Glossary

The **Dinosaur Renaissance** refers to a major paradigm shift in the scientific understanding of dinosaurs that began in the late 1960s and peaked during the 1970s and 1980s. The term was coined by paleontologist Robert T. Bakker in a 1975 article of the same name published in *Scientific American*. The central catalyst was the discovery and description of **Deinonychus antirrhopus** by John H. Ostrom, found in Montana in 1964 and formally described in 1969. Deinonychus's agile build, large sickle-shaped pedal claw, and erect posture directly contradicted the prevailing view of dinosaurs as slow, dim-witted, cold-blooded reptilian failures. Ostrom argued that this theropod was an active, fast-moving predator likely possessing a high metabolic rate consistent with endothermy. His student Bakker systematized the warm-blooded hypothesis, marshaling evidence from bone histology, predator-to-prey ratios, and erect limb posture. Beyond metabolic reinterpretation, the Dinosaur Renaissance revived the hypothesis that birds are direct descendants of theropod dinosaurs—an idea first championed by Thomas Henry Huxley in the 1860s but long abandoned. It also stimulated research into dinosaur social behavior, parental care, and biomechanics, and elevated dinosaur paleontology from descriptive taxonomy into a hypothesis-driven modern science. Culturally, the movement transformed public perceptions of dinosaurs, influencing works from Michael Crichton's *Jurassic Park* to contemporary paleoart.