Re: Sacred Fossils

[pwillis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Paul Willis)]

>This week's Time magazine (in addition to a nice article on Pterosaurs)
>reports on the theft of some Stegosaur tracks from a remote area in
>Australian. In passing the article mentioned that the tracks were taken
>from an area sacred to the Goolarabooloo and Jabirjabir aboriginal tribes,
>though it did not state whether the tracks themselves were considered
>sacred. Nevertheless, it caused me to wonder if there are any other known
>examples of a particular fossil or fossil-bearing locality being considered
>a sacred by an indigenous human population? [Note: museum curators,
>professional paleontologists, and/or local rockhound clubs don't count].
>Does anyone know of any examples?
>
>Norm MacLeod
>
>
>

Local aboriginal groups knew of the existence of fossil bones at Cuddie
Springs, northern New South Wales and had a series of dreamtime stories
associated with them. In Western Victoria, modern aboriginal legends of
huge flightless birds have been linked to Genyonis in the area up to a few
thousand years ago.

Cheers, Paul


Dr Paul M.A. Willis
Consulting Vertebrate Palaeontologist
Quinkana Pty Ltd
pwillis@ozemail.com.au