Thousands of years ago the ancients shared tales of creatures such as dragons, monsters, creatures and even giants. Unlike most of those myths and legends the ones told about the Red Haired Giants are as real as you and I. Over the years I have always held an interest in anthropology especially when I started uncovering in my journeys the many large skeletal remains found throughout North America. Although its as easy to walk into the museums containing the bones none of them are ever on display its as if history has been covered up. Our own government denies that an ancient race of giants ever lived in North America as this would rewrite our own history books.

What I can tell our followers and viewers is that giants are real as real as even Sasquatch of our worldly forest. Are the red haired giants a cousin of Bigfoot? Giant Norse warriors that migrated across the world? Were they Nephlims or a cross between mankind and fallen angels? Nobody knows and very few are even aware that these giants once existed. Although the bible has some inaccuracies such creatures were mentioned in it such as Goliath and in other verses.

Within the great basin is a story passed around for thousands of years although in the last few centuries the myth did collide with reality when a small cave in Lovelock was excavated. I myself learned about the finds here in 2011 which was the reasoning behind my exploration of the area. The more I read the more intrigued perhaps even obsessed I became. I wanted to know who were these giants and why were they here? What happened to them? Who made them? The questions that I have may always remain unanswered until science acknowledges that this large race did indeed exist and that they may have even been here before us.

Giants have been discovered across the world such as Turkey, Peru, Hawaii and even China. All the stories that were told seem to be very similar according to the legends passed down for centuries. All that would change as more giant skeletons have been discovered in the past century then ever before particularly when it comes to the Lovelock Cave in the Great Basin of Northern Nevada.

Nevada is a rather unique state not only is it the most mountainous in the United States but its also one of the most ancient regions in North America. I have spent allot of time exploring this state and I have seen some pretty strange things in my time. Nevada has some of the oldest petroglyphs within the state such as up at Grimes Point. Although the Lovelock Cavern gets allot of attention very few locals are aware that its not the only place these giants were discovered. There was discoveries of giant skeletons found at the Humboldt sink a drying up lake bed and even Pyramid Lake another ancient location I have explored. Allot of these finds appear to be taking place along ancient lake Lahotan which covered most of western Nevada when glaciers receded in the last ice age thus forming lakes. Eventually when Lahotan began to recede it formed smaller lakes in the region thus at some point in history after this time is when these Red Haired Giants appeared to have arrived.

The Lovelock cave also called Sunset Guano, Indian and Horseshoe Caves was formed when this ancient lake was nearly 400' in depth. It consumed most of the landscape leaving some of the great basins highest peaks submerged underwater. Some of the peaks looked as if they were small chains of islands over 10,000 years ago. The Lovelock cave however was formed when a limestone dome collapsed and the waters of ancient lake Lahontan eroded it. At one time the cave was completely submerged underwater eventually when the waters receded it would provided this ancient race of giants with a means to survive. The Red Haired Giants by all means were an advanced civilization as they hunted, weaved baskets, designed there own tools and even fished. Although food was scarce which may have attributed to these Giants becoming cannibalistic in nature.

According to the Paiutes the giants were already here when they migrated to the region to hunt and gather food. As they migrated to Nevada they also settled in various regions of the Great Basin as waters began to recede. It was only then when they discovered these Red Haired giants who at the time were living on rafts made of Tule. Tule is a fibrous water plant indigenous to the region. Thus the Paiutes called this war like tribe the Si-Te-Cah's which means "Tule eaters". Most theorize that this tribe lived on rafts to escape the attacks of the migrating Paiutes however at the same time these giants were hunting them at every opportunity that meant their next meal. When excavating was performed at the Lovelock cavern there was the discovery of human and animal bones found. Those bones were split down the middle and the marrow had been extracted. We have to theorize that this outraged many of the Paiutes at the time as there sons and daughters were being carried off only never to be seen again. It almost sounds like a horror movie however all the evidence points to a darker truth.

