THE LANCASTER NEWS — SEPTEMBER 07, 1917
TRACE OF MERMAID ♢ Scientists Find Skeleton Half Human and Half Fish
Ancients of All Races Believed That Beautiful Sea Maidens Once Lived
☆ Maybe Our Forbears Wore Fins and Scales ☆
Mermaids were not mythical creatures at all, but real, living beings, according to some scientists, who, in support of this belief, point to the skeleton of a strange animal, half human and half fish, said to be more than 4,000 years old and reported to have been found deeply imbedded in sand on the coast of China. This skeleton, however, is said to be considerably smaller than the proportions of a mermaid, according to popular conception, which pictures her with a form much the same as that of a women. It is pointed out, however, that this skeleton might have belonged to a dwarf of the species, or to a kind of fish which is said to have been common in Chinese waters about 6000 B. C. And it is conceivable that the creature might have grown to larger size in a different climate.
The skeleton which has come to light after centuries is described as having had a head, shoulders and arms like these of a woman, as proved by the formation of the bones and skull. The lower half of the body became petrified, and in all respects was like the tail of a fish, with several fins. On the head and the upper portion of the body a shriveled skin was found, similar to that of an Egyptian mummy. If further proof were needed, it would seem to be supplied by a few strands of hair on the head. Dermatologists have decided that this was once flaxen and grew abundantly.
