Author : Rumana Reza
[I've studied and written on this within 10 days.Therefore, didn't get enough time to recheck. If there any question, argue,opinion,information etc., then please let me know....your advice or criticism will be highly appreciated. Because, I believe that combination of logic and anti-logic would bring the truth in front of us one day]
We are that generation who grown up with some movies like Godzilla, The Lost world, Jurassic Park, The Hobbit, The Last Dragon, Dragon Hunters etc. Those movies were treated (used to) as like as Cinderella type fairy tales. But is it so? This analysis will try to reveal the actual facts with building a bridge across anthropology, myth, science and religion. That might be little time consuming to read but to understand their inner connections,you have to be little patience .The truth is out here.
Literature Review
#Modern concepts on Dinosaurs:Till now, most of the scientists are agreed that dinosaurs dominated terrestrial vertebrates from the beginning of the Jurassic (about 201 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous (66 million years ago). It is now generally believed that a massive comet or asteroid impact was responsible for the K–Pg extinction then. And that event led to the extinction of most dinosaur groups. Some taxonomists think that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs and they are considered as a subgroup of dinosaurs.
Classification of dinosaurs:
Dinosaurs are archosaurs, like modern crocodilians. Within the archosaur group, dinosaurs are differentiated mostly by their manner of walking. Dinosaur legs extend directly beneath the body, whereas the legs of lizards and crocodilians sprawl out to either side.
Overall, as a clade , dinosaurs are divided into two primary branches, Saurischia and Ornithischia. Saurischia includes those taxa sharing a more recent common ancestor with birds than with Ornithischia, while Ornithischia includes all taxa sharing a more recent common ancestor with Triceratops than with Saurischia.
The famous Berlin specimen of Archaeopteryx lithographica
Taxonomy of Dinosaur:
The following is a simplified classification of dinosaur groups based on
their evolutionary relationships, and organized based on the list of Mesozoic
dinosaur species provided by Holtz (2008).A more detailed version can be found
at Dinosaur classification. The dagger (†) is used to signify groups with no
living members.
- Dinosauria
·
Saurischia
("lizard-hipped"; includes Theropoda and Sauropodomorpha)
· Theropoda (all bipedal;
most were carnivorous)
 |
| Artist's impression of six dromaeosaurid theropods: from left to right Microraptor, Dromaeosaurus, Austroraptor, Velociraptor, Utahraptor, and Deinonychus |
·
†Herrerasauria
(early bipedal carnivores)
·
†Dilophosauridae
(early crested and carnivorous theropods)
·
†Ceratosauria
(generally elaborately horned, the dominant southern carnivores of the
Cretaceous)
·
Tetanurae ("stiff tails"; includes most
theropods)
·
†Megalosauroidea
(early group of large carnivores including the semi-aquatic spinosaurids)
·
Coelurosauria
(feathered theropods, with a range of body sizes and niches)
·
†Compsognathidae
(common early coelurosaurs with reduced forelimbs)
·
†Alvarezsauroidea
(small insectivores with reduced forelimbs each bearing one enlarged claw)
·
Maniraptora
("hand snatchers"; had long, slender arms and fingers)
·
†Therizinosauria
(bipedal herbivores with large hand claws and small heads)
·
†Oviraptorosauria
(mostly toothless; their diet and lifestyle are uncertain)
·
†Archaeopterygidae
(small, winged theropods or primitive birds)
·
†Deinonychosauria (small- to medium-sized; bird-like,
with a distinctive toe claw)
·
Avialae (modern birds and extinct relatives)
·
†Scansoriopterygidae (small primitive avialans
with long third fingers)
·
†Omnivoropterygidae (large, early short-tailed
avialans)
·
†Confuciusornithidae (small toothless avialans)
·
†Enantiornithes
(primitive tree-dwelling, flying avialans)
·
Euornithes
(advanced flying birds)
·
†Yanornithiformes
(toothed Cretaceous Chinese birds)
·
†Hesperornithes
(specialized aquatic diving birds)
·
Aves (modern, beaked birds and their extinct relatives)
 |
| Add caArtist's impression of four macronarian sauropods: from left to right Camarasaurus, Brachiosaurus, Giraffatitan, and Euhelopusption |
