Dinosaur bones used in traditional Chinese medicine

Reports occasionally appear in the media about local Chinese people using dinosaur fossils to make medicine. The use of dinosaurs and other fossils in medicine may be hard to believe in the West, but this practice of using fossils in traditional medicine is quite common. In fact, there is a huge trade in various dragon bones and other similar items in the Far East. Most of the fossils are ground into a fine powder and then added to herbs, animal remains, seeds, and fruits to prepare local remedies. These medications are used to “cure” a number of ailments such as upset stomachs, headaches, and even colds and flu. It may seem strange to us, but as dragons they are very important to the local mythology of the most remote parts of China. Dragons are supposed to have magical powers and it is these properties that persuade the locals to take them in potions to cure what ails them.

A Dragon: An Apt Description of a Dinosaur

Ironically, the ancient Chinese who first discovered the dinosaur fossils were quite accurate in their assessment that they belonged to dragons – giant, monstrous reptiles. It is not a bad hypothesis, a theory that did not take root in the West until the 19th century. Crushing these fossils for use in medicine may also sound strange, I shudder to think what priceless discoveries ended up being turned to dust by a shaman. However, fossils are usually only found in sedimentary rocks like limestone. These alkaline rocks, once ground into a fine powder and swallowed, can help relieve certain stomach upsets like acidosis and indigestion. Although, I would never recommend anyone to try this – follow the prescribed remedies for indigestion.

Perhaps we can learn a trick or two from these ancient apothecaries.

Chinese apothecaries assisted in fossil discovery

It’s not just dinosaur bones that have been lost to science due to Chinese medicine practices. German paleoanthropologist Ralph von Koenigswald was wandering the back streets of Hong Kong in 1935 when he came across one of these pharmacies. Curious, he went in and found on one of the many shelves a very large molar (tooth) labeled a dragon tooth. He knew it was a fossil and unlikely to have come from any known reptile, but what strange animal could possess such a large molar? Dr. Koenigswald purchased the tooth and persuaded the owner to show him exactly where the tooth came from. The fossil tooth was traced back to a remote cave, in which more teeth and some bones were found. Ralph von Koenigswald had discovered a new species of fossil primate: the largest ape ever known. He called this new animal Gigantopithecus (Giant Ape), it is believed that the males weighed more than 550 kgs and if they had been able to support their two feet they would have been more than 3 meters tall.

Fossils of this huge ape have been found in China and Vietnam, it was a herbivore, it ate fruit and bamboo. However, if you want to see dinosaur fossils and don’t fancy a trip to a museum, try visiting a local Chinese medicine emporium, it’s amazing what you’ll find on the shelves, even dinosaur bones, all labeled and ready to go. in traditional medicine.

Local people make the best dinosaur hunters

In the more informed parts of China, the local population still clings to many of its traditional beliefs. Dragons remain an important symbol in many cultures and this appreciation and respect has helped many paleontological expeditions. Locals are often very willing to help scientists by taking them to places where “dragon bones” and other ancient relics, which we know as fossils, have been found. The support and advice of local people can save a field team many hours or even days, as they can very quickly identify potential excavation sites that are worthy of further exploration.

China has the world’s largest collection of fossil vertebrates

The Beijing-based Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, largely as a result of cooperation with local people, has over the past fifty years or so amassed the largest collection of fossils of vertebrates in the world. . The Institute referred to by the acronym – IVPP has something in the region of two hundred and fifty thousand fossilized vertebrate bones in its collection. Several of these fossils are from dinosaurs, as several very important dinosaur discoveries have been made in China in recent years. From the deserts of Mongolia to the frigid depths of the northern plains, as well as the world famous Liaoning province, famous for the multitude of feathered dinosaur fossils that have been found there.