Mystery behind ‘9-foot-tall people’ archaeologists say they discovered in Nevada cave
It's a great story, but just how much truth is there to the reports?
Kit Roberts
Reports of '9-foot' skeletons discovered in a Nevada cave in the early 20th century - which some claimed were the remains of a red-haired race of cannibalistic giants - are still shrouded in mystery today.
So, there's a lot of to unpack here.
In 1911, people mining guano in the Lovelock Cave in Nevada happened upon the body of a man around 6ft 6 tall.
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Rumours began that the individual belonged to a prehistoric race cannibalistic red-haired giants called the Si-Te-Cah, which were referenced in the oral history of the indigenous Paiutes people.
Author David Weatherly, who writes about cryptids and the supernatural, told the History Channel that the findings included 'large humans skulls and skeletons that measured between seven and eight feet in height'.
The rumors continue to capture people's imaginations to this day.
The belief that giants once roamed the Earth is a popular conspiracy theory about the ancient world, but there has not been any credible evidence that giants ever existed.
Despite this, many hoaxes including manipulated photos, videos, and online content continues to push this claim.
That's not to say that there hasn't been things which could be mistaken for a 'giant'.
In the case of Lovelock Cave in fact, other bones have been found nearby belonging to bears and mammoths which could be mistaken for those of a 'giant' to the untrained eye.
Historian Adrienne Mayor wrote about the Si-Te-Cah in her book Fossil Legends of the First Americans, and highlights that the red hair of the 'giants' could be explained by how hair behaves after death.
She explained that hair pigment is not stable after death, and that often it can turn a rusty red colour over time.
While there was a report of a mummified body being discovered at the site by guano miners in 1911, she suggests that the size of the body may have been exaggerated.
But who would do such a thing? Mayor suggests that the culprit may well have been an 'entrepreneur' who wanted to cash in on the rumours of ancient wonders from the area.
Folklore around giants can be found in many parts of the world, whether it's the Cyclops of Greek legend, or Gogmagog being defeated by the ancestors of King Arthur.
But as compelling as the stories are, 'ancient giants' remain a conspiracy theory about the prehistoric world.