This would lead to war as many of the Paiute tribes vowed to track the giants down where they had discovered there lair. The local tribes hunted the giants down generally killing them with arrows. The remaining giants in the region fled to the Lovelock cave where many of there artifacts found today were buried in sinks. These sinks could be as deep as 4 to 5' in depth. The giants were surrounded by many tribal warriors with nowhere to run and they didn't speak the same tongue as them. When the chief asked them to come out they refused that is when sage brush was piled along the entrance then lit on fire. They native tribes fell dishonor from the lack of courage since the giants refused to fight thus smoking them out. As the red haired giants ran out of the cave dozens of arrows pierced there skin while many of the giants remained inside being asphyxiated to death. The Paiutes had claimed that these giants ranged anywhere from 7' to 12' in height and were extremely hostile or maybe just fearful of perhaps being out numbered.

Eventually an earthquake struck the area hard collapsing the entrance leading into Lovelock cave thus the entrance for centuries remained nearly sealed. The only animals that were able to get inside were small rodents and bats. The caves cool and moist atmosphere preserved the skeletons as they remained under 250 tons of guano for centuries. In all reality much like a bog or frozen tundra it literally mummified the remains of these deceased giants. Its also possible that the local Paiutes may have buried the giant or mummified them as well to appease the spirits nobody knows for sure though.

Years had passed since the battle so overtime these giants were forgotten but the cave was not. Overtime earth changes around 3,500 B.C. had caused the cave to once again shift re exposing an entrance. The local hunters and gatherers used the cave to store everything from weapons to baskets. The cave would be used on and off all the way to about 1850. It could be used not only as storage but also as a form of shelter during a hunt. What did they hunt? Well small birds, rodents and fish throughout the marshes. As the hunters sought shelter here they stored arrowheads and other artifacts. Many of them today can be seen at a small history museum up in Winnemucca NV.

Its also been proven that in the 1800's the early pioneers called this place Horseshoe Cave because of its shape. Just as the Paiutes they also used the cave as a cache for there guns and supplies. Radiocarbon dating proves that the Lovelock caves have been used and inhabited for at least 9000 years. Which also coincides with one of the oldest skeletons found near here dating back to 9,500 B.C. making them some of the oldest discovered in North America. When you put this into perspective ancient man hunted, fished, gathered and migrated across Nevada prior to the pyramids in ancient Egypt being built.

For many years after the cave remained forgotten as many of the locals new about it not sure thought it received any attention up until it was mined for its guano. In 1911 David Pugh and James Hart were hired to mine for it to be used as fertilizer. Little did the miners know what they had at the time as they would dump the guano below the caves entrance. Although the miners saved some of the most precious artifacts many of them were destroyed in the mining process including some of the fragile bones of the giants. This would eventually lead to L.L. Loud from the Paleontology Department at the University of California to be contacted by the mining company. Thus mining was halted when it was discovered that the Lovelock Cave held thousands of artifacts. Just in a short time of rummaging through the guano the miners discovered baskets, stone knives, bone fish hooks, fishing line, snares for small rodents, nets, clothing, broken arrows, mummified remains and even a doughnut shaped stone that had 365 notches on the outside rim and 52 notches on the inside rim. Which meant that these red haired giants used a similar calendar system as to the one we use today!

The first archaeological investigation would be conducted in 1912 just a year after the miners discovered the artifacts and mummies. L.L. Loud was sent to retrieve the artifacts who also was an employee of the Museum of Anthropology. Just in a short time of 4 to 5 months over 10,000 artifacts were discovered. One of the stranger ones being a 15' sandal which again verified that these giants at one time roamed these lands. Perhaps at the time Loud felt that this was the discovery of a lifetime and believe me it was considering the fact such a wide variety of relics were discovered here. What was also found here is that the stories passed on father to son by the Paiutes turned out to be fact. As during the excavation many broken arrows were found at the caverns entrance and a very thin layer of soot as well as preserved sage brush underneath the guano. This would be the straw that broke the camels back. L.L. Loud would return again in 1924 which would lead to the discovery of a lifetime.