†Sauropodomorpha
(herbivores with small heads, long necks, long tails)
·
†Guaibasauridae
(small, primitive, omnivorous sauropodomorphs)
·
†Plateosauridae
(primitive, strictly bipedal "prosauropods")
·
†Riojasauridae
(small, primitive sauropodomorphs)
·
†Massospondylidae
(small, primitive sauropodomorphs)
·
†Sauropoda
(very large and heavy, usually over 15 metres (49 feet) long; quadrupedal)
·
†Vulcanodontidae
(primitive sauropods with pillar-like limbs)
·
†Eusauropoda
("true sauropods")
·
†Cetiosauridae
("whale reptiles")
·
†Turiasauria
(European group of Jurassic and Cretaceous sauropods)
·
†Neosauropoda
("new sauropods")
·
†Diplodocoidea
(skulls and tails elongated; teeth typically narrow and pencil-like)
·
†Macronaria
(boxy skulls; spoon- or pencil-shaped teeth)
·
†Brachiosauridae
(long-necked, long-armed macronarians)
·
†Titanosauria
(diverse; stocky, with wide hips; most common in the Late Cretaceous of
southern continents)
 |
| Add captArtist's impression of six ornithopods and one heterodontosaurid. Far left: Camptosaurus, left: Iguanodon, center background: Shantungosaurus, center foreground: Dryosaurus, right: Corythosaurus, far right (small): Heterodontosaurus, far right (large) Tenontosaurus.ion |
·
†Ornithischia
("bird-hipped"; diverse bipedal and quadrupedal herbivores)
·
†Heterodontosauridae (small basal ornithopod
herbivores/omnivores with prominent canine-like
teeth)
·
†Thyreophora
(armored dinosaurs; mostly quadrupeds)
·
†Stegosauria
(spikes and plates as primary armor)
·
†Neornithischia
("new ornithischians")
·
†Ornithopoda
(various sizes; bipeds and quadrupeds; evolved a method of chewing using skull
flexibility and numerous teeth)
·
†Marginocephalia
(characterized by a cranial growth)
·
†Pachycephalosauria (bipeds with domed or knobby
growth on skulls)
·
†Ceratopsia
(quadrupeds with frills; many also had horns)
Paleobiogeography:
By the Early Cretaceous and the ongoing breakup of Pangaea, dinosaurs were becoming strongly differentiated by landmass. Therefore, Iguanodon (meaning “iguana-tooth) is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that were seen from the late Jurassic Period to the late Cretaceous Period of Asia, Europe, and North America, research in the first decade of the 21st century suggests that there is only one well-substantiated species: I. bernissartensis, which lived from the late Barremian to the earliest Aptian ages (Early Cretaceous) in Belgium and possibly elsewhere in Europe, between about 126 and 125 million years ago.Megalosaurus (meaning "Great Lizard") is a genus of large meat-eating theropod dinosaurs of the Middle Jurassic period (Bathonian stage, 166 million years ago) of Southern England. Although fossils from other areas have been assigned to the genus, the only certain remains of Megalosaurus come from the late Middle Jurassic of the Oxfordshire.
At present research, Southern South America (especially Argentina) and China are being illustrated as current dinosaur "hot spots”. Due to the unique geology of dinosaur beds, China in particular has produced many exceptional feathered dinosaur specimens as well as an ancient arid climate particularly conducive to fossilization.
#Present approaches to Dragons:
Though the Latin is draco, draconis, it has been supposed by some scholars, including John Tanke of the University of Michigan, that the word dragon comes from the Old Norse draugr, which literally means a spirit who guards the burial mound of a king. How this image of a vengeful guardian spirit is related to a fire-breathing serpent is unclear. Many others assume the word dragon comes from the ancient Greek verb derkesthai, meaning "to see", referring to the dragon's legendarily keen eyesight. In any case, the image of a dragon as a serpent-like creature was already standard at least by the 8th century when Beowulf was written down. Although today we associate dragons almost universally with fire, in medieval legend the creatures were often associated with water, guarding springs or living near or under water.
Due to the lack of fossils of this creature, the historical recording of dragons is questioned by modern zoologists. But the Chinese still considered dinosaurs’ bone to be dragon bones.
