Origin
A theory, postulated primarily by Adrienne Mayor, is that the griffin originated with ancient paleontological observations brought by long-distance traders to Europe along the Silk Road from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, where white fossils of Protoceratops are naturally exposed against reddish ground. Such fossils, seen by ancient observers, may have been interpreted as evidence of a half-bird-half-beast. Over repeated retelling and drawing recopying its bony neck frill (which is rather fragile and may have been frequently broken or entirely weathered away) may become large mammal-type external ears, and its beak may be treated as evidence of part-bird nature and lead to bird-type wings being added.
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