Prehistoric life
Before people understood fossilisation and evolution, the curious shapes and structures of fossil finds were often explained through folk tales and myths. The ancient Greeks believed that the large bones of mammoths and dinosaurs were human bones, relics from a time when people were giant-sized. In Britain and Ireland, ammonites were said to be snakes turned to stone by St Hilda or St Patrick. Fossil sea urchins were 'fairy loaves' baked by sprites and fairies, and trilobite tails were butterflies turned to stone by Merlin. Special powers were often ascribed to fossils, and it was thought that carrying them gave protection from poison, lightning strikes, evil spirits and illness.
In order to see this content you need to have an up-to-date version of Flash installed and Javascript turned on.
Fleeting beauty
The beautiful white waterlily has been subjected to odd and prosaic use.
The beautiful white waterlily has been subjected to odd and prosaic use.
Cuckoo pint
Why the wild arum has more names than any other British flower.
Why the wild arum has more names than any other British flower.
Fossil folklore
Devil's toenail, or ancient oyster? The truth behind fossils is as astonishing as myth.
Devil's toenail, or ancient oyster? The truth behind fossils is as astonishing as myth.
Body fossils are the preserved remains of the actual body parts of an animal or plant such as a skeleton or a pollen grain. Trace fossils are the remains of ancient activity, such as the burrow left by a worm or a stone tool made by a prehistoric person. Some fossils preserve original features in exquisite detail, while others are much cruder remnants.
Folklore (or lore) consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales, stories, tall tales, and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called folkloristics. The word "folklore" was first used by the English antiquarian William Thoms in a letter published in the London journal The Athenaeum in 1846. In usage, there is a continuum between folklore and mythology. Stith Thompson made a major attempt to index the motifs of both folklore and mythology, providing an outline into which new motifs can be placed, and scholars can keep track of all older motifs.
Folklore can be divided into four areas of study: artifact (such as voodoo dolls), describable and transmissible entity (oral tradition), culture, and behavior (rituals). These areas do not stand alone, however, as often a particular item or element may fit into more than one of these areas.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. For more information on our use of Wikipedia please read our FAQ.
BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
Mammoths
Protoceratops
Dinosaurs
Ammonites
Trilobites
