Not that I support the Barney Phenomenon but....

On of the biggest misconceptions about archaeology involves one of my favourite things – DINOSAURS! Screw raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, Dinosaurs totally win, hands down!
That being said, when someone asks you what you do for a living and you say “well actually, I’m an archaeologist” the most common response after “wow!”, “good lord, why?” or “really?!” is “so, how many dinosaurs have you found?”
Or something along that sort of line anyway, then you do a little slightly annoyed laugh and clarify what it is that you actually do – play in shell middens, dig up stone tools, work in mass graves or what have you.

Anyway, I realise that what I’m about to do will provide further support for the ‘Barney Phenomena’, but I’m going to do it anyway…because I’m a rebel and I listen to rock music. Yeah, that’s right!

So, first of all TRICERATOPS!



If there was a rockstar among dinosaurs, then Triceratops would be it!

Isn’t it just the cutest little thing! They’re definitely one of my favourite dinosaurs.



Palaeontologists have a huge fascination with horned/ frilled dinosaurs. Theories behind the features stretched from comparisons with species still present on earth today. So essentially deer, elk, moose…and no, not the chocolate variety.

Some believe that the unusual features were used for display purposes, to attract a mate and such. Now don’t tell me you can’t see a male triceratops eyeing off a passing female with a smirk as he’d say “Heya babe! You ever seen one this big?”….wow, that took quite a sordid turn didn’t it, my most humble apologies.

Ahem.

Continuing along the analogy line, deer, elk and non-chocolate moose fight. Yes, they fight with their horns, probably trying to impress a female no doubt. Motivations aside, it has been theorised that perhaps the triceratops also used their horns for fighting, and that if that was so, could there be evidence of this left on fossil remains?

Research indicates yes. Sort of.

Palaeontologists suggest that although far from a definitive conclusion on the exact purpose of horns and frills, for the triceratops, it is likely that they may have been used for fighting. But why are they fighting? One must wonder:

"…if some specimens might have had significantly more injuries than
others, and if so, whether this might suggest that they were males?
Alternatively, if the incidence of injuries significantly increased at a certain
size, would this suggest the onset of sexual maturity and mate competition?"

It should be noted that the used for horns and frills on dinosaurs may have been different for every species. While evidence suggests that the triceratops may have used their horns for fighting, for other species like the Centrosaurs and Pachyrhinosaurs, it may be used as more of a sexual display. Randy little sex fiends!