Going out on a limb for Quetzalcoatlus

↓↓↓ Info on how/where/when to catch PREHISTORIC ROAD TRIP below! ↓↓↓
Quetzalcoatlus was the largest flying animal of all time. But this extraordinary animal is known from only a handful of bones; a complete skeleton has never been found. So how do scientists know what it looked like?
Check out Joe's video on how these giants took to the skies: • How Did Giant Pterosau...
PREHISTORIC ROAD TRIP premier dates*
E01 -- JUNE 17, 2020: Welcome to Fossil Country
E02 -- JUNE 24, 2020: We Dig Dinosaurs
E03 -- JULY 1, 2020: Tiny Teeth, Fearsome Beasts
*Check your local PBS station for exact times!
#PrehistoricRoadTripPBS
WHERE TO STREAM WORLWIDE STARTING 6/17:
PBS.org @ www.pbs.org/prehistoricroadtrip
WTTW.com @ www.wttw.com/prehistoricroadtrip
On your TV, phone, or tablet through the PBS App: www.pbs.org/pbs-video-app/
---------------------------------------­----------------------------
Executive Producer, Creator, Host:
Emily Graslie
Producer, Editor:
Sheheryar Ahsan
Camera:
David Schulte
Derek Borsheim
Production Assistant, Content Developer, Writer:
Raven Forrest
Production Support:
Vinícius Penteado
Special Thanks:
Joe Hanson
Sarah Wilson Www.sarahwilsonphotography.com
Matt Brown
The Lauer Foundation www.lauerfoundationpse.org/?f...
/ lauerfoundation
/ lauerfoundation
/ lauerfoundation

[@thebrainscoop]

WHERE TO STREAM PREHISTORIC ROAD TRIP WORLDWIDE STARTING 6/17: PBS.org @ www.pbs.org/prehistoricroadtrip WTTW.com @ www.wttw.com/prehistoricroadtrip On your TV, phone, or tablet through the PBS App: www.pbs.org/pbs-video-app/

[@ambulocetusnatans]

Hi Emily! When I was a kid my best friend's big brother had some kind of membership at the Field Museum and we got to go in the back and peek in some drawers full of fossils. We even got to see a tank full of Dermestid beetles cleaning the skeleton of an Alligator. Your videos always give me feelings of nostalgia. Congrats on the TV show!

[@PrestonSmithsMusic]

My Bday on the 17th! Best gift ever. Looking forward to watching it. ;)

[@Ktulu789]

It's great not to feel left outside when something is anounced for the "America" that the rest of the world is not part of... even the other Americas... xD Thanks Emily for the links! Just 8 more days and I'm already wanting to watch them all!

[@Ktulu789]

@@ambulocetusnatans Wow! That would be awesome! "Cleaning"... yeah they were having the feast of their lives xDDD

[@jjhggdcqz]

Pterosaurs are some of my favorite prehistoric creatures! It's a shame that documentaries usually have them playing second fiddle to dinosaurs.

[@besmart]

THANKS FOR COMING TO VISIT ME IN AUSTIN, EMILY!!! I can’t wait to watch Prehistoric Road Trip 🤓

[@thebrainscoop]

Thank YOU!!! I can't wait for everyone to see it!!! GAH

[@bradfordreed6175]

Hooray for comparative anatomy, biomechanical modelling techniques, and an exciting melding of hard science and the arts! So excited.

[@teIekid]

Bunch of nonsense, actually. Read the Bible.

[@nichecrimes]

@@teIekid nice troll bro

[@Boogers32150]

Katakuri Shārotto - try harder troll

[@POGAKAChaos]

The Bible! Aha

[@pixelpusher3589]

finally........ a reason for the arts

[@spaminbox]

you've come a long way from leading hank through a dark leaky basement full of yellowed jars of unknown fleshimens. congratulations. hopefully youtube remains your home as it's easily the most accessible platform for spreading the love of awesome science. :)

[@thebrainscoop]

It has been a WILD RIDE, but there is no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't have gotten where I am today if it weren't for KZbin and the excellent, supportive community it has provided for me over the last seven (!!!!) years. It's because of you all that I've been able to grow as a science communicator and video producer. Y'all have my endless gratitude!! I hope I will always be able to call a little corner of this platform home

[@spaminbox]

@@thebrainscoop great! i'm super excited about prehistoric roadtrip!

