Illustration of Protoceratops skeleton.
The specific link between dinosaur fossils and griffin mythology was proposed over 30 years ago in a series of papers and books written by folklorist Adrienne Mayor. These started with the 1989 Cryptozoology paper titled "Paleocryptozoology: a call for collaboration between classicists and cryptozoologists," and was cemented in the seminal 2000 book "The First Fossil Hunters."
The theory suggests that fossils of Protoceratops – a species of early horned dinosaur – were discovered by ancient nomads prospecting for gold in Central Asia. Tales of Protoceratops bones and skulls with a "bird-like" snout then traveled southwest on trade routes to inspire, or at least influence, stories and art of the griffin, a mythological creature often depicted as a mix between a lion and an eagle.
In the first detailed assessment of the claims, study authors Dr. Mark Witton and Richard Hing, paleontologists at the University of Portsmouth, re-evaluated historical fossil records, the distribution and nature of Protoceratops fossils, and classical sources linking the griffin with the Protoceratops, consulting with historians and archaeologists to fully understand the conventional, non-fossil based view of griffin origins. Ultimately, they found that none of the arguments withstood scrutiny.
Protoceratops was a small (around 2 meters long) dinosaur that lived in Mongolia and northern China during the Cretaceous period (75–71 million years ago). They belong to the horned dinosaur group, making it a relative of Triceratops, although they actually lack facial horns. Like griffins, Protoceratops stood on four legs, had a beak and frill-like extensions on its skulls that, it's been argued, could be interpreted as wings.
But the idea that Protoceratops would be discovered by nomads prospecting for gold, for instance, is unlikely when fossils occur hundreds of kilometers away from ancient gold sites, and in the century since the species was scientifically described, no gold has been reported alongside them.
Dinosaur skeletons are also rarely exposed on the surface and commonly surrounded by hardened sediments, making them difficult to spot if one is not looking for fossils.
"There is an assumption that dinosaur skeletons are discovered half-exposed, lying around almost like the remains of recently-deceased animals," says Witton. "But generally speaking, just a fraction of an eroding dinosaur skeleton will be visible to the naked eye, unnoticed to all except for sharp-eyed fossil hunters."
"That's almost certainly how ancient peoples wandering around Mongolia encountered Protoceratops. If they wanted to see more, as they'd need to if they were forming myths about these animals, they'd have to extract the fossil from the surrounding rock. That is no small task, even with modern tools."
"It seems more probable that Protoceratops remains, by and large, went unnoticed—if the gold prospectors were even there to see them."
Similarly, the geographic spread of griffin art through history does not align with the scenario of griffin lore beginning with Central Asian fossils and then spreading west. Griffins are some of the oldest mythological creatures, first appearing in Egyptian and Middle Eastern art during the 4th millennium BCE, before becoming popular in ancient Greece during the 8th century BCE. But there are no unambiguous references to Protoceratops fossils in ancient literature.
There are also no details in griffin art suggesting that their fossils were referenced but, conversely, many griffins were clearly composed from features copied from living animals like big cats and birds.
"Everything about griffin origins is consistent with their traditional interpretation as imaginary beasts, just as their appearance is entirely explained by them being chimaras of big cats and raptorial birds. Invoking a role for dinosaurs in griffin lore, especially species from distant lands like Protoceratops, not only introduces unnecessary complexity and inconsistencies to their origins, but also relies on interpretations and proposals that don't withstand scrutiny," Witton concludes.
The authors are keen to stress that there is excellent evidence of fossils being culturally important throughout human history, and innumerable instances of fossils inspiring folklore around the world, referred to as "geomyths." But in most cases this involves smaller and much more common fossils. The North Yorkshire "snake stones" – snakes which the local patron saint Saint Hilda turned to stone – are the petrified shells of extinct ammonites (a genus even bearing the scientific name Hildoceras). In the Dolomites, the remains of fossil cockshells inspired various legends, some explaining the fossils as petrified cow tracks or even the Devil's Footprints. Fossil shark teeth played a role in various cultures around the globe.
"It is important to distinguish between fossil folklore with a factual basis—that is, connections between fossils and myth evidenced by archaeological discoveries or compelling references in literature and artwork—and speculated connections based on intuition," so Hing.
The full open-access paper "Did the horned dinosaur Protoceratops inspire the griffin?" was published in the journal Interdisciplinary Science Reviews and can be found online here.
Additional material and interviews provided by the University of Portsmouth.
