The dinosaur renaissance was a small-scale scientific revolution that started in the late 1960s, and led to renewed academic and popular interest in dinosaurs. It was sparked by new discoveries and research indicating that dinosaurs may have been active and warm-blooded animals, rather than cold-blooded and sluggish as had been the prevailing view and description during the first half of the twentieth century.
The new view of dinosaurs was championed by John Ostrom, who argued that birds evolved from coelurosaurian dinosaurs, and particularly Robert Bakker who argued passionately that dinosaurs were warm-blooded in a way similar to modern mammals and birds. Bakker frequently portrayed his ideas as a renaissance of those popular in the late nineteenth century, referring to the period in between the wars as "the dinosaur doldrums".
The dinosaur renaissance led to a profound shift in thinking on nearly all aspects of dinosaur biology, including physiology, evolution, behaviour, ecology and extinction. It also led to many depictions of dinosaurs in popular culture.
Read more about Dinosaur Renaissance: Dinosaurs and The Origin of Birds, Dinosaur Monophyly, Warm-bloodedness and Activity Levels, New Theories On Dinosaur Behaviour, Changing Portrayal of Dinosaurs, New Extinction Theories, The Meteor Impact, Cultural Impacts
Famous quotes containing the word renaissance:
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—J.G. (James Graham)