Dragon bones

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Dragon bones , Chinese 龙骨 lónggŭ, refers to fossils in traditional Chinese medicine that are used as medicines and miracle cures .

The fossilized animal or human bones are said in popular belief to help with a lot of ailments when crushed, for example with epilepsy or digestive problems . The Chinese dragon (chin. Long ) is a very powerful and mostly positive mythical creature . Its power is said to be transmitted through medicine.

Locations of dragon bones gave in China during archaeologists on prehistoric finds. So they led to the discovery of the Peking man in Zhoukoudian . The German naturalist Karl A. Haberer , who had an extended stay in Beijing because of the Boxer Rebellion in 1899 , discovered the dragon bones in the local markets. Among them, as it turned out later, was a human molar. In 1903, the paleontologist Max Schlosser hoped that more human fossils could be found in China. The molar that Haberer acquired later found its way to the Swedish city of Uppsala via a detour and inspired the research of Johan Gunnar Andersson .

literature

  • Jeremy Roberts: Chinese Mythology AZ . 2nd Edition, Chelsea House Publications 2009, ISBN 978-1-60413-436-0 , p. 35.

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