Here comes the dragon! The most trending celebs in the wildlife world. Because of its hitz, dragons have often appeared on the silver screen, the glass screen, and even in Hollywood. Even though it is said to be a myth, strangely, almost all cultures in the world know about dragons. It is a giant reptile that is super powerful. If that’s the case, then dragons ever exist! But when? Was it in the age of the dinosaurs? Did dragons really exist in the past?
The Invention of Dracorex
Earlier this century, three young paleontologists discovered a super-odd skull at an ancient rock site. Upon investigation, the skull turned out to belong to a dinosaur contemporaries T-Rex with a species name that means… “Dragon King of Hogwarts”. Yup, that Hogwarts. So… is this the true form of the legendary dragon?
Apparently… no. At first glance, the Dracorex’s head looks like a Western version of a dragon in Hollywood movies. Unfortunately, there is no evidence to show that he can fly, let alone spitfire.
Dracorex is a family of plant-eating dinosaurs. After all, dinosaur means “terrible lizard”. But until now, there is still no scientific evidence of the existence of a giant evil lizard that looks like a Western dragon.
The Origin of The Word Dragon
But, do you know? The root of the word “dragon” can be traced to the word “drakon” which means big water snake. If so, what about the dragon snake? Okay. The snake version of the dragon is indeed more popular in Eastern cultures, including in Indonesia.
Don’t believe it? Just look at what it means in the KBBI. Asia is also home to many large and wild snakes. But, again there is no scientific evidence about snakes with claws, and wings, let alone crowns. Perhaps this was because the Eastern Dragon was a god-level being, so its existence was only necessary to believe in.
Fortunately, some people specialize in researching this worldwide but different dragon myth. According to Professor Jones, the characteristics of dragons can be different in each region. The reason is that dragons represent the primitive imagination of predatory animals that we fear.
And these animals are of course different in each region. Imagine… for our ancestors who didn’t have sophisticated weapons, predators like snakes, tigers and eagles would be really scary!
From stories passed down from generation to generation, our imagination creates mystical creatures with mixed characteristics. In the end, any reptile creature that looks miraculous will be referred to as… ahem… “dragon”.
Now, imagine what would happen if the dracorex’s strange skull wasn’t found in 2004, but in the Dark Ages. Without advanced science, people would immediately think that it was a dragon skull! So curious… What would happen if a foreign skull like the dracorex was found in Europe during the Medieval era?
