They Might Have Been Giants.
Giants…not the ones from the west coast who play baseball…not the ones from the other side of the country who play football…literal giants. There are written accounts from across the span of time that proclaimed the existence of larger-than-life human beings. From the time children are very young, they are exposed to the idea of the giant through fictional tales like Jack and the Beanstalk. However, there are other texts, writings that are considered factual truth, that contain accounts of the encounters between normal men and men who are three times their size. Which begs the question: were these accounts genuine; and why are there no such behemoths today?
The most recognized legend of a giant and man encounter is recorded in the Bible itself. One of the first stories shared in a young person’s Sunday school class is David and Goliath. Aside from being what would have to be called the biggest (pardon the pun) upset in history, this tale is also remarkable for its description of the unbelievably massive Goliath. This particular portion of text from the Old Testament asserts that the giant Philistine was 13 hands tall—that equates to approximately 9 ½ feet! In a period of history where the average height of the majority of people was probably ¾ of what it is today; how was a man of such freakish size (the likes of which is never even seen today) in existence. Could Goliath’s dimensions have been exaggerated?
If one researches the subject further within the Old Testament, an explanation for the existence of a human being of this stature is explained. The Bible relates the story of the Gregori. This was the name given to the company of angels who sided with Satan when he led a rebellion against God. After being expelled from Heaven, the scriptures tell of these “fallen angels” exploits on Earth. Genesis 6 says: “The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives all of which they chose.” The offspring created by this union of immortal being and human female was appropriately grandiose: a race of fierce giants who relished battle. A natural conclusion would be to assume that Goliath was one of the representatives of this superhuman tribe. Theologians believe that, subsequently, the last vestiges of these giants were pushed into extinction by the Great Flood. Beyond the Bible, other writings have been preserved which corroborate the belief that various races of giants have existed sporadically throughout history.
In the first half of the 16th Century, a naturalist named William Turner recorded that, while traveling in Brazil along the Polata River, he had personally witnessed a tribe of “very gigantic naked savages.” The scientist even estimated that one particularly large member of the tribe was around 12 feet tall! Other explorers of the South American continent from this period record encounters with youthful savages…youths who measured in at 9 feet 9 inches. Chile has also produced reports of “Indians” of massive bulk and stature—some standing 9 to 10 feet high.
Some of the most renown and legendary explorers in history also experienced initial encounters with people of such stature while traversing the South American continent. Amerigo Vespucci came ashore in Venezuela to be greeted by a village where each native, at minimum, was 19 inches taller than his tallest man. The intrepid explorer describes his shock when he realizes that, while kneeling, one of his hosts was equal to his height. Similarly, Antonio Pigafetta (the chronicler for the voyages of Magellan), described the crew’s experience upon encountering a native in the same area 20 years later. The author describes a huge naked giant who leapt up and down while singing. He continued by describing the stature of this mysterious figure in the following way: “This man was so tall that our heads scarcely came up to his waist, and his voice was like a bull.”
Not to be outdone by the South American continent, North America also possesses its legends of giant humans. In his autobiography, adventurer and showman “Buffalo Bill” Cody conveys an encounter that he had with a Pawnee Indian. This particular native came into Cody’s camp one evening carrying an enormous bone that everyone present assumed came from a dinosaur. Remarkably, the army surgeon in camp pronounced the bone to be from a human thigh. When Cody asked the native about the origin of the bone, he was told that, at one time, a race of giants who were three times as tall as normal man and could outrun the buffalo lived in the area. Intriguingly, the native concluded his tale by sharing that the “Great Spirit” had sent a massive flood—covering the highest mountain—to destroy this race of giants due to their arrogance and aggression. This history had been verbally passed down by members of the Pawnee tribe since time immemorial. The thigh bone in question was, later, donated to a museum and mysteriously disappeared shortly thereafter.
The Native American's enthralling historical account runs an intriguing parallel to the Bible. Was there truly a "Great Flood" that not only rendered any animal life unfortunate enough to not be chosen for salvation on an ark extinct; did this fate also extend to certain homo sapiens? Presumably, a natural cataclysm would be required, as beings who are seemingly as powerful as this would not have a natural predator, or enemy, that could eliminate their entire race. Yet, archaeologists have purportedly had recurring success in locating fossils and bones which would suggest that such remarkable races once lived.
Bones, even entire humanoid skeletons, of apparently gigantic proportion have been discovered from time –to-time relatively recently; although none have been corroborated by reputable scientific organizations or universities, and a large number have been proven to be hoaxes. Moreover, scientists speculate that if any of these mystifying discoveries do prove to be genuine; they are probably the skeletal remains of Gigantopithecus…a distant ancestor linked to the contemporary notion of "Sasquatch." But, if proponents of the existence of Sasquatch could boast of a fraction of the number of fossil finds that have consisted of these gigantic unidentified remains, they would be euphoric.
One specific historical discovery, however, introduces the possibility of another reason that these gargantuan ancients have never been acknowledged, identified and classified...official cover up.
In May of 1912, a pair of archaeologists named the Peterson brothers discovered 18 giant skeletons on Lake Lawn Farm in southwest Wisconsin. The heights of the skeletons ranged from 7 1/2 feet to 10 feet. Beside the remarkable height, these specimens presented some other unusual and unique features.
The skulls were elongated, and contained double rows of teeth. Also, all of the hands and feet of the skeletons displayed Polydactyly (six digits on each).
Despite the iconic discovery in Wisconsin being reported in The New York Times, the event never gained lasting notoriety, and quickly faded into the back of the World's conscious. Some social critics suggest that this is due to the influence of the Smithsonian Institution.
While displaying normal-sized human skeletons from the same area of Wisconsin, the Smithsonian has been accused of a willful cover up. " Specifically, the Smithsonian Institution has been accused of making a deliberate effort to hide the “telling of the bones” and to keep the giant skeletons locked away."
Native American author and law professor Vine DeLoria moves the conversation even further, stating:
"Modern day archaeology and anthropology have nearly sealed the door on our imaginations, broadly interpreting the North American past as devoid of anything unusual in the way of great cultures characterized by a people of unusual demeanor.
The great interloper of ancient burial grounds, the nineteenth century Smithsonian Institution, created a one-way portal, through which uncounted bones have been spirited.
This door and the contents of its vault are virtually sealed off to anyone, but government officials. Among these bones may lay answers not even sought by these officials concerning the deep past."
While an official, multi-layered deception by the institutions who are charged to preserve and present the Earth's history is problematic, one has to believe that if definitive proof of the existence of an ancient race of giants did emerge, the story would be broken by the National Enquirer. This would, inherently, damage the credulity of the revelation to the common person. Thus relegating what could be a remarkable advancement for the world of science to subject matter for debate on countless "paranormal" websites and, once again, out of the forefront of public thought.
While the contemporary professional sports leagues can boast of their own “giants,” the largest and most freakish specimens in the NBA or the WWE are nowhere near the physical dimensions that are mentioned in these writings from long ago. Studies have shown that people are very poor at estimating sizes and dimension with the naked eye…especially in strange surroundings or stressful situations. It may be that the aforementioned eyewitness accounts, conveyed by various iconic explorers and naturalists, citing beings who were super naturally tall, may have been unintentional exaggerations. These beings may have been unusually tall (6 ½ to 7 feet), but were massively overestimated height-wise, due to their unusual and unfamiliar appearance discovered in a new, strange place. So, did these mysterious titans from antiquity really exist; or were they the product of overactive imaginations; or simply the fodder for good storytelling?
