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#1
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06-23-2009, 01:21 PM
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Darwin Killed Off The Werewolf
ScienceDaily (June 16, 2009) — It was Darwinian theory that did away with the werewolf. For much of recorded history, humans have reserved their greatest fears for dog-human hybrids like the werewolf. These beasts were once thought to be real, hiding behind every tree waiting for the unsuspecting traveler. But, argues Brian Regal, assistant professor of the history of science at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, USA, the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species 150 years ago focused minds on a different kind of monster – ape-men such as the Yeti, Bigfoot and Sasquatch. Regal will present his thesis in July at the annual meeting of the British Society for the History of Science in Leicester, UK. He will use period artwork to chart the ‘evolution’ of the werewolf into Bigfoot. From the late 19th century onwards, stories of werewolf encounters tailed away significantly, says Regal. “The spread of the idea of evolution helped kill off the werewolf because a canid-human hybrid makes no sense from an evolutionary point of view,” he says. “The ape-human hybrid, however, is not only evolutionarily acceptable, it is the basis of human evolution.” Today, in Darwin’s bicentenary year, werewolves have been relegated to films. When it comes to the actual monster scene, it’s Bigfoot that now dominates. Source: Darwin Killed Off The Werewolf · |
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#4
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06-07-2010, 06:37 PM
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Re: Darwin Killed Off The Werewolf
Interesting thesis. Sightings haven't become any more abundant, though they do seem to be concentrated in different parts of the world. These sightings" are not in Eastern europe or areas where the actual "stories" and 'myths' seem to have evolved from, though. I would love to hear more about this. |
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#5
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06-07-2010, 11:57 PM
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Re: Darwin Killed Off The Werewolf
Africans also had legends of Lycanthropes (animal-human transfiguration beings) the first documented writing about African entities was a British explorer (who claims to be an eye witness) in the early to mid 1800's. If your interested look up Frontian Phenomenon. I could try to recall it, but it would make more sense to look it up yourself.
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