Giants have fascinated us for centuries, but what’s the truth behind the ancient giants? Did they exactly exist? According to Smithsonian research, He found the giants roamed the earth before. The idea of giants is frequently discussed with different perspectives, scepticism, and beliefs.
Read till the end as the article explores the giants’ origin, existence, and extinction. Additionally, history, archeology, and science unveil the truth. Also Explore ancient myths and legends, alleged historical discoveries, etc.
Ancient Giants In Myths And Beliefs
Looking at the exciting world of giants, stories and beliefs from different cultures has a big impact. Many civilizations have stories about giants. In Greek stories, there are special giants called “Gigantes,” which means “earth-born.”
They say these giants are the children of two gods, Ouranus (The Sky God) and Gaia (The Earth Goddess), but they were never born. Ouranus was worried that the giants would be too strong, so he didn’t let them be born and kept them inside Gaia’s belly. Looking at Greek stories, there’s also a famous person named King David, known as a giant slayer, a person who played the harp, and a brave leader. He defeated a giant named Goliath, from a group called the Philistines, with just one shot.
When we look at different cultures, we see different stories about giants. These stories talk about incredibly tall giants that are hard to imagine, and also giants are often described as having huge strengths. These big creatures have made people feel amazed, scared, and curious through stories and legends. But it’s important to know that these stories are different from real history.
Ancient Giants In Historical Records
As we discussed, every culture has special stories regarding giants. In the Bible, there are mentions of giants that make people curious. One important part is in the Book of Genesis, where they talk about Nephilim, a mix of spirits and humans. These Nephilim were really big.
In another part of the Bible, in the Book of Numbers, there’s a story about people sent by Moses to check out a place called Canaan. These people were scared because they saw that the folks there were stronger than them. The Bible also tells about the famous fight between David and a giant named Goliath. A book called Samuel says that Goliath was around 10 to 12 feet tall.
In stories from a long time ago, like the Sumerian tablets, they talk about giants too. They tell about a king named Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu, who was big and hairy. A book called “The Fate of the Mammoth” by Claudine Cohen talks about how people in history tried to figure out giants. Even a Greek historian named Herodotus talked about finding the remains of Orestes in a place called Tegea.
And even Pliny the Younger from ancient Rome mentioned finding a giant’s skeleton on an island called Crete after an earthquake.
Evidence From Fossils And Archeological Finds
Archaeologists studying old things have found some strange stuff and massive bones. In 1911, they found big bones in a cave called Lovelock Cave. They also found many other things, like big shoes that were 15 inches long and oversized clothes, suggesting that giants might have worn them.
There are also massive stone things like Stonehenge in England and a place called Baalbek in Lebanon. These places have big stone slabs that are hard to move. Some people think giants might have been good at building these things because they were so strong.
According to Smithsonian Institution, Kanawha Valley in West Virginia, 1883, they found a big tomb with 11 burials. Ten of them were a tall person who was around 7 feet tall.
The Ichthyosaur Discovery And Gigantic Prehistoric Creatures
Researchers discovered the oldest known fossil of an ancient giant oceanic reptile called an Ichthyosaur. The Giant Ichthyosaur fossil, a skull 6 ft (2 meters) in length, was found in the Augusta Mountains of Nevada.
This discovery reveals new theories about the speed of evolution and how fast the process can produce diversity. An associate professor of biology at K.M Keck Science Department, Lars Schimtz, says,
“Ichthyosaurs attained giant body size in a very short amount of time, evolutionarily speaking just about 3 million years to reach their largest body sizes”
Theories on the Existence and Extinction of Giants
About 300 million years ago, the oxygen level was higher, about 35%. This article points out whether the rising oxygen levels impact mammals’ evolution and create oversized human beings.
Most of the large animals that lived on Earth earlier no longer exist. The main reason for this extinction is the climate. Also, as mentioned before, conflicts caused by Gods, thinking giants would be powerful among all, is another point under the potential reasons for giants’ extinction.
If anyone doubts whether giants exist in the present, they cannot find out giants now. But the closest thing that ever existed is the largest hominoid, Gigantopithecus Blacki stood at 10 ft tall but died a few hundred thousand years ago.
The Modern Perspectives on Giants
Through a scientific lens, the existence of giants aren’t believed on Earth. Therefore the concept of giants clashes with the basic principles of human biology. Because of this lack of scientific evidence, it’s challenging to show the existence of giants earlier.
Giants in Religious Texts and Cultural Beliefs
Giants appear in folklore many times. Among religious texts mentioning giants, The Bible alludes to giants several times.
“There also we saw the Nephilim, and we became like grasshoppers in our sight, and so we were in their sight”
Many different cultures hold their own unique beliefs and myths about giants. Greek mythology, Norse mythology, myths of American Indian tribes, and pretty much every culture in the world have beliefs in giants. These mentionings in texts, myths, and legends capture the imagination and reflect the human fascination with beings of unusual size and power.
Conclusion
Still, at present, there’re mysteries surrounding the existence of ancient giants. In spite of this, scientific investigations are not able to illustrate the existence of giants. Historical texts, cultural narratives of myths and beliefs, and archeological discoveries have all crystallized that there were ancient giants. The colossal skeletons supply some evidence found that has emerged over the years. Exploring giants let us get a huge understanding of our humanity and cultural beliefs.
FAQs
Known as the first giant, Cymbospondylus, 246 million years ago.
The Giants were the offspring of Gaia (Earth), born from the blood that fell when Uranus (Sky) was castrated by his Titan son Cronus.
Bible describes mainly giants in the book of Genesis (6:1-4)
Smithsonian Research in 1883 is a notable discovery that unearthed dozens of oversized skeletons.
High atmospheric oxygen levels allowed the evolution of larger organisms and more complex body structures.
It’s considered mainly a result of abrupt climatic changes.
No. All giant species have gone extinct.
Many different cultures have beliefs in their unique myths about giants.
Yes. Because scientists still learn about life on Earth.
Also read:
