How Did the Ancients Know About Dinosaurs?

[OldLady]

A few years ago I went into a 13th century Church in Estonia. Inside were mid 17th century paintings of various Bible scenes. I stopped in my tracks when I saw this painting from the Book of Job. It wasn't the Renaissance clothing everyone was wearing but what was behind them. The painting was hanging there a century before the first dinosaur fossils were even discovered yet they showed Job 40 perfectly with Brontosaurus’s.

How did they know?

View attachment 265658 View attachment 265659

“Look at Behemoth,which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.
What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly!
Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.
Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.
It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.
The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby.
Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
The lotuses conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround it.
A raging river does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.
Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?
Job 40:15-24

View attachment 265660

While in Cambodia I made sure to visit a temple that was built around 1100 AD. How’d they know what a Stegosaurus looked like?

Weatherman, I think you may have been "had." You didn't see that painting first hand in Estonia, I don't think, because I did a Google search of the image and the only places it comes up is....your threads on dinosaurs. Four hits. All yours.

I realize people knew about the 'giants' because they had discovered giant dino bones and figured they were ... well, giants. But they would not have known the shape of brontosauruses from looking at their bones.

Job 40 and it's description of the behemouth is pretty cool. "Carries its tail like a cedar" doesn't sound like a rhino to me (that is some people's explanation). A mystery how that description came up, for sure. But it does NOT mean that people in Job's time lived with dinosaurs.

 

[Crixus]

A few years ago I went into a 13th century Church in Estonia. Inside were mid 17th century paintings of various Bible scenes. I stopped in my tracks when I saw this painting from the Book of Job. It wasn't the Renaissance clothing everyone was wearing but what was behind them. The painting was hanging there a century before the first dinosaur fossils were even discovered yet they showed Job 40 perfectly with Brontosaurus’s.

How did they know?

View attachment 265658 View attachment 265659

“Look at Behemoth,which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.
What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly!
Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.
Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.
It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.
The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby.
Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
The lotuses conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround it.
A raging river does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.
Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?
Job 40:15-24

View attachment 265660

While in Cambodia I made sure to visit a temple that was built around 1100 AD. How’d they know what a Stegosaurus looked like?

Weatherman, I think you may have been "had." You didn't see that painting first hand in Estonia, I don't think, because I did a Google search of the image and the only places it comes up is....your threads on dinosaurs. Four hits. All yours.

I realize people knew about the 'giants' because they had discovered giant dino bones and figured they were ... well, giants. But they would not have known the shape of brontosauruses from looking at their bones.

Job 40 and it's description of the behemouth is pretty cool. "Carries its tail like a cedar" doesn't sound like a rhino to me (that is some people's explanation). A mystery how that description came up, for sure. But it does NOT mean that people in Job's time lived with dinosaurs.

Some say it was Crocodiles being mentioned in Jobe. Read this. Pretty intriguing and cool read with plenty of pic’s.

Visual Evidence

 

[OldLady]

 

[task0778]

"People have been finding dinosaur fossils for hundreds of years, probably even thousands of years. The Greeks and Romans may have found fossils, giving rise to their many ogre and griffin legends. There are references to "dragon" bones found in Wucheng, Sichuan, China (written by Chang Qu) over 2,000 years ago; these were probably dinosaur fossils."

First Dinosaur Fossil Discoveries - Paleontology and Geology Glossary


The discovery of dinosaur bones may even have given rise to myths and legends featuring creatures such as dragons, giants, and other monsters.
The ancient Greeks and Romans told stories of dragons, and depicted monsters in their art.
Chang Qu, an early Chinese historian, documented around 1,700 years ago that ‘Dragon bones’ were being found in the Sichuan Province of China.
It is likely that these ancient myths and legends were based on dinosaur fossils that had been discovered by these ancient peoples."

When Were Dinosaurs Discovered - Learn About Dinosaur Discoveries

 

[OldLady]

"People have been finding dinosaur fossils for hundreds of years, probably even thousands of years. The Greeks and Romans may have found fossils, giving rise to their many ogre and griffin legends. There are references to "dragon" bones found in Wucheng, Sichuan, China (written by Chang Qu) over 2,000 years ago; these were probably dinosaur fossils."

