The Evolution of the Modern Dinosaur
The dinosaur as we know it today is the result of over 200 years of evolution, constantly changing scientific advances, cultural views and technology. It has not always been the warm-blooded, birdlike tyrant that we see eating "blood sucking lawyers" today in "Jurassic Park". It has not always been a giant green monster confined to the swamp. The profile of the dinosaur has had a makeover many times thanks to various artists and technological advances in the science of paleontology.
Today we are in an era of dinosaur renaissance. We are remaking the dinosaur more dramatically than ever, with greater implications. Our new technology helps us to better understand dinosaur anatomy and behavior. We can recreate the dinosaur and it's world more accurately and colorfully than ever. The renaissance spreads beyond science through the work of artists who portray the dinosaur as bright, bold and birdlike. Today the wave of public opinion on the dinosaur is changing; it is not a creature wiped out by evolution because of it's inability to change, but one that has changed so much that it has adapted to every part of our world as the modern day bird.
In order to better understand what the dinosaur is today, it is necessary to look at what the dinosaur has been. The dinosaur has had a long history based on scientific fact as well as fiction and mythology. Tp follow the history of the dinosaur, read the summaries below or by clicking on the links to the left for a more complete description.
Medieval Dinosaurs
Dragons and Sea Serpents: pre-1800
Before the advent of modern science or technology the dinosaur was a creature that inhabited only myth and legend. Dragons and sea serpents were common adversaries for both knights and sailors. The Catholic church declared scientific truths based on the Bible, which mentions several accounts of dinosaur-like creatures. Both terrifying and mystical, the dinosaur and dragon were creatures that filled children's stories of knights and showed God's amazing powers of creation.
The Early Dinosaurs
The Terrible Lizards: 1800-1860
When fossils began being uncovered along the British sea coast and in Belgian coal mines, dinosaurs changed from being a myth to a scientific enigma. The links between current day lizards and dinosaurs perplexed scientists who had only a few fossils to classify dinosaurs with. In a time of scientific advancement when all creatures were being classified according to their characteristic Sir Richard Owen named these giant wonders Dinosauria, meaning "terrible lizard". The associations of that name and the idea of dinosaurs as cold-blooded reptiles have been the stereotype for the past hundred years.
The All American Dinosaur
Survival of the Fittest: 1860-1960
Shortly after the gold rush of 1849 sent people running out west chasing wild dreams, a new scientific rush occurred the American badlands, a fossil rush. Eager paleontologists such as Marsh, Cope and Brown hurried west to collect the fossils which were scattered abundantly throughout the harsh badlands of the Dakotas and Alberta. When all of the dust had settled representatives from all of the dinosaur species had been found and the record of their history extended. The public became aware for the first time of the diversity of the dinosaurian world. Although there was evidence for links between dinosaurs and birds, it was quietly dismissed. It would be impossible for any animal with such a small brain and great size to be warm-blooded. The survival of the dinosaurs was not based on their superiority as a species, said scientists, but on their sheer bulk.
The Renaissance Dinosaur
They Are Still With Us: 1960-2000
Recent discoveries of early birds in China and computer simulations of dinosaur movement have pushed dinosaurs into the renaissance that they are in today. New ideas on how dinosaurs communicated and lived together are becoming more and more popular in both the public and scientific eye. We now see dinosaurs as distant relatives to the sparrows at our bird feeders. They are no longer slothful swamp monsters but well adapted and active animals whose reign on earth ended with a cataclysmic bang, much like it began.
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This page was created by Anneke Miersma from Calvin College as a final project for her English 101 class
to link to Calvin College click the Calvinosaurus!