[@WhichDoctor1]

Exactly what I was thinking when I started watching this!

[@orioborous]

as both an artist and a paleontology geek, this makes me SO HAPPY

[@hotdrippyglass]

Emily, everything about you is so contagious! The smile in your eyes when your mind finds out something new is exactly like the wonder of a 5 year old child. Please keep sharing that smile with us. I write this on the 9th of June 2020 and right now we are in particular need of your sense of wonderment.

[@davinderc]

Are Emily and Joe dating? They seem like the perfect match of curious personalities!

[@gab.lab.martins]

"Contagious", especially when not wearing masks during a collab. haha

[@Elssi]

Simp

[@JohnLeePettimoreIII]

Emilie, I have watched you since before "It still has brains on it." was a thing. To see your journey from a deep, dark, hidden corner of U of M, to where you are today has been a real treat. I am so glad you've been able to realize your dreams, even if they didn't lie where you originally thought they did. Thank you for letting us all share your journey into both the little known, and the unknown. You are truly one of the STEM gems.

[@AllTheArtsy]

I love that idea that science and art are coming together, as well as new findings and new technologies, to recreate and better visualize our understanding of things. I think this is what some people just don't understand about science: It is not static. It's ever-changing, based on what new information is found, what new technology can be used, and just different ways of thinking. Some people think, that because scientists cannot be 100% sure of anything or because they change their minds-- "well people used to think the sun revolves around the earth!" "didn't they use to think bleeding people out was an actual medical cure?", etc.--- that that means it cannot be trusted. When in fact it's the opposite. People who are entirely so certain about anything, especially the way the world and the universe works, are often the ones out to get you with dogmatic thinking. It's okay to always be looking for new questions to ask, to always be investigating accepted answers. We should normalize changing your mind based on new information.

[@MajoraZ]