In 1924 Loud returned just 12 years later with local Paiutes and another archaeologist M.R. Harrington. Their goal would be to further excavate the cavern for anything they may have missed in 1912. What they discovered is many fragments that were left behind but the most important find was the discovery of a duck decoy cache. I read somewhere on a plaque that one of the duck decoys dated back to nearly 10,000 years ago making it the oldest one in the world. What the team discovered on this excavation is that not only were artifacts found below the guano but some of them were buried deep beneath the caverns floor.

In 1936 another excavation was performed however nothing was found or worth collected for the American Museum of Natural History. However in the 1960's a Lewis Napton did make a discovery sifting through the guano left on a slope in front of the cave. What was discovered were human remains that other excavations had overlooked. Those remains could be used in radio carbon dating much like many of the organic coprolites found. This would allow scientist to piece together was these hunters and gatherers ate. It was also discovered that it was the humans who were also being eaten by these Red Haired Giants.

In 1931 two very large skeletons were discovered embedded in the Humboldt dry lake bed which is overshadowed by the Lovelock Cave. If you watch my videos I do zoom in on the sink and dry lake bed in front of the cavern. One of the skeletons measured 8.5' in length while the other one was 10' in length. According to the Nevada Review a miner newspaper the skeletons were said to have been wrapped in this gum like covered fabric very similar to the Egyptian Mummies more then likely from the Humboldt Culture between 9,000 and 7,000 years ago when waters began to recede. Then of course came the Leonard Culture between 6,000 and 3,500 years ago and Loveland Culture from 3,500 to 1,000 years ago where the Paiutes hunted and gathered within this region. These three time periods were when the Lovelock cave was inhabited based on the radio carbon dating and finds.

Today if you wanted to see some of the finds from the Lovelock cave you could per say see them at the Winnemucca Museum Of History. Further below at the bottom of this page we have provided them with a banner along with many other great sources of compiled information to help our viewers better understand the Red Haired Giants. Many people visit the museum to see the skulls keep in mind however they are NOT on display. The state does not recognize the bones thus the museum is not allowed to display them publicly. Other skulls and remains were taken to Berkeley California decades ago for examination they are also NOT displayed there. Which means that our own government is covering up the existence of the giants because again that would rewrite American history or they are concerned that the native american tribes might claim them and thus they would be removed. I am not sure if its one or the other or both but I know that the museum curators would have no issue per request to view them privately on a respectful level.

Who were these red haired giants? The same quesstion asked before and now! You decide! How can mankind continue to ignore the facts, finds and evidence? Perhaps the reason giants have not been classified is that these are the type of stories you read in fairy tales. However some fairy tales were told to children to scare them while others seperated myth from reality. What if there are some truth behind these tales? This would mean ghost, goblins, monsters, creatures, dragons and even giants once roamed this planet. It is your choice now to BELIEVE or to disregard the TRUTH! What other mysterious lay hidden beneath the great basin in the Nevada high desert? The Paranormal & Ghost Society has high hopes of discovering its truths, mysteries and history!
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Lord Rick
Founder
Author, Talk Show Host & Producer

Archaeology: Giant skeletons discovered in Nevada cave

Matthew Weintrub | December 22, 2010 |

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The Paiutes, a Native-American tribe indigenous to parts of Nevada, Utah and Arizona, told early white settlers about their ancestors’ battles with a ferocious race of white, red-haired giants. According to the Paiutes, the giants were already living in the area.

Roaming, man-eating giants

The Paiutes named the giants Si-Te-Cah that literally means “tule-eaters.” The tule is a fibrous water plant the giants wove into rafts to escape the Paiutes continuous attacks. They used the rafts to navigate across what remained of Lake Lahontan.

According to the Paiutes, the red-haired giants stood as tall as 12-feet and were a vicious, unapproachable people that killed and ate captured Paiutes as food.

The legend

The Paiutes told the early settlers that after many years of warfare, all the tribes in the area finally joined together to rid themselves of the giants.

One day as they chased down the few remaining red-haired enemy, the fleeing giants took refuge in a cave. The tribal warriors demanded their enemy come out and fight, but the giants steadfastly refused to leave their sanctuary.

