Throughout the years, giants have reportedly been found worldwide, from Patagonia to Kandahar to West Virginia. Whether it was the discovery of skeletons while mining coal or in one of the many burial mounds around the state.
However, many archaeologists fail to believe what was discovered, claiming there were misconceptions about ¨Giant¨ Native Americans found in West Virginia's burial mounds. Whether you think it is the Adena people or actual giants roaming the Appalachian mountains, let's look deeper into the West Virginia Giants and how archaeologists try to debunk them.
History
In 1777, Jack Parsons was walking around Cheat River, which was recently flooded, when he noticed something protruding from the ground. Unsure of what it was, he decided to pull what looked like bones from the ground.
When the object was out of the soil, it appeared to be a bone, a femur. When he held the bone up against his leg, it was seven inches longer than his. He then removed the rest of the buried bones, and when he laid them out, he estimated it would have to be a man who stood 8 feet tall.
He was not the only one to find a giant skeleton in the area, and soon the place was called ¨Giant Town¨or ¨the ¨Valley of Giants¨.
Another giant discovery was in 1838 in Moundsville, West Virginia. At the time, it was referred to as Grave Creek Mound. The excavators also found giant human skeletons and estimated the giants to be 8 feet tall again.
In 1850 Palatine, West Virginia, a root cellar was being dug, and the workers discovered two giant human skeletons, estimated to be over seven feet tall. However, these bones are stolen, with a rumor that they were sold as ¨indian relics¨.
In 1875, while a bridge was built near Paw Paw Creek mouth at Rivesville, another three giant skeletons were discovered. However, they noticed strands of reddish hair on their skulls this time. When a local doctor examined the skeletons, he determined they were human and an estimated 8-foot tall.
In 1882, F.M. Fetty and his wife, amateur archeologists, were exploring a strange rock formation along White Day Creek in Marion and found what they thought was a shelter. When they began examining the shelter, they noticed that a false wall had been built, and after removing many large stones, they discovered a massive ancient mummy sitting in a chair. The giant mummy was surrounded by stone and flint artifacts.
1883 James A. Faulkner also found a giant skeleton in the same area. When Dr. Samuel Kramer of Smithtown examined and measured the structure, he estimated it to be at least 7 feet tall and believed it to be that of a person at least 8 feet tall.
Finally, in 1883, the Smithsonian Institute sent a team of archaeologists to the Criel Mound in Charleston to excavate 50 mounds around the state. They were said to have discovered numerous skeletons of giants over 7 feet tall, many decorated with six copper bracelets on each wrist. They found three large plates of mica on the shoulders.
However, in another mound, they found a circle of ten skeletons surrounding one giant skeleton in the middle, with underground vaults, copper and mica ornaments, jewelry, pipes, spearheads, and religious items. As well as a giant skeleton with a flat head skull.
As archaeologists continued digging, more and more skeletons were found, including unusual skull formations with low foreheads and prominent backs of the skulls.
In 1922, the Charleston Daily Mail stated:
"One of the most interesting of the five state parks is Mound Park, at Moundsville from which that city derived its name. Probably no other relic of prehistoric origin has attracted a wide study among archaeologists as the Grave Creek Mound, which has given up skeletons of the ancients who constructed it… Some years ago, archaeologists investigating the mound dug out a skeleton said to be that of a female because of the formation of the bones. The skeleton was seven feet four inches tall, and the jawbone would easily fit over the face of a man weighing 160 pounds."
However, the findings of these skeletons remain a myth to many, even with skeletal proof.
Olivia Jones, an anthropology instructor, stated that it is a misconception that they were giants. Stating:
The so-called giants in West Virginia are a prevailing myth that the Adena people were a race of giant prehistoric humans based on accounts of large skeletons found during West Virginian mound excavations," Jones says.
She also stated that they are not classified as giants just because they are supernatural in size. Still, unusually tall individuals, and in today's culture, would be diagnosed with gigantism or acromegaly.
Other experts have stated that the bones found were difficult to measure as the bones were broken and provided inaccurate measurements, not measured by trained osteologists in a lab.
However, it remains a mystery because the West Virginia Encyclopedia was written by a former state historic preservation office archeologist and includes the seven-foot claim alongside facts about the Adena. As well as questions, why does it matter if people believe in giants, and why do some archeologists oppose the idea?
Some archeologists feel it is crucial to see all the viewpoints; however, some archeologists think that some individuals are covering up facts or deliberately destroying data, such as the supposed giant skeletons in the Smithsonian.
According to Jones, the stories have been reinforced by a line from the book Mounds of the Dead, published by Dr. Don Dragoo in 1963. The archaeologist who excavated Cresap Mount and other burial sites reported a 7-foot-two skeleton, saw the bones, and worked with the Carnegie Museum.
Jones claims it is not a scientific reconstruction; I question whether Jones was there; how does this person know? Stating the skeleton was likely "measured by a workman in the field,"
However, the story gets even stranger when there have been reports that the skeletons were turned over to the Smithsonian and have since disappeared. Yet the Smithsonian has denied ever receiving Giant Skeletons.
Or even at the burial sites in West Virginia, yet local researchers had proof that the Smithsonian was on the burial site and did record his day-to-day findings and that he measured a 7' 6¨ skeleton. According to the researcher he stated:
The policy of denial wasn't enacted until 1920, and before this time, the Smithsonian acknowledged the giant humanoid skeletons.
The proof has been unearthed, and many think it is because this part of history does not fit with human evolution and has been buried again.
Also, if you read the bible, talks about the offspring of angels of humans known as Nephilim, as well as Goliath as mentioned in the bible. The book Forbidden Archeology notes that over the centuries, bones and artifacts have proven that humans have existed for millions of years.
Maybe we do not look like we did millions of years ago, so why is it such a secret that humans have evolved? Or possibly part of the X lineage, which historians cannot trace.
Comments / 96