Mythology on legendary creatures:
Some legendary creatures like dragons, griffins, unicorns have their origin in traditional mythology and are believed to be real creatures to some people in some countries.A dragon is a legendary creature, typically depicted as a large and powerful serpent or other reptile, with magical or spiritual qualities. The various figures now called dragons most likely have no single origin, but spontaneously came to be in several different cultures around the world, based loosely on the appearance of a snake and possibly fossilized dinosaur and Tertiary mammal megafauna remains. Chinese dragons (among others) or Long are generally seen as benevolent, whereas European dragons are usually malevolent. However, malevolent dragons are not restricted to Europe and also occur in Persian mythology and other cultures.
 |
| Detail of the Nine Dragon scroll painting by Chen Rong, 1244, Song Dynastyn |
The Origins of dragon are not clear yet but its "ancestors can be found on Neolithic pottery as well as Bronze Age ritual vessels." 1. European dragons are more often winged and can have a variable number of legs: none, two, four, or more while Chinese dragons resemble large snakes. Ancient Chinese self-identify as 'the descendants of the dragon' because the Chinese dragon is an imagined reptile that is the evolution ancestor of humans and other common animals.2 The Han Dynasty scholar Wang Fu recorded Chinese myths that long dragons had nine anatomical resemblances.
Japanese Dragons:
 |
| A dragon ascends towards the heavens with Mount Fuji in the background in this 1897 ukiyo-e print from Ogata Gekkō's Views of Mount Fuji.ption |
Korean Dragon:
Dragon made out of bamboo on display by Hangang-no near
Samgakji subway station, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea. Celebrating Yongsan’s 124th anniversary. Note: Yongsan
literally means "Dragon Mountain" hence the dragon symbolism.
Korean mythology of dragon are primarily benevolent beings related to water and agriculture, often considered bringers of rain and clouds. Therefore, many Korean dragons are said to have resided in rivers, lakes, oceans, or even deep mountain ponds.
Ancient texts sometimes mention sentient speaking dragons, capable of understanding such complex emotions such as devotion, kindness, and gratitude. One particular Korean legend speaks of the great King Mummu who on his deathbed wished to become a "Dragon of the East Sea in order to protect Korea".
Korean folk mythology also states that most dragons were originally Imugis
(pronounced "Ee-Moo-Gi"), or lesser dragons, which were said to
resemble gigantic serpents. There are a few different versions of Korean folklore
that describe what imugis are and how they aspire to become fully fledged
dragons. Koreans thought that an Imugi could become a true dragon, or yong
or mireu, if it caught a Yeouiju which had fallen from heaven. Another
explanation states they are hornless creatures resembling dragons who have been
cursed and thus were unable to become dragons.
The Korean dragon is in many ways very similar in appearance to dragons of Chinese,
Vietnamese and Japanese Mythology. But the difference is that it developed a
longer beard .Very occasionally a dragon may be depicted as carrying an orb
known as the Yeouiju (여의주), the Korean name for the mythical Cintamani, in its claws
or in its mouth. It was said that whoever could wield the Yeouiju was blessed
with the abilities of omnipotence and creation at will, and that only four-toed
dragons (who had thumbs with which to hold the orbs) were both wise and
powerful enough to wield these orbs, as opposed to the lesser, three-toed
dragons.As with China, the number nine is significant and auspicious in Korea,
and dragons were said to have 81 (9×9) scales on their backs, representing yang
essence.On the other hand, Korean folk mythology also states that most dragons were originally Imugis (pronounced "Ee-Moo-Gi"), or lesser dragons, which were said to resemble gigantic serpents. There are a few different versions of Korean folklore that describe what imugis are and how they aspire to become full fledged dragons. Koreans thought that an Imugi could become a true dragon, or yong or mireu, if it caught a Yeouiju which had fallen from heaven. Another explanation states they are hornless creatures resembling dragons who have been cursed and thus were unable to become dragons.
Bhutan:
The Flag of Bhutan features Druk
The Druk (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་), also known as 'Thunder Dragon', is one of the National symbols of Bhutan. In the Dzongkha language, Bhutan is known as Druk Yul "Land of Druk", and Bhutanese leaders are called Druk Gyalpo, "Thunder Dragon Kings". The druk was adopted as an emblem by the Drukpa Lineage, which originated in Tibet and later spread to Bhutan.4
Manipur:
 |
| Pakhangba head in a Manipuri musical instrumentaption |
Vietnamese Dragon:
Vietnamese dragons (rồng or long) are symbolic creatures in the folklore and mythology of Vietnam. According to an ancient creation myth, the Vietnamese people are descended from a dragon and a fairy. To Vietnamese people, the dragon brings rain, essential for agriculture. It represents the emperor, the prosperity and power of the nation. Like the Chinese dragon, the Vietnamese dragon is the symbol of yang, representing the universe, life, existence, and growth. Extant references to the Vietnamese Dragon are rare now, due to the fierce changes in history that accompanied the sinicization of the Nguyễn Dynasty.