Great video! Quetzalcoatlus is a fascinating animal, though as somebody interested in Mesoamerican history even more then they are Paleontology, I think it's sort of a shame it's namesake wasn't mentioned much: The Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, the most famous incarnation of the archetypal Feathered Serpent deity (a fitting namesake for a giant flying reptile, then!) most civilizations in the region worshiped in some form. Sadly, most people aren't taught much of anything beyond a bare minimum about the Aztec or other societies from Mesoamerica despite those cultures having just as much going on in terms of complexity and history as Europe, the Middle East, Asia, etc, so I figured i'd talk a bit more about the Feathered Serpent's history here. You see prototypical versions of the Feathered Serpent way back at the Olmec (who are famous for their giant stone head sculptures) site of La Venta where it shows up on Monument 19, which apparently dates back to the phase of the site covering 1400 to 1000BC, or around 3000 years prior to the Aztec (again, People don't realize just how much history there is in the region, it's a shame so little of it gets taught) Monument 19 also shows it with some sort satchel, typically identified with religious officials, while the headdress the figure wears is reminiscent of Maya royalty. Also, additionally rulers in earlier periods of Mesoamerican civilization tended to be associated with divinity and had theocratic rule, which all goes to link the Feathered serpent with religious power and royalty, a trend you see continue to an extent, though not so much for the Aztec Quetzalcoatl. You also see iconography here setting up a dualism of the Sky and Earth, which relates to the deity''s nature as both a flying and slithering animal. Duality is also a pretty big deal in Aztec philsophy and metaphysics, so that's an element that stuck around. In any case, Feathered Serpent gods and Quetzalcoatl and his direct equivalents seem to really take off with the influence of Teotihuacan in the Mesoamerican Classic (200ad-800ad) period: Teotihuacan was a MASSIVE city, with 100k to 150k people, with a dense urban core covering 22 square kilometers, covering 37 square kilometers (bigger then Rome!) if you include the less dense areas. It was outright in the top 5 largest cities in the world at the time; and was massively influential politically and culturally (and probably militaristically, as we have records of it conquering and installing puppet rulers in Maya city-states over 500 miles away) throughout the region. Alongside gods like the Storm God (an example of another archetypal deity in Mesoamerican civilization, the "Goggled/Fanged Rain" god, like the Aztec Tlaloc or the Maya Chaac) and the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan; Quetzalcoatl (we don't know the Teotihuacano language and what they would have called it) was one of the city's primary deities, and has many of the iconographic elements which would be typical of later depictions of Quetzalcoatl can be seen in Teotihuacan's depictions of the god, such as on the facade of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, where Quetzalcoatl can be seen with feathers instead of scales and a rattlesnake tail, something not seen in the earlier Monument 19 depiction. However, Teotihuacan has him with aquatic associations: The Facade of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent is also adorned with depictions of either the Storm God or a Crocodile Monster (an early version of what would be known to the Aztec as Cipactli), shells, and other marine animals (interestingly, Quetzalcoatl to the Aztec and Toltec also is associated with a spiral shell pendant, albeit signifying an association with the wind, as conches blow air), and the temple's plaza was able to be flooded with water for ceremonies, a symbolic aquatic tunnel was found running underneath the temple, and rivers were re-routed through the city's grid layout to align with the temple perpendicularly. Moving from the Classic to the Postclassic (900-152 1AD), The Toltecs (according to Aztec accounts, anyways, but how much of these are historical and or legendary is very much up for debate) would rise to power in Central Mexico were Teotihuacan once did, and a lot of the Aztec's myths and beliefs about Quetzalcoatl are inseparable from a specific Toltec ruler known as Ce Acatl Topiltzin, whose life is well documented but also heavily mythologized, to where it's hard to say what's about the person vs the god, or what was Aztec propaganda (as our knowledge of the Toltecs comes from their records, and the Aztecs had an interest in misrepresenting Toltec history to justify their own political influence); or what was later retroactive Catholic distortion, as the Spanish associated Quetzalcoatl with Jesus and other gods with Satan to further aid converting the native population (which is where the "Aztec gods were white" stuff comes from) So if stuff like Ce Acatl/Quetzalcoatl rejecting human sacrifice, or him leaving Central Mexico to sail to the east and to one day return (which would become a major part of myths about Cortes being seen as the returning god, though most Mesoamericanists view this as a myth originating in the colonial period, Cortes himself doesn't claim he was mistaken for Quetzalcoatl) was legitimate beliefs about the God, actions of a specific king (which if so, links with theories that the theorized Toltec capital of Tula and the Early Postclassic Maya city of Chichen Itza seem to share a lot of urban design similarities; and feathered serpent gods with Central Mexican style iconography and depictions (the Classical and Preclassic Maya had a related, but iconographically distinct War-Serpent/VIsion Serpent diety) are more prominent amongst the Maya in the Postclassic; if perhaps the Toltec king/migrations arrived into the Maya area., but these findings are controversial, as with everything about the Toltec), or inventions of the Spanish are hard to say. Following the alleged collapse of the Toltec in the 1100's per Aztec accounts; you begin to see the migrations of the Nahuas into Central Mexico from Northern Mexico; with them giving up their nomadism to take up Mesoamerican style urbanism and statehood, and the city-states they formed would, after a series of conflicts, form the Aztec Empire; though the term "Aztec" is most associated with the Nahua subgroup of the Mexica, the inhabitants of Tenochtitlan, the effective capital of the Aztec Empire. To the Mexica (their myths and accounts of him being the same I talk about with the Toltec above, since these are the sources we get the Toltec from) and perhaps other Nahua groups, Quetzalcoatl, was mostly associated with learning, the arts, and the like, as well as with the wind; and as mentioned previously a Sky/Earth duality. However, he is NOT associated much with rulers, that association primarily going to the god Tezcatlipoca, also associated with jaguars, sorcery, and the fickle nature of fate/fortune/misfortune. Tezcatlipoca is often set up as Quetzalcoatl's rival in myths, and it was he who in myths drugged Quetzalcoatl, causing him to elope with his own sister, and set out to the east in shame. Some have theorized that this myth is a symbolic representation of a change in political power in the postclassic (Or, again, of Toltec migirations to the Eastern Maya areas) since you see political power shift from being theocratic in nature, with the priestly caste holding power; to a more "secular" system where military officials held more political power and royalty tended to be generals and the like. Anyways, that's where I'll leave things. I didn't talk about how the god was viewed by the Maya in the Yucatan or the Zapotec and Mixtec in Oaxaca/Guerrero much, but I'm not as informed on how it was viewed there!