Frustrated at not defeating their enemy with honor, the tribal chiefs had warriors fill the entrance to the cavern with brush and then set it on fire in a bid to force the giants out of the cave.

The few that did emerge were instantly slain with volleys of arrows. The giants that remained inside the cavern were asphyxiated.

Later, an earthquake rocked the region and the cave entrance collapsed leaving only enough room for bats to enter it and make it their home.

The find

Hundreds of years later archaeologists explored the cavern near Lovelock, Nevada–the cave the Indians had described.

What the scientific researchers found was staggering: over 10,000 artifacts were unearthed including the mummified remains of two red-haired giants—one, a female 6.5-feet tall, the other male, over 8-feet tall.

Many of the artifacts (but not the giants) can be viewed at the small natural history museum located in Winnemucca, Nevada.

Confirmation of the myth

As the excavation of the cave progressed, the archaeologists came to the inescapable conclusion that the Paiutes myth was no myth; it was true.

What led them to this realization was the discovery of many broken arrows that had been shot into the cave and a dark layer of burned material under sections of the overlaying guano.

Among the thousands of artifacts recovered from this site of an unknown people is what some scientists are convinced is a calendar: a donut-shaped stone with exactly 365 notches carved along its outside rim and 52 corresponding notches along the inside.

But that was not to be the final chapter of red-haired giants in Nevada.

In February and June of 1931, two very large skeletons were found in the Humboldt dry lake bed near Lovelock, Nevada.

source: Helium

Lovelock Cave

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lovelock Cave Lovelock Cave (NV-Ch-18) near Lovelock, Nevada is a North American archaeological site previously known as Sunset Guano Cave, Horseshoe Cave, and Loud Site 18. The cave is about 150 feet long and 35 feet wide.^[2] Lovelock Cave is one of the most important classic sites of the Great Basin region because the conditions of the cave are conducive to the preservation of organic and inorganic material. The cave was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 1984.^[3] It was the first major cave in the Great Basin to be excavated.^[4]

History

The large rock shelter is north of modern day Humboldt Sink. Lovelock Cave is in the Lake Lahontan region, next to the former lakebed of Lake Lahontan. It was formed by the lake’s currents and wave action. It was first a rock shelter. Eventually an earthquake collapsed the overhang of the mouth. Lake Lahontan was a large Pleistocene pluvial lake that covered much of western Nevada. Due to drier Holocene climate the water elevation dropped and much smaller lakes remain such as Humboldt Lake, Pyramid Lake, and Carson Lake. The dry environment of the cave resulted in a wealth of well-preserved artifacts that provide a glimpse on how people lived in the area. Lovelock Cave was in use as early as 2580 BC but was not intensely inhabited until around 1000 BC.^[2] People occupied Lovelock Cave for over 4,000 years. The initial discoveries of artifacts and excavations, in the early 20th century, were not very well executed, which resulted in a loss of archaeological information. However more recent investigations were more careful and meticulous. A wealth of knowledge pertaining to life on the Great Basin has come from this important site because many unique artifacts have been successfully recovered.

Earliest discovery of artifacts

In 1911 two miners, David Pugh and James Hart, were hired to mine for bat guano from the cave to be used as fertilizer. They removed a layer of guano estimated to be three to six feet deep and weighing about 250 tons.^[4] Heizer and Napton’s review of the excavation states “[the guano] was dug up from the upper cave deposits, screened on the hillside outside the cave, and shipped to a fertilizer company in San Francisco.”^[2] Miners had dumped the top layers of Lovelock into a heap outside of the cave. The miners were aware of the artifacts but only the most interesting specimens were saved. Unfortunately, the first exploration was unsystematic and the loss of material and damage to the site strata was considerable in large portions of the cave. L.L. Loud of the Paleontology Department at the University of California was contacted by the mining company when the refuse left by the ancient people proved so plentiful that fertilizer could no long be collected.^[4]

First archaeological investigation

In the spring of 1912 A.L. Kroeber sent L. L. Loud, an employee of the Museum of Anthropology, University of California to recover any materials that remained from the guano mining of the previous year. Loud excavated Lovelock Cave for five months and reportedly collected roughly 10,000 material remains. The majority of the archaeological record was gathered from three areas: a dump outside the cave left by miners, lower level deposits from the northwest end of the cave, and undisturbed refuse along the outlying edges of the cave.^[5] Unfortunately, Loud did not maintain a comprehensive report of the excavation so detailed information is not available.^[5]The method and procedure of archaeological excavations has improved over the years and Loud’s excavation does not fit into the standards of today’s practices. He labeled the individual dig locations as “lots” without establishing any grid system. Grid systems are used to determine origin and depth of archaeological record. Loud recorded 41 lots. ^[2]Heizer and Napton^[2] tried to further detail Loud’s findings but because Loud was not consistent with his methods of recording data their efforts were ineffective.

Later excavations

Twelve years after the first excavation Loud returned to Lovelock Cave with M.R. Harrington in the summer of 1924. The Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York commissioned Harrington and Loud, who, assisted by local Paiute Indians, attempted to recover any materials left from previous investigations. They found leftover fragments that had been ignored by collectors in the east end and center of the cave. The team also dug to the base of the deposits in the west end.^[2] This excavation resulted in the discovery of the famous duck decoy cache.

The American Museum of Natural History sponsored Nels Nelson to conduct a surface collection of Lovelock Cave in 1936. However, no archaeological material recovered was admitted to the museum’s collection.^[4]

Robert Heizer came to Lovelock Cave in 1949 to collect organic material for radiocarbon dating. He later returned in 1950 and 1965 with a field group to sift through the remains that the miners left behind in a slope in front of the cave and collect coprolites. In excavations with Lewis Napton during 1968 and 1969 disturbed human remains were discovered. The remains found were so scattered that a complete recovery was never possible. ^[4] Human coprolites found at Lovelock Cave are instrumental in piecing together the cultures’ subsistence patterns, specifically the kinds of food the Indians were eating. Indians in the area were primarily eating birds, fish and other fauna that lived near the lake. They also collected and stored vegetation for winter months. Furthermore, because coprolites are organic material, they could be dated with the radiocarbon dating technique.

Duck decoys

The most renowned discovery at Lovelock Cave was a cache of eleven duck decoys. M.R. Harrington and L.L. Loud found when they were digging for the Museum of the American Indian in 1924 in Pit 12, Lot 4.^[4] The cache included eight painted and feathered decoys and three unfinished decoys. Items found in the same pit consisted of feathers and two bundles of animal traps. The remarkable decoys were made from bundled tule, a long grass-like herb, covered in feathers and painted.^[6]

The first attempt to date the decoys with radiocarbon dating techniques in 1969 was unsuccessful because the material got lost. Later samples could not be acquired without causing extensive damage to the decoys so they were not dated until the development of the Accelerator Mass Spectrometric (AMS) dating technique. Technological advances with AMS dating meant that much smaller, milligram-size, specimens from archaeological record were ample size for dating. Samples were retrieved from two duck decoys and A. J. T. Tull of the University of Arizona, Tucson conducted the dating of the specimens. In 1984 he reported the dates to Don D. Fowler. Duck Decoy 13/4513, Lovelock Cave was dated at 2,080 + 330 BP, and Duck Decoy 13/4512B was dated at 2,250 + 230BP.^[6]

Prehistoric sling

A hand woven textile sling was collected by Loud in 1912 but it was not reported or studied extensively until years later. Archaeologists are interested in the specific specimen because it is recognized as one of the earliest slings in North America. The Indians of the Northern Paiute or Paviotso were occupants of the area during historic times and they recognized the sling as a toy or used for hunting and war. Slings were known to serve different purposes such as a toy, a forehead band, or a mechanism for hunting birds. The design of the sling found at Lovelock was constructed through a simple knotting technique from a two-ply yarn. The pattern on the sling is reversible It was likely made from various pieces of available fiber.^[7] The sling found at Lovelock is just one of the many handmade textile items of the cave. Traps and nets were also crafted to assist hunters during their search for food. Baskets and other food storage items were used to ensure that during times of resource scarcity everyone would have enough food for survival.