Persian Dragon:
15th-century Persian miniature of Rostam slaying a dragon
Aži Dahāka is the source of the modern Persian word azhdahā or ezhdehā اژدها (Middle Persian azdahāg) meaning "dragon", often used of a dragon depicted upon a banner of war. The Persians believed that the baby of a dragon will be the same color as the mother's eyes. In Middle Persian he is called Dahāg or Bēvar-Asp, the latter meaning "[he who has] 10,000 horses." Several other dragons and dragon-like creatures, all of them malevolent, are mentioned in Zoroastrian scripture. (See Zahhāk).
Ancient bracelet, Achaemenid period, part of Oxus
Treasure, 500 BC, Iran
Abzu and Tiamat:
In Mesopotamian Religion (Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian and Babylonian),
Tiamat is a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû (the god
of fresh water) to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of
primordial creation, depicted as a woman; she represents the beauty of the
feminine, depicted as the glistening one. It is suggested that there are two
parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is a creator goddess,
through a "Sacred marriage" between salt and fresh water,
peacefully creating the cosmos through successive generations. In the second
"Chaoskampf" Tiamat is considered the monstrous embodiment of primordial
chaos. Some sources identify her with images of a sea serpent or dragon.
Abzu(or Apsû) fathered upon Tiamat the elder deities Lahmu and Lahamu (masc.
the "hairy"), a title given to the gatekeepers at Enki's
Abzu/E'engurra-temple in Eridu. Lahmu and Lahamu, in turn, were the parents of
the 'ends' of the heavens (Anshar, from an = heaven, shár =
horizon, end) and the earth (Kishar); Anshar and Kishar were considered to meet
at the horizon, becoming, thereby, the parents of Anu (Heaven) and Ki (Earth).Tiamat was the "shining" personification of salt water who roared and smote in the chaos of original creation. She and Apsu filled the cosmic abyss with the primeval waters. She is "Ummu-Hubur who formed all things".
In the myth recorded on cuneiform tablets, the deity Enki (later Ea) believed correctly that Apsu, upset with the chaos they created, was planning to murder the younger deities; and so captured him, holding him prisoner beneath his temple the E-Abzu. This angered Kingu, their son, who reported the event to Tiamat, whereupon she fashioned eleven monsters to battle the deities in order to avenge Apsu's death. These were her own offspring: Bašmu (“Venomous Snake”), Ušumgallu (“Great Dragon”), Mušmaḫḫū (“Exalted Serpent”), Mušḫuššu (“Furious Snake”), Laḫmu (the “Hairy One”), Ugallu (the “Big Weather-Beast”), Uridimmu (“Mad Lion”), Girtablullû (“Scorpion-Man"), Umū dabrūtu (“Violent Storms"), Kulullû (“Fish-Man") and Kusarikku (“Bull-Man”).
Tiamat possessed the Tablets of Destiny and in the primordial battle she gave them to Kingu, the deity she had chosen as her lover and the leader of her host, and who was also one of her children. The deities gathered in terror, but Anu, (replaced later, first by Enlil and, in the late version that has survived after the First Dynasty of Babylon, by Marduk, the son of Ea), first extracting a promise that he would be revered as "king of the gods", overcame her, armed with the arrows of the winds, a net, a club, and an invincible spear.
And the lord stood upon Tiamat's
hinder parts,
And with his merciless club he
smashed her skull.
He cut through the channels of her
blood,
And he made the North wind bear it
away into secret places.
Slicing Tiamat in half, he made from her ribs the vault of heaven and earth.
Her weeping eyes became the source of the Tigris and the Euphrate, her tail
became the Milky Way. With the approval of the elder deities, he took from
Kingu the Tablets of Destiny, installing himself as the head of the Babylonian pantheon.
Kingu was captured and later was slain: his red blood mixed with the red clay
of the Earth would make the body of humankind, created to act as the servant of
the younger Igigi deities.The principal theme of the epic is the justified elevation of Marduk to command over all the deities. "It has long been realized that the Marduk epic, for all its local coloring and probable elaboration by the Babylonian theologians, reflects in substance older Sumerian material," American Assyriologist E. A. Speiser remarked in 1942 adding "The exact Sumerian prototype, however, has not turned up so far." Without corroboration in surviving texts, this surmise that the Babylonian version of the story is based upon a modified version of an older epic, in which Enlil, not Marduk, was the god who slew Tiamat, is more recently dismissed as "distinctly improbable", in fact, Marduk has no precise Sumerian prototype. It is generally accepted amongst modern Assyriologists that the Enûma Elish - the Babylonian creation epic to which this mythological strand is attributed - has been written as political and religious propaganda rather than reflecting a Sumerian tradition; the dating of the epic is not completely clear, but judging from the mythological topics covered and the cuneiform versions discovered thus far, it is likely to date it to the 15th century BCE.
