Tracing the trail of Red Riding Hood
Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 8:30 am
An AP story on MSN News describes some interesting research led by anthropologist Dr Jamie Tehrani from the University of Durham, using techniques which until now have been restricted to phylogenetic analysis. With their help, he has traced the geographical and cultural origins of the folk tale Little Red Riding Hood, and he is now applying the same type of analysis to other folk stories. Dr Tehrani believes his research could shed light on the migration patterns of humans in ancient times.
"Little Red Riding Hood may be commonly depicted as pale-skinned and blonde but she has distant relatives in Africa and Asia, research has shown.
Scientists traced the folk tale's evolutionary tree and found links with similar stories as far away as China, Japan and Korea.
Just as humans and chimpanzees share an ancient ancestor, all these tales arose from a common source, experts believe".
(Click the link at the top of this posting to read the rest of the story.)Scientists traced the folk tale's evolutionary tree and found links with similar stories as far away as China, Japan and Korea.
Just as humans and chimpanzees share an ancient ancestor, all these tales arose from a common source, experts believe".