{
  "id": 11669408,
  "title": "What medieval people made of fossils before vertebrate paleontology",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/what-medieval-people-made-of-fossils-before-vertebrate-paleontology",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-03T11:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Science",
    "slug": "live-science",
    "url": "https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/giant-tusks-from-siberia-were-thought-to-be-the-horns-of-the-mythical-unicorn-what-medieval-people-made-of-fossils-before-vertebrate-paleontology"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the ancient past, mammals coexisted with dinosaurs, and their time to thrive commenced after the catastrophic asteroid impact that eradicated the dinosaurs approximately 66 million years ago. The path to understanding the mammalian lineage was not a smooth one, as early naturalists and philosophers held onto the belief of giant humans roaming Earth and deemed the concept of extinction as heretical.\n\nThroughout the Mediterranean and Europe, numerous cultures harbored tales of gigantic races of humans, which were often reinforced by the discovery of enormous bones. Greek philosopher Empedocles and Roman historian Pliny the Elder mentioned fossil ivory found in the ground, while Roman historian Suetonius revealed that Emperor Augustus owned a collection of large bones unearthed on Capri. The skulls of elephants, with their large central openings, were mistaken for the skulls of cyclops, mythical one-eyed beings.\n\nDuring the Middle Ages, these mammoth bones were again linked to gigantic humans or monsters drowned in Noah's flood. Giant tusks from Siberia were believed to be the horns of unicorns or dragons, while mammoth teeth or vertebrae were considered relics of saints. Giant bones discovered in France during the early 17th century were initially believed to belong to the Teutons, a Germanic tribe that had been defeated by the Romans in 101 BCE.\n\nHowever, in 1613, anatomist Riolan challenged the prevailing theory, asserting that the bones were actually those of an elephant. This sparked a heated controversy between physicians, anatomists, and barber-surgeons, and some even accused the anatomists of challenging biblical accounts of giants on Earth. These controversies persisted until 1618, and for the next two centuries, people continued to interpret new finds as gigantic humans.",
  "summary": "In this excerpt from \"The Story of the Mammals in 25 Discoveries,\" author Donald R. Prothero looks at a time when the idea of extinction was blasphemous.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}