Life at Lovelock Cave

Humans utilized the cave starting around 2580 BC but it was not intensively used until 1000 BC.^[2] Two competing hypotheses arose from the investigations of Lovelock Cave. Heizer and Napton supported a limnosedentary theory pertaining to life at the site. This view held that peoples of the area rarely moved from their base because they had access to such rich and varied resources. This theory is based on the coprolitic material found at Lovelock which revealed a primary diet of fish and diverse lakeside fare. A limnomobile view suggests that sites such as Lovelock were only occupied during certain times throughout the year and people in the area were very mobile.^[8] Lovelock Cave is believed to have been occupied extensively during the winter months. Summer months may have been plagued with insects that would make life near a marsh undesirable. The findings at the site reveal lengthy periods of occupation and also show the complicated techniques used by hunter-gathers to acquire resources.^[8]

Lovelock Cave overlooks Humboldt Sink, a remnant of Lake Lahontan. The human coprolites recovered from Lovelock Cave reveal that 90 percent of the diet came from Humboldt Sink. All sizes of fish were eaten and hunting techniques included the use of nets, traps, and hooks made from fishbone.^[9] Dietary staples include: Lahontan Chub, ducks, and mudhens. Plants such as bulrush, cattail, and other grasses were also significant food sources. The environment of the Great Basin is very diverse. The amount of rainfall varies year to year. A wet year can potentially produce six times more vegetation that that of a dry year.^[10] Hunter-gathers of the Great Basin survived on a wide variety of resources to adapt to a changing environment. The inhabitants of Lovelock Cave were fortunate to live around a rich lowland marsh, the duck and goose decoys were ideal for hunting in such areas. Mosquitoes and other insects were troublesome pests to peoples of the marshes during summer months. ^[8]

Subsistence patterns and adaptations varied greatly among Great Basin groups. People living in mountainous areas were surviving on plants for more than fifty percent of their diets whereas people around water or in the marshes were hunting fish and other wetland wildlife.^[8] Waterfowl have been attracted to Great Basin marshes for thousands of years. Ancient hunter-gatherer inhabitants of Lovelock Cave became expert bird hunters. They used their well-designed duck decoys to lure prey then shoot birds with blinds. As hunters became more experienced they would wear disguises made from reeds or duck skin and stalk birds then surprise grab them by the legs.^[8]The people at Lovelock recognized the importance of water fowl and utilized birds extensively. Archaeological specimens from the site show that the inhabitants collected feathers from geese, ducks, pelicans, and herons. Hunter-gathers were intelligent and used the feathers from the birds to create decoys which allowed the capture of more birds. Decoys are still used by local native peoples today in hunting water fowl.

Hunters were also able to rely on a variety of fauna such as muskrat, rabbit, and rodents as foodstuff. Gathers were harvesting vegetables and grasses in the spring and fall to supplement their rich diet. The women of the group were likely the gathers and also responsible for crafting important items to make life easier in the marsh. Fibers from dogbane and milkweed were used to fashion yarns and baskets. Baskets were used to store food, especially vegetation that was harvested in the spring and fall to be saved for winter months. Women would occasionally collect fish with smaller baskets.^[8]

The ideal conditions at Lovelock Cave preserved deposits of feathers from various birds and textiles from nets. Common fibrous items include: nets, baskets, sandals, traps, and decoys. Manos and metates, hand held grinding stones, were abundantly used by Indians. They helped process plant foods especially seeds, nuts, and other tough material. The materials recovered from Lovelock Cave helped to demonstrate that hunting and gathering was the primary means of survival for Native Americans of the Great Basin for thousands of years. The diversity of resources allowed the people in the area to thrive using traditional methods for a long period of time, and whose material culture remained the same for thousands of years.

