Editing Fairy (section)

=== Hidden people ===
[[File:Brock Fairy.jpg|thumb|Illustration of a fairy by [[C. E. Brock]]]]

There is an outdated theory that fairy folklore evolved from folk memories of a prehistoric race: newcomers superseded a body of earlier human or humanoid peoples, and the memories of this defeated race developed into modern conceptions of fairies. Proponents find support in the [[Iron in folklore|tradition of cold iron]] as a charm against fairies, viewed as a cultural memory of invaders with iron weapons displacing peoples who had just stone, bone, wood, etc., at their disposal, and were easily defeated. 19th-century archaeologists uncovered underground rooms in the [[Orkney|Orkney islands]] that resembled the Elfland described in [[Childe Rowland]],<ref>Yolen, Jane (2000) ''Touch Magic''. p. 49 {{ISBN|0-87483-591-7}}.</ref> which lent additional support. In folklore, flint arrowheads from the [[Stone Age]] were attributed to the fairies as "[[elfshot]]",<ref name="Froud">Froud, Brian and Lee, Alan (1978) ''Faeries''. New York, Peacock Press {{ISBN|0-553-01159-6}}.</ref> while their green clothing and underground homes spoke to a need for camouflage and covert shelter from hostile humans, their magic a necessary skill for combating those with superior weaponry. In a Victorian tenet of evolution, mythic cannibalism among [[ogre]]s was attributed to memories of more savage races practicing alongside "superior" races of more refined sensibilities.<ref>Silver (1999) p. 45.</ref> The most important modern proponent of the 'hidden people' theory was the Scottish folklorist and antiquarian [[David MacRitchie]].<ref>''Fians, Fairies and Picts'' (London: Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co 1893)</ref>