Jewish Dragon:
In Jewish religious texts, the first mention of a dragon-like creature is in the Biblical works of Job(26:13), and Isaiah (27:1) where it is called Nachash Bare'ach, or a "Pole Serpent".7 This is identified in the Midrash Rabba to Genesis 1:21 as Leviathan from the word Taninim (תנינים) "and God created the great sea-monsters."8 In Modern Hebrew the word Taninim is used for Crocodiles but this is a 20th-century usage unconnected with the original Biblical meaning.
In later Biblical texts, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Job, and Psalm 89 refer to a sea-demon called Rahab (not to be confused with Rahab, the woman of Jericho mentioned in the Book of Joshua). Isaiah 51:9 equates this Rahab with a dragon or monster. "Rahab" is the English transliteration of רהב (reb) with the several meanings: pride, a mythical sea-monster, or Egypt (as an emblematic name).9 In the Douay-Rheims version, translated via Medieval Latin from the Vulgate, the word reb is rendered "the proud one" in Isaiah 51:9 and Job 26:12 and "the power of the sea" in Psalm 88:10 (Psalm 88 is equivalent to Psalm 89 in other versions due to different verse numbering in the Vulgate). The connection between the sea-monster and "Leviathan the serpent" is made in Isaiah 27:1.10
In Jewish astronomy this is also identified with the North Pole, the star Thuban which, around 4,500 years ago, was the star in the Draco constellation's "tail".11However, this can also have been either the celestial pole or the ecliptic pole. The ancient observers noted that Draco was at the top of the celestial pole, giving the appearance that stars were "hanging" from it, and in Hebrew it is referred to as Teli, from talah (תלה) – to hang.12 Hebrew writers from Arabic-speaking locations identified the Teli as Al Jaz'har, which is a Persian word for a "knot" or a "node" because of the intersection of the inclination of the orbit of a planet from the elliptic that forms two such nodes. In modern astronomy these are called the ascending node and the descending node, but in medieval astronomy they were referred to as "dragon's head" and "dragon's tail".13
The Merthyr Synagogue features a dragon on the front gable.14
Greek
mythology:
 |
| Ancient Greek mosaic from Caulonia, Italy depicting a cetus or sea-dragon |
In Ancient Greece the first mention of a "dragon" is derived from the Iliad where Agamemnon is described as having a blue dragon motif on his sword belt and an emblem of a three-headed dragon on his breast plate.15 However, the Greek word used (δράκων drákōn, genitive δράκοντοϛ drákontos) could also mean "snake".
European dragon:
 |
Golden dragon in Den Bosch
|
Gold coins of the Gaul Parisii, 1st century BC, (Cabinet des Médailles,
Paris).
Malevolent dragons are prominent figures in Christian belief. In Revelation 12:3, an enormous red dragon with seven heads is described, whose tail sweeps one third of the stars from heaven down to earth (held to be symbolic of the fall of the angels). The Latin word for a dragon, draco, actually means snake or serpent and is so connected to the Christian association of snakes and the Devil.
In European mythology, a dragon is a serpent-like legendary creature. The Latin word draco, as in the constellation Draco, comes directly from Greek, drákōn. The word for dragon in Germanic mythology and its descendants is worm, meaning snake or serpent. In Old English wyrm means "serpent", draca means "dragon". Though a winged creature, the dragon is generally to be found in its underground lair, a cave that identifies it as an ancient creature of earth, like the mythic serpent, that was a source of knowledge even in Eden. Likely, the dragons of European and Mid Eastern mythology stem from the cult of snakes found in religions throughout the world.
Flag of Wales
Slavic dragon:
 |
Zmey Gorynych, the Russian three-headed dragon
|
Russian dragons usually have heads in multiples of three. Some have heads that grow back if every single head isn't cut off. In Ukraine and Russia, a particular dragon-like creature, Zmey Gorynych, has three heads and spits fire.
[Sources:https://en.wikipedia.org ]
To be continued…………
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