An Instinct for DragonsPsychology Press, 2002 - Broj stranica: 188 First published in 2002. The image of a dragon- magnificent, terrifying, voracious and powerful- is ingrained in our culture. But where di it originate? And how is that people from Africa to China to America picture it the same? An Instinct for Dragons is anthropologist David E. Jones' account of his search for the mysterious birth of this ubiquitous monster. Nit only does virtually every culture in the world have a name for dragons- smok in Polish, tatsu in Japanese, unktena in Cherokee- but dragons everywhere share many of the same characteristics: multiple heads, blazing eyes, earth-shaking roars, fiery breath, and the abduction of princesses. Spanning dragon lore from all paces and periods, Jones scrutinizes sightings and references from dragon inscriptions on cave walls, cliffs and pots to the Loch Ness monster to the Internet. Jones' research is erudite, and his conclusion is stunning; not only is our fear and fascination with dragons a direct result of the predators who threatened our evolution, but humankind is essentially 'hardwired' to believe in the dragon. This book will fascinate any reader interested in the cultural history of this most venerable of monsters. |
Sadržaj
Introduction | 1 |
The Monkey Hunters | 25 |
Running from Certain Shadows | 39 |
Red Tooth Red Claw | 47 |
How Time Makes a Dragon | 55 |
Why Dragons Breathe Fire | 73 |
Time of the Dragon Slayers | 95 |
Fate of the Dragons | 113 |
Tree of Life and the Three Sacred Realms | 121 |
More Tales of the Great Worm | 135 |
Bibliography | 177 |
185 | |
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Africa alarm calls ancestors ancestral primates ancient primates animal phobias appearance arboreal primates attack bands basic beards beast behavior believed big cats biocultural anthropology biologically birds body brain brain-dragon breath carnivore central chiefdom chimpanzees China Chinese dragon chunk clawed feet creature culture hero danger depicted dinosaur dragon image dragon slayer dragon tales eagle earth evolutionary evolved example experience Fafnir fear feathers FIGURE genes genetic giant Greek head horns hunting hydra Indians infants innate Instinct for Dragons Japanese killed lemurs leopard lives mammals martial eagle million years ago modern mokele-mbembe monster motif mouth move myth mythology natural selection organization patterns phobias population predators prey primate primate predators python raptor reactions reptiles reptilian responses sacred saurian scales snakes social specific suggest survival symbol tail Taung Taung child teeth tion tree tribes underworld University vervet monkeys Western dragon winged serpents world-dragon York