Posted on 05/02/2025 6:56:39 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Art imitates life ... maybe.
There’s something intriguing, even frightening, about the image of an ancient horned serpent roaming across the land. Thanks to some suggestive fossils and legends of old, talk of such a creature isn’t a new concept.
But the recent discovery of 200-year-old rock paintings found in South Africa now has scientists hypothesizing that this ancient creature may have been far more than just a legend.
The first formal scientific descriptions of this horned serpent—a supposed member of the dicynodont group—appeared in 1845. Considering the abundance of dicynodont fossils found in the Karoo Basin in South Africa, some have pondered whether this long-thought mythical horned serpent is rooted in reality.
The discovery of rock art dated to between 1821 and 1835 adds even more credence to the legend, as the painting is older than the first formal reference to the dicynodont. If we’re lucky, it could provide further clues as to just how intertwined this horned serpent was with South Africa’s indigenous San culture.
In a study published in the journal PLOS ONE, Julien Benoit from the University of the Witwatersrand confirmed that the rock art from the early 1800s depicts a tusked animal, and that it sits alongside tetrapod fossils in the immediate vicinity. “Altogether,” the Benoit wrote, “they suggest a case of indigenous paleontology.”
Still, it will need to take more than a 200-year-old painting to match a smattering of unknown fossils to a long-extinct creature unlike anything seen in the area today.
“The ethnographic, archaeological, and paleontological evidence are consistent with the hypothesis that the Horned Serpent panel could possibly depict a dicynodont,” Benoit wrote in the study. He added that the downward orientation of the tusks, which doesn’t match any African animal (but does match dicynodonts), the abundance of fossils in the area, and the belief held by the San of the existence of this long-extinct large animal further support the theory.
“Of course, at this point it is speculative,” said Benoit, according to IFL Science, “but the tusked animal on the Horned Serpent panel was likely painted as a rain-animal, which means it was probably involved [in] rain-making ceremonies.” These ceremonies often evoked known extinct animals to help the people encourage the gods to send rain.
The San were known to have a robust mix of animals belonging to their ‘spirit world,’ but Benoit said that these animals were generally inspired by reality—even if extinct. Coupled with the San’s interest in fossils, Benoit believes a fossil discovery could have led the San to recreate the horned serpent, using a long-held legend in which their ancestors described the creatures as “great monstrous brutes, exceeding the elephant or hippopotamus in bulk” as the template.
There’s plenty of leaps from legend to scientific grounding that may be too large for a fabled horned serpent to make. But after further studies, the 200-year-old paintings could spin a different tale.
Did it have a Thagomizer on its tail?
dicynodont
Best take no for an answer.
Dicynodontia is an extinct clade of anomodonts, an extinct type of non-mammalian therapsid.
I saw one a them TV magic queers make one disappear.
therapsids /thə-răp′sĭd/ noun
Any of various amniote vertebrates that emerged in the Permian Period and diversified in the Triassic, including the mammals, their ancestors, and their relatives.
It was David Copperfield.
Horned serpent?
Didn’t know Chuck Schumer was that old.
Musta been the last one?
200 years old is ancient? Who knew.
“But the recent discovery of 200-year-old rock painting”
But the recent discovery of 200-year-old rock painting of Nancy Pelosi
There, clarified it
The rest of the 'adriennemayor' keyword, sorted:
Golf clap for Far Side reference.
At Chichen Itza in a hidden niche of one building ( I forget which one [ it was 1983 ] ), there is a set of carved stone panels depicting all the animals known to the builders of the site. There is on panel depicting an unknown animal. I have a picture of the set and of the unknown animal panel, but no way to post it.
There are many paintings and drawings of fire-breathing winged dragons. I guess that’s proof those are real too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
