Adrienne Mayor (b.1946) is a classical folklorist and historian of science.

She specializes in the study of "folk science:" how pre-scientific cultures interpreted data about the natural world, and how these interpretations form the basis of many ancient myths, folklore and popular beliefs. Her work in pre-scientific fossil discoveries and traditional interpretations of paleontological remains has opened up a new a new field within the emerging discipline of Geomythology, and she is active in the growing discipline of classical folklore. Since 2007, Mayor has been a visiting scholar in classics and the history of science at Stanford University. She is married to the historian Josiah Ober.

She has published articles on Amazons, toxic honey, tattoos in antiquity, smallpox blankets in history and legend, assassination by poisoned garments in Mughal India, fossil-related placenames, and other topics in scholarly journals and popular magazines, including the Journal of American Folklore, Archaeology, and Military History Quarterly (MHQ). Her books have been translated into 6 languages and have been featured in documentaries on the History and Discovery TV Channels.

Bibliography

The First Fossil Hunters (2000)

Mayor's first book investigated discoveries and interpretations of dinosaur and other large vertebrate fossils in classical antiquity, and presented her now-widely accepted theory that ancient observations of the fossilized remains of dinosaurs and other extinct species influenced belief some mythic creatures, such as the griffin and the Monster of Troy.

Other highlights include:

• Greek and Roman discoveries of the huge fossils of woolly rhinoceros and other extinct megafauna remains were interpreted as relics of mythic giants, larger-than-life heroes, and monsters in classical times.

• In Central Asia, exquisitely preserved Protoceratops dinosaur skeletons, discovered by ancient Scythian nomads searching for gold, influenced the ancient image and folklore about the fabulous gold-guarding griffin.

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs (2003)

Mayor's second book Mayor uncovered the earliest examples of biochemical weapons in the ancient world, to demonstrate that the concept and practice of biochemical warfare occurred much earlier than was previously thought. The ancient Greeks, Romans, Chineses, Africans, and Indians accounts of the practice of biochemical warfare, using animal, bacterial, poison, and chemical weaponry, including the titular Greek fire.

Other highlights include:

• The ancient Greek myth of Hercules dipping his arrows in the poisonous venom of the Lernaean Hydra reveals the deep antiquity of the concept of weaponizing toxic natural forces.

• Unintended consequences and ethical dilemmas have surrounded the use of biochemical weapons since antiquity

Fossil Legends of the First Americans (2005)

Mayor's third book gathers Native American accounts of discoveries of dinosaur and other fossils and oral traditions about their meaning, from pre-Columbian times to the present, including:

• Inca and Aztec ideas about mammoth, giant sloth, and other large fossils

• Traditions from numerous Native American cultures, including Iroquois, Lenape, Sioux, Blackfeet, Pawnee, Navajo, Apache, Zuni, Crow, Cheyenne, and many others, about a wide range of fossils, from stone shells and petrified wood to the skeletons of giant bears, mammoths, dinosaurs, and marine and flying reptiles.

Books

• The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times (Princeton University Press 2000) ? ISBN 0-691-08977-9
• Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World (Overlook 2003) ? ISBN 1-58567-348-X
• Fossil Legends of the First Americans (Princeton University Press 2005) — ISBN 0-691-11345-9

External links

• Adrienne Mayor's homepage
• "Digging in Folklore, Unearthing Science" by Felicia R. Lee, New York Times profile (June 12, 2004)
• "Explaining Giant Bones" by Tim Tokaryk, American Scientist (Nov/Dec 2000)