First Dinosaur Fossil Discoveries - Paleontology and Geology Glossary


The discovery of dinosaur bones may even have given rise to myths and legends featuring creatures such as dragons, giants, and other monsters.
The ancient Greeks and Romans told stories of dragons, and depicted monsters in their art.
Chang Qu, an early Chinese historian, documented around 1,700 years ago that ‘Dragon bones’ were being found in the Sichuan Province of China.
It is likely that these ancient myths and legends were based on dinosaur fossils that had been discovered by these ancient peoples."

When Were Dinosaurs Discovered - Learn About Dinosaur Discoveries

There is SOMETHING behind all the dragon myths, above and beyond dinosaur bones. There are just too many goshdarned firebreathing dragons flying through legends all over the world. China, England, the Middle East, India, ....
Unless all the legends were spread by traders and invaders and came from one original source, which I highly doubt, there was something flying around that scared the poop out of people. And it had something to do with fire. (Alien spacecraft, anyone?)

Dragons in History | Genesis Park

 

[task0778]

Drogon! (GoT) And Toothless! (HTTYD)

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Evidently there were dragons in every society also.

Yes, and how did Civilizations that never interacted come up with the same creature?

As it turns out, fossils that have been around for 100 million years were also around a few thousand years ago.

 

[rightwinger]

A few years ago I went into a 13th century Church in Estonia. Inside were mid 17th century paintings of various Bible scenes. I stopped in my tracks when I saw this painting from the Book of Job. It wasn't the Renaissance clothing everyone was wearing but what was behind them. The painting was hanging there a century before the first dinosaur fossils were even discovered yet they showed Job 40 perfectly with Brontosaurus’s.

How did they know?

View attachment 265658 View attachment 265659

“Look at Behemoth,which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.
What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly!
Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.
Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.
It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.
The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby.
Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
The lotuses conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround it.
A raging river does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.
Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?
Job 40:15-24

View attachment 265660

While in Cambodia I made sure to visit a temple that was built around 1100 AD. How’d they know what a Stegosaurus looked like?

I tried Googling that picture and can’t find any reference to it

Where is it from?

Yeahh...I think we been had....extensive search turned up nothing....would like info on painter....name of painting and exact location...I have been assured that it is a fake by several..but..who knows..after all..would a poster of the OP's reputation perpetrate a fraud....just to pump the idea that Behemoth was a dino?

I did look at the 2nd photo..of the church where the painting is supposed to reside..noted that the style of the frames appear to be different...and the painting is not photographed in situ.

BTW..I learned that Job is the oldest Book in the Bible--figures...the first story...is not Genesis...but the tale of how God and Satan played with a man's life..for a wager!

Shades of Trading Places!

The painting is of very poor quality for a masterpiece that has been aroind for centuries

 

[ThunderKiss1965]

I believe the ancient Greeks came up with the Cyclops myth after finding Mammoth skulls that where missing their tusks

.

 

[Asclepias]

A few years ago I went into a 13th century Church in Estonia. Inside were mid 17th century paintings of various Bible scenes. I stopped in my tracks when I saw this painting from the Book of Job. It wasn't the Renaissance clothing everyone was wearing but what was behind them. The painting was hanging there a century before the first dinosaur fossils were even discovered yet they showed Job 40 perfectly with Brontosaurus’s.

How did they know?

View attachment 265658 View attachment 265659

“Look at Behemoth,which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.
What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly!
Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.
Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.
It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.
The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby.
Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
The lotuses conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround it.
A raging river does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.
Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?
Job 40:15-24

View attachment 265660

While in Cambodia I made sure to visit a temple that was built around 1100 AD. How’d they know what a Stegosaurus looked like?

What makes you think ancient civilizations never found fossils?

 

[Asclepias]

A few years ago I went into a 13th century Church in Estonia. Inside were mid 17th century paintings of various Bible scenes. I stopped in my tracks when I saw this painting from the Book of Job. It wasn't the Renaissance clothing everyone was wearing but what was behind them. The painting was hanging there a century before the first dinosaur fossils were even discovered yet they showed Job 40 perfectly with Brontosaurus’s.

How did they know?

View attachment 265658 View attachment 265659

“Look at Behemoth,which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.
What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly!
Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.
Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.
It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.
The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby.
Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
The lotuses conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround it.
A raging river does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.
Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?
Job 40:15-24

View attachment 265660

While in Cambodia I made sure to visit a temple that was built around 1100 AD. How’d they know what a Stegosaurus looked like?