[@thebrainscoop]

MajoraZ Whoa. Did you just finish your Master’s degree on this topic?! I am blown away by all of the detail here, and so glad to read such a thorough and apparently well-researched comment on a topic I knew very little about a few minutes ago. Brain Scoop viewers are the best. Thank you!!!

[@MajoraZ]

@@thebrainscoop I wish! Just a hobbyist, for now at least. I'd love to pursue Mesoamerican archeology or history professionally, especially with digitization and archival work )or just digitization/archival in general even if not for Mesoamerica_ but life and such has made it so I haven't had the opportunity to attend college yet. It's absolutely something i'm strongly considering for when I can, but I also know academic fields and museum/archival work can be pretty competitive with the jobs that exist, so i'm not sure how feasible it is for somebody first entering undergaduate education that far after they've completed high school... that being said, maybe videos about the industry and education is something you guys could cover on the Brainscoop!

[@lindamaemullins5151]

👍❤️

[@seanc6128]

Hosting a PBS show? You have come so far and it is pretty awesome! e: I love PBS too

[@cait_o_saurus]

The Brain Scoop has been by my side through the beginnings of my own journey into palaeontology and natural history, and I'm so excited for more people to experience your infectious enthusiasm for the subject! Brilliant episode as always, and I can't wait to tune in to Prehistoric Road Trip!

[@AJGoff110]

I'll never forget when I said in a PBS survey that Emily Graslie was the PBS Digital Studios host that deserved a TV show the most, only to later remember that this is funded by the Field Museum and not PBS. It's good to see they listened to me anyways!

[@jasonbrown4739]

Your excitement while announcing the trailer made me emotional. What a touching moment to be a part of. This was a long time in the making and the joy of completion is wonderful. Thank you for all that you do.

[@Hannah-mi4ps]

I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!! WE WILL ALL LOVE THE SHOW, YOU KNOW WE WILL!! 😭💕

[@brittnar]

THIS IS HOW SCIENCE HAPPENS! Emily, thank YOU for your years of joy, passion, and tireless work.

[@TheScratcherStudios]

I love Emily so much. Want to hug her and give her a high five.

[@NewMessage]

Cannot wait for the show... Memories of stumbling onto a dinosaur doc on my local PBS as a kid are some of my best tv related memories. And this is exactly the kind of show that would make my whole week.

[@natamar5]

Aww I been following you and thebrainscoop since 2012, and this makes me so proud and happy for you! I cannot wait to see you and your co-workers' amazing job!

[@co1293]

I am very excited for the prehistoric roadtrip. Way to go, Emily! Congratulations!!

[@rosierose8643]

I just visited the Field Museum yesterday! Seeing the Quetzalcoatlus recreations was horrific in the best way possible. I already knew Quetzalcoatlus was absolutely heinous (again, in a good way) but physically being there really puts things into perspective.

[@yenxion6516]

I am so proud of you. I been here since you gutted that wolf.

[@lauragil9121]

I actually cried during the trailer. I'm so proud of you! I'll be watching your documentary, and probably cry some more. Lots of love!

[@camillastacey4674]

I've been following you since pretty much your first video and I'm not ashamed to say I got a little teary seeing how much this pbs show means to you.

[@twojuiceman]

Important question: will the pbs show end every episode with "it still has brains on it"?

[@Ktulu789]

I wonder where is it from, do you know the episode/video/source? I wanna know if it still has brains on it xDD

[@AaronShenghao]

@@Ktulu789 Emily was doing bird taxonomy with another lady, and found out there is a thing called Brainscoop... and still have bird brains on it.

[@georgecunningham9175]

I can already say I "Love" your PBS programme - simply because I see the joy and pleasure it brings you. I look forward to sharing your joy when it airs, and I continue to look forward to each and every episode on thebrainscoop. Thank you for sharing your passion(s).....................

[@vernonavery2186]

I was "glued" to the TV as I watched your road trip special on PBS. All three episodes were riveting, in fact, I was thoroughly disappointed when I tuned in for the fourth episode and discovered that there was none. Maybe, a sequel will be in our future?

[@sarahpollard7879]

I love the brainscoop, I’m glad your getting the recognition you deserve!

