Prehistoric Peeps is an 1890s cartoon series drawn by Edward Tennyson Reed and published in
Punch! magazine. It is notable as the earliest known depiction of prehistoric humans living alongside dinosaurs, an anachronistic pairing that would become a perennial fixture of pop culture for decades to come.
Prehistoric Peeps provides examples of:
- Artistic License – Paleontology: Even in the 1890s, paleontologists were perfectly aware that dinosaurs and humans never lived together.
- Domesticated Dinosaurs: Several cartoons feature dinosaurs being used as beasts of burden. Likely the Trope Maker.
- Hollywood Prehistory: The work portrayscave people and dinosaurs living together.
- The Movie: The comic received a cinematic adaptation in 1905. It's now a lost film, but it probably holds the distinction of being the first ever dinosaur movie.
- Stone Punk: The comic features contemporary Victorian society recreated in the Stone Age, including prehistoric versions of billiards, the British Parliament, the derby, etc. Again, likely the Trope Maker.
