76: Giantism or a race of giants?
Before we discuss giants or a tall race (a ‘tall’ person being relative to the average height of the differing population at the time observed), let’s consider those who doubt giants existed. There is no concrete evidence that has ever been produced that they exist. Yes, cover up's may have occurred but there is also much faked rubbish about as well, such as the picture below. These are easily spotted as fake to the average thinking person in as much as these are presented as only one photo in every case, no other angles (as discussed in our post of Oct 17th).
But real evidence is sorely lacking and is what we hope to present in a time not too far ahead. In this modern age the availability of technology and social media will mean photos and video can be distributed instantly all around the world. This raises the answer as to why no video exists of giant ‘discoveries’. But maybe not? Many stories of discoveries were from long before people had phones with video capability and even long before portable camcorders.
But to say that giants never existed in times past, discounts the fact that we have a tiny race of people living today called the Pygmies. To these people we seem as ‘giants’ and they would not be wiped out as they did not seem a threat by size to anyone. By contrast the Maasai are an average of 31% taller yet live a mere 1200 miles apart in Africa when first discovered. The Dinka are the same proportion taller yet live only 700 miles north in the South Sudan. Many say these various African races ‘evolved’ to be taller or shorter. If this is true, why is it so hard to believe a very tall race did not evolve and live in some remote locations right up until about 1000AD?
Signs of Giantism
If one were to find a true giant skeleton, one would examine the bones to find evidence of skull damage consistent with a pituitary tumor, which disrupts the pituitary gland, causing it to overproduce human growth hormone. Disproportionately long limbs and evidence that the bones were still growing