They most likely found fossils. It doesn’t take to much to do that. Between Jacksonville and Tyler Texas you can fill a dozen 1 qt mason jars with fossilized sharks teeth in about three hours of looking and zero digging. At lake Opossum Kingdom you need only walk the shore line to find fossilized Nautilus shells, barnicles and so on. And up around Blanco Texas it’s the same. Fossils are all over the place.

A fossil of a Dino is typically scattered pieces over a large area buried in the ground.

To be sure, but they still had to excavate for construction just like we do. And they weren’t morons, they had the same brains that we do. I see where you are coming from though. Even if they found intact fossils, how would they know those old bones made a brontosaurus shaped critter?

Probably by comparing them to skeletons of reptiles they were familiar with like lizards, crocodiles and alligators. All it takes is a little imagination. Since present day humans have never seen a dinosaur how do they know what they look like?

 

[Weatherman2020]

A 17th Century tapestry in the Chateau de Blois. The creature on the Left is unknown as of now, but the creature on the right is a Maiasaura.

 

[Weatherman2020]

A few years ago I went into a 13th century Church in Estonia. Inside were mid 17th century paintings of various Bible scenes. I stopped in my tracks when I saw this painting from the Book of Job. It wasn't the Renaissance clothing everyone was wearing but what was behind them. The painting was hanging there a century before the first dinosaur fossils were even discovered yet they showed Job 40 perfectly with Brontosaurus’s.

How did they know?

View attachment 265658 View attachment 265659

“Look at Behemoth,which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.
What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly!
Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.
Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.
It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.
The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby.
Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
The lotuses conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround it.
A raging river does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.
Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?
Job 40:15-24

View attachment 265660

While in Cambodia I made sure to visit a temple that was built around 1100 AD. How’d they know what a Stegosaurus looked like?

What makes you think ancient civilizations never found fossils?

A. There are no fossils in Cambodia.
B. Fossil beds don’t look like anything except a pile of bones.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

but the creature on the right is a Maiasaura

No it isn't.

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

A. There are no fossils in Cambodia.

False, obviously. There are marine fossils from the mesozoic. Because cambodia, at the time of stegosaurus, was under the ocean. But hey, lets not let facts get in the way of a good story, right?

B. Fossil beds don’t look like anything except a pile of bones.

Except for when they look like skeletons.

So... Are you just kind of makimg stuff up as you go, at this point?

 

[Weatherman2020]

A. There are no fossils in Cambodia.

False, obviously. There are marine fossils from the mesozoic. Because cambodia, at the time of stegosaurus, was under the ocean. But hey, lets not let facts get in the way of a good story, right?

B. Fossil beds don’t look like anything except a pile of bones.

Except for when they look like skeletons.

So... Are you just kind of makimg stuff up as you go, at this point?

There are marine fossils from the mesozoic. Because cambodia, at the time of stegosaurus, was under the ocean. But hey, lets not let facts get in the way of a good story, right?

Well, you just shot down your own theory about the stegosaurus carving in Cambodia.
Hook
Line
Sinker

 

[Fort Fun Indiana]

Well, you just shot down your own theory about the stegosaurus carving in Cambodia.

I didnt present any theory about that. I merely responded to your general question earlier. Try to focus. The "theory" about that carving is that it is not a stegosaurus. Your first clue is that it looks nothing like a stegosaurus. Your second clue is that it more closely resembles a rhinoceros or a boar, both animals which actually existed in the year 1200.

 

[james bond]

Evidently there were dragons in every society also.

But no feathered ones.

 

[james bond]

The legends of humans and dragons and behemoths are world wide. There are dinosaur fossils with soft tissue and recognizable blood cells inside them. We still have sightings of dinosaurs today as they all didn't go extinct.

 

[Weatherman2020]

Well, you just shot down your own theory about the stegosaurus carving in Cambodia.

I didnt present any theory about that. I merely responded to your general question earlier. Try to focus. The "theory" about that carving is that it is not a stegosaurus. Your first clue is that it looks nothing like a stegosaurus. Your second clue is that it more closely resembles a rhinoceros or a boar, both animals which actually existed in the year 1200.

Maybe it was one of your Comrade deniers. So how’d they know what a stegosaurus look like a thousand years ago in Cambodia?