[@gustavobolson8261]

These videos are so colorful in imagery and especially information! Brings me so much joy as an engineer

[@GinSoakedBoy]

What Bradford said. This is an excellent introduction in how all these fields an come together to help us understand what these great creatures possibly looked like. Can't wait to show my daughter this tomorrow morning.

[@tiffanyly7715]

That standing Quetzalcoatlus in the Field Museum is one of my favorite things there. It is both massive and impressive in a literal and figurative sense. Thanks for this video! I always wanted to learn more about it.

[@RadicalLindsay]

Not only did you do a video on my favorite pterosaur, I immediately recognized the Texas Memorial Museum at the very start! Thrilled you visited my alma mater! Hope you loved it! 🧡 🤘

[@tesseraph]

Oh my god, I am crying over how happy and excited I am to see your show next week! I've been following all the way back from the skunk dissecting days and you've *always* had one of the best science channels. You deserve all this and more!❤

[@smallcock269]

1:50 That reconstruction made me go "EEEEK!"

[@dwaynezilla]

"I don't know why I smelled it" You gotta find out what it smells like, of course!! Looking forward to the coming series!

[@MarioRobles93]

I remember watching Gutting and Skinning the Wolf 7 years ago. Now you have a TV Show! Hell yeah!

[@Noglastiaa]

Congrats on the release of your show!!!! I've been so excited to watch it and can't wait to tune in all the fun and adventure you have in store for us!!

[@Spring_rhys]

The preview for the show looks incredible! I absolutely can’t wait to be able to watch it!! 💛

[@ryeboy86]

Congrats on the show Emily! Been great watching your journey. Looking forward to what comes next.

[@mysteriousdruid4947]

Thank you for always bringing awesome scientific content

[@BlueAloe47]

DINOSAUR PARK!! My favorite place in South Dakota! It completely made my day to see it in the trailer!

[@thebrainscoop]

BlueAloe47 I grew up just down the hill!!!

[@BlueAloe47]

@@thebrainscoop I was born in Rapid City, and my family moved to Alaska when I was two. Every time we went back to South Dakota to visit relatives, my favorite part was visiting Dinosaur Park. Even as an adult, I love going there.

[@skersto]

So excited the series is almost here!!

[@abydos7775]

So excited for the show, and so glad it's available to stream in New Zealand! Ty Em.

[@jordanladd2071]

I have wanted you and Joe to collab forever! Setting my DVR now! Can’t wait to see pre historic road trip next week!

[@redhairdavid]

your enthusiasm for science is adorable and i want to watch more.

[@Tigrez1310]

What an awesome video! And the trailer for Prehistoric Road Trip looks amazing as well. I'm so proud of you, Emily, and so happy that I get to watch your show from next week on!

[@BE-rn4px]

I’m really excited for your show!! Cant wait to see it

[@JuliaPelio]

this is just awesome! I can't wait to watch the show!!

[@sas5076]

Woohoo your show starts on my birthday!!! Really looking forward to it.

[@MAJMTCJ]

so happy for you and will be great to see more of you doing this

[@elysapethsmith8505]

I have been so excited about your pbs project, prehistoric road trip . I am such a paleontology nerd! Can’t wait

[@alicecain2830]

So excited to see your 3 part series Emily! Thanks for all you do to make science accessible!

[@TomCantDance]

I’ve been watching since you were first a guest in a Vlogbrothers video and you’ve inspired me to follow curiosity as well as my passions. Hopefully I should be starting as an explainer at a museum once this whole lockdown thing stops. I’m so glad you’ve got your own show and I can’t wait to share it with everyone i know x

[@mothkisser3005]

Positively can't wait to watch your new show!!

[@adamaizenberg756]

Awesome, I will be watching on PBS!

[@Ian-gm6jv]

I'm so exited for this series!

[@Robert_Herring]

Love your infectious enthusiasm! Looking forward to the PBS program, gonna be awesome.

[@fugithegreat]

Congratulations on the show coming out! I can't wait to see it.

[@NewMessage]

The Photoshop Boop filter is hard to master, though.

[@yunuenrivera5]

Congrats for the show Emily! Looking forward to watching it very sooooon!

[@sueconklin9445]

already pre-recorded the series SO excited !!!!

[@blueizclues2697]

so proud of Emily and so glad that she keeps providing us with such amazing content!

