating methods. However, as stated in the article, they were able to understand that these findings belonged to animals very different from modern forms.
Some groups became so good at capturing fossil deposits that specialists began to form within them, who were subsequently able to indicate the correct location of some finds to Western explorers. For example, the discovery of dinosaurs Jobariaperformed in the middle of the desert, e.g Giraffatitan was possible thanks to or Tuaregs in Niger and hunters Mwera in Tanzania, who accurately described not only the position of the fossils, but also their depth relative to the surface of the earth.
However, this is true not only in Africa, but also in other areas of the planet: a large number of indigenous North American populations, for example, knew at least one trace of fossil traces, while Greco-Latin populations tried to interpret fossils through their myths. English naturalists were therefore only the first to include dinosaurs – and many other types of fossils – in a more correct and complete model of the Earth and the life sciences.