Last use

The cave's last use is believed to be in the mid-1800s as indicated by a gun cache and a human coprolite. The material was tested through radiocarbon dating and dated to about 1850.^[4]

References

Si-Te-Cah

According to Paiute oral history, the Si-Te-Cah are a legendary tribe whose mummified remains were discovered (under four feet of guano) by miners in what is now known as “Lovelock Cave” in Lovelock, Nevada, United States. Although the cave had been mined since 1911, it was not until 1912 when miners notified authorities. An archeological excavation ensued producing 10,000 artifacts. "Si-Te-Cah" literally means “tule-eaters” in the language of the Paiute Indians. Tule is a fibrous water plant. In order to escape harassment from the Paiutes, the Si-Te-Cahs were said to have lived on rafts made of tule on the lake.

According to the Paiutes, the Si-Te-Cah were a hostile and warlike tribe who practiced cannibalism. The Si-Te-Cah and the Paiutes were at war, and after a long struggle a coalition of tribes trapped the remaining Si-Te-Cah in Lovelock Cave. When they refused to come out, the Indians piled brush before the cave mouth and set it aflame. The Si-Te-Cah were annihilated.

Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, daughter of Paiute Chief Winnemucca, related many stories about the Si-Te-Cah in her book Life Among the Paiutes. "My people say that the tribe we exterminated had reddish hair. I have some of their hair, which has been handed down from father to son. I have a dress which has been in our family a great many years, trimmed with the reddish hair. I am going to wear it some time when I lecture. It is called a mourning dress, and no one has such a dress but my family." (Hopkins, page 75).

Adrienne Mayor writes about the Si-Te-Cah in her book Fossil Legends of the First Americans^[1]. She suggests that the 'giant' interpretation of the skeletons from Lovelock Cave and other dry caves in Nevada was started by entrepreneurs setting up tourist displays and that the skeletons themselves were of normal size. However, about a hundred miles north of Lovelock there are plentiful fossils of mammoths and cave bears, and their large limb bones could easily be thought to be those of giants by an untrained observer. She also discusses the reddish hair, pointing out that hair pigment is not stable after death and that various factors such as temperature, soil, etc can turn ancient very dark hair rusty red or orange, though it may not account for the Paiute tradition of red-haired people existing here before the cave was excavated. Another explanation for the 'giant' interpretation of the skeletons may also come from the fact that some of the first remains unearthed by the guano miners in 1911-12 were described as “giant"^[2]. A written report by James H. Hart, the first of two miners to excavate the cave in the fall of 1911, recalls that in the north-central part of the cave, about four feet deep, "was a striking looking body of a man “six feet six inches tall.” His body was mummified and his hair distinctly red." (Loud & Harrington, page 87). Unfortunately in the first year of mining, some of the human remains and artifacts were lost and destroyed. "The best specimen of the adult mummies was boiled and destroyed by a local fraternal lodge, which wanted the skeleton for initiation purposes." (Loud & Harrington, page 5). Also, several of the fiber sandals found in the cave were remarkably large, and one reported at over 15 inches (38 cm) in length was said to be on display at the Nevada Historical Society's museum in Reno in 1952^[3][4][5][6]. The Paiute tradition asserts that the Si-Te-Cah people practiced cannibalism, and this may have had some basis in fact. During the 1924 excavation of the cave, a series of three human bones were found near the surface towards the mouth of the cave. "These had been split to extract the marrow, as animal bones were split, and probably indicate cannibalism during a famine." (Loud & Harrington, page 13).

References

1. ^ Mayor, Adrienne (2005). Fossil legends of the first Americans. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11345-9.
2. ^ Loud, Llewellyn L.; M. R. Harrington (15 February 1929). "Lovelock Cave". University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology (University of California at Berkeley) 25 (1): 1–183.
3. ^ Nevada State Journal, Reno, Nevada. Sunday, August 3, 1952 Page 6.
4. ^ Nevada State Journal, Reno, Nevada. Sunday, February 22, 1953 p. 9.
5. ^ Reno Evening Gazette, Reno, Nevada. Tuesday, Sep. 9, 1913
6. ^ Childress, David Hatcher. Lost Cities of North & Central America Adventures Unlimited Press, (1992) p. 496

• Life Among the Paiutes, by Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins.

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Giants Are Everywhere!

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