[@TheLoreSeeker]

Awesome! Looking forward to your upcoming show Emily!

[@tomireland4740]

Fascinating episode and great stuff as always =D Super excited for the road trip series too!

[@GuillePuerto]

Congratulations!!! That show is an awesome achievement! As is Thebrainscoop. Your work as a communicator is very inspiring

[@nolandionne1262]

I am SO looking forward to this show! Congratulations to Emily and to the surely tireless efforts of the crew and producers.

[@duckpondwithoutducks]

I’m excited to see the show! 👍

[@hamilpatel4025]

Love your KZbin channel, but cannot wait to see what you and PBS have got in store. I'm putting it on my calendar so I won't forget!

[@ryPish]

So that's where you've been this whole time!! Looking forward to Prehistoric Road Trip , and thank you for having an option that allows the entire planet to watch it!

[@marcusistic]

Really looking forward to this series.....! X

[@MonsterUpTheStairs]

I missed you in my subscription box! I'm happy your years long project finally sees the light, and am looking forward to watching it! ✨☺

[@ryanwaege7251]

I want to see all the specimens. Matthew has so many drawers full of marvels, I'm jealous.

[@rksnj6797]

Can't wait to watch your road trip!!!

you deserve everything and more, so much more! You are such a great inspiration...so thank you for everyhting

[@Geezimac]

So excited to see Prehistoric Road Trip! 🦕

[@mattkuhn6634]

OMG it's my alma mater! And two of my favorite KZbinrs! And one of my all-time favorite creatures from the Cretaceous! Squeee!

[@robbee23]

Great show ! THANKS !

[@UpcycleElectronics]

I wondered what you've been up to Em, especially after noting your YT upload consistency had shifted. This series looks wonderful. Thanks. -Jake

[@WildlifeFox]

The show looks so good I can't wait!!!

[@floydriebe4755]

"it still has brains on it" excellent video, Emily. really enjoy your presentations. your zeal for the natural sciences is engaging. i wish i had found you sooner. was introduced to your effervescent personality with the 1st episode of Prehistoric Road Trip. now i'm hooked! your curiosity and ability to grasp the gist of the different fields of study is impressive. your enthusiasm brings a smile to my lips every time. keep up the good work, keep smiling, and, please, keep uploading.

[@rocksomejidawg]

matthew has a nice calming voice

[@lourousseau4169]

I'M SOOO EXCITED FOR THE SHOW!!!

[@samrakita4279]

This is so freaking cool!!!! I can't wait for the new show!

[@LLivLLaffLLuv]

I am SO EXCITED for the docs series!!! I've been wanting to watch it since Emily first talked about it (a year ago?) and the trailer looks so good!

[@_infinitedomain]

Omg yusss I love Quetzalcoatlus! Great vid

[@brandoninworld]

I will be watching!! Congrats Emily!

[@afistfulofvideos]

WOOOOOOO THAT IS AMAAAZING!!! I can't wait to see the show SO SOON!!!

[@ascetic3312]

Congrats on the new show, Emily!

[@flaviusclaudius7510]

Giant Azhdarchids, especially Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx, are my partner's favourite Mesozoic animals!

[@scattershotshow]

Brainscoop covering my absolute favourite animal? HECK. YES.

[@yarik12341]

Shoutout PBS!

[@michaelmcgourty9535]

Yay! More BrainScoop! Can't wait to watch your new series.

[@DAHIRDUBI]

I forget how cool this channel is 🤩 watching back some videos.

[@kalenzypie]

AN EPOCH JOURNEY! Cannot wait!!!!

[@BiscuitAWitch]

I saw one in a museum in Kuwait. It was huge and incredible.

[@juanfallas7402]

I am so excited for the show Emily! Years ago this channel came across my feed and now I can't wait to watch show. Thanks Emily! LOVED the Pokémon thumbnail btw xD

[@Aspensauce64]

I saw an animatronic of one of these at Chester zoo in the UK. I was less shocked by the wings and more by the beak, like that thing was as long as I was tall

[@derkarlotto]

Hooray! My all time favorite dinosaur ❤️

[@666bleedforme]

You have an awesome job.

[@heather_bee]

This really makes me appreciate KZbin

[@NicolSD]

I made sure that I wouldn't miss your new show. I saved the link somewhere I will see daily.