Dinosaur discoveries prior to 17th century?

Question

Hello everyone,

Ok this question might sound strange but does anyone know of a case where someone prior to the 17th Century ever "discovered" or unearthed a dinosaur of any sort. And if there are records/local legends of this type of find, what were their thoughts, reactions to the "devilish" remains discovered?

Answer 1

There is a reburial of a mammoth in ancient Greece. Supposedly, it was thought to be the discovered remains of a Greek hero.

Regarding the Greeks and Romans:

"They frequently encountered the fossilized bones of these primeval beings, and they developed sophisticated concepts to explain the fossil evidence, concepts that were expressed in mythological stories. The legend of the gold-guarding griffin, for example, sprang from tales first told by Scythian gold-miners, who, passing through the Gobi Desert at the foot of the Altai Mountains, encountered the skeletons of Protoceratops and other dinosaurs that littered the ground."

http://press.princeton.edu/titles/6811.h...

Native Americans also encountered fossils and made their own explanations.

"In Japan, fossilised sharks' teeth were said to be the pointed thumbnails of Tengu Man, a mythical mountain goblin. In India, the fossilised shell of ammonites - marine molluscs - were known as saligrams, symbols of the god Vishnu, which were kept in temples to purify water. In China, the fossils of mollusc-like brachiopods were known as Shih-yen, or stone swallows, which were said to be able to fly during thunderstorms"

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/scienc...

It's been argued that the myths of the cyclops, the griffin and dragons are all based on the discovery and interpretation of fossils.