Talk:Piasa

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The Piasa Bird legend seems sort of similar to the legends of Perytons in Europe. Both creatures were large flying monsters that attacked and ate men. Both creatures had horns like deer. Both creatures were reported to be largely impervious to weapons.

It kind of makes me wonder if these legends might have been based on real creatures.

Too bad that the wings on the Piasa are pure invention... see http://www.illinoishistory.com/piasabird.html Dysmorodrepanis 02:39, 13 July 2007 (UTC)

Where is it?

"Here is approximately The shape of these monsters, As we have faithfully Copied It." Very well done, Father Marquette. Your original text (in dusty French) is in "Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley: With the Original Narratives of Marquette", etc by John Gilmary Shea - see Google Book search (it's free fulltext); 249-250. But has there been a reproduction of the figures, anywhere? They might be on the maps facing p108 and p154 in: "Travels and Explorations of the Jesuit Missionaries in New France" vol. LIX. Dysmorodrepanis 02:37, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Dragon?

In the book How To Raise And Keep A Dragon, it features the Piasa as a type of dragon, this guy made up that it is a dragon or what, because a google search only brings me to the referance in that book.

Invention based on Russel's tale, which was either an outright hoax or described the painting after Anglos had messed around with it and added wings. I have added a pictore of "underwater panther" artwork; the original "Piasa" was probably more similar to that (apart from the shape of the horns, the colors and some other minor detail it is a near-perfect match). Dysmorodrepanis (talk) 15:06, 19 October 2010 (UTC)

Lithographic limestone, minor edit?

I thought it was obvious that the wikilink "lithographic limestone", at the end of the first paragraph, should instead point to "lithographic limestone", and I marked it a minor edit. Now I'm not so sure the edit is minor, so I am leaving this here to encourage review. I am also interested, even if you agree with the edit, in whether this is indeed a minor edit? (Obviously, I read the linked help page, but I'm still unsure. I mean, it seemed to me that I was correcting a mistake, and I didn't alter the article's text, but the link wasn't actually broken, and the original target is not unrelated.) Jergas (talk) 10:10, 5 November 2017 (UTC)

Rewriting and Expanding the Article

Looking over at this article again after several years, I've noticed that no progress has been made to revise and expand it. This article is in serious need of attention as it's underwritten and under-sourced. It probably should be organized by placing information available into sections and sub-sections. Information on the LEGEND/MYTH of the Piasa should be placed under a section detailing that and its possible variations of the Legend/Myth in separate sub-sections. Information on the MURALS should be placed into its own separate section and sub-sections detailing their history, different versions (if they exist). Also (if it exists) there should be information on any mentions, appearances, or references in popular culture if they are noteworthy enough. This article is more than worthy of GA and FA status if enough attention is made to improve upon it, I will try and contribute to the article when I can but others can help improve it as well. Hopefully this article gets the attention it so desperately needs.--Paleface Jack (talk) 17:29, 28 March 2019 (UTC)

Did a little research and discovered that there are no Native American legends on the Piasa, whose name and "legend" was coined by Russell and not at all from Native American Folklore/Mythology even though the original mural was made by them. This should be mentioned via a section detailing Russell's "claims" and later discrediting of those claims. There should also be more information on the original mural, which did not have wings as later artists added onto it.--Paleface Jack (talk) 16:30, 17 May 2019 (UTC)

Sources to add

Did a little digging for sources on this subject in my spare time between my usual edits. Though I am relatively unfamiliar with the subject and not really inclined to expand this I thought I would include a list of the scholarly publications I have found on the Piasa that someone else can add:

• Belting, Natalia (Autumn 1973). "The Piasa: It Isn't a Bird!". Illinois State Historical Society. 66 (3). University of Illinois Press: 302–305. ISSN 2328-3335. JSTOR 40190587.
• Brewster, Paul (December 1, 1949). "The Piasa Bird: A Legend of the Illini". Hoosier Folklore. 8 (4). Indiana University Press: 83–86. ISSN 0737-7037. JSTOR 27649986. OCLC 643631447.
• Fecht, William (October 1, 1985). "New Thoughts on the Piasa Bird Legend". Central States Archaeological Journal. 32 (4). 174-179: 174–179. ISSN 2328-3335. JSTOR 43138502.
• Gibson, L.M. (April 1, 1949). "The Piasa Bird". Illinois State Archaeological Society. 6 (4). Central States Archaeological Societies, Inc.: 29. ISSN 2328-3335. JSTOR 43763027.
• Henson, Clyde (September 1, 1957). "Ritual Elements in Mississippi River Petroglyphs". Folklore. 68 (3). Taylor & Francis, Ltd.: 405–410. JSTOR 1258360.
• Long, H.W. (October 1, 1925). "Model of the Piasa Bird Is Found in French Museum: Prototype Made in 1640 during Epidemic: Writer Believes Followers of Marquette Painted Alton Bluff". Illinois State Historical Society. 18 (3). University of Illinois Press: 721–725. ISSN 2328-3335. JSTOR 40188403.
• McLandsborough, Tim (October 1, 1990). "Archaeological Atlas of the Greater St. Louis Region and the State of Missouri". Central States Archaeological Journal. 37 (4). Central States Archaeological Societies, Inc.: 2–35. ISSN 0008-9559. JSTOR 43144996.
• Perino, Gregory; Willoughby, Charles; Lemley, Harry (October 1, 1960). "The Piasa Design in Arkansas". Central States Archaeological Journal. 7 (4). Central States Archaeological Societies, Inc.: 146–150. ISSN 2328-3335. JSTOR 43143365.
• Russell, John (January 1, 1956). "The Legend of the Piasa". Central States Archaeological Journal. 2 (3). Central States Archaeological Societies, Inc.: 97–98. ISSN 0008-9559. JSTOR 43136123.
• Russell, John (October 1, 1986). "The Legend of the Piasa". Central States Archaeological Journal. 33 (4). Central States Archaeological Societies, Inc.: 304–307. ISSN 0008-9559. JSTOR 43139666.
• Stoddard, Henry (October 1, 1927). "The "Piasa" or "Thunder Bird"". Illinois State Historical Society. 20 (3). Illinois State Historical Society: 357–367. ISSN 2328-3335. JSTOR 40186924.
• Temple, Wayne (Autumn 1956). "The Piasa Bird: Fact or Fiction?". Illinois State Historical Society. 49 (3). University of Illinois Press: 308–327. ISSN 2328-3335. JSTOR 40189511.
• Thomas, Lewis (Spring 1951). "An 1841 Version of the Piasa Legend". Illinois State Historical Society. 44 (1). University of Illinois Press: 64–66. ISSN 2328-3335.
• Voelker, Frederick (April 1, 1914). "The Piasa". Illinois State Historical Society. 7 (1). University of Illinois Press: 82–91. ISSN 2328-3335. JSTOR 40193946.
• Vogel, Virgil (Autumn 1959). "Some Illinois Place-Name Legends". Midwest Folklore. 9 (3). Indiana University Press: 155–162. ISSN 0544-0750. JSTOR 4317806.

Paleface Jack (talk) 17:36, 24 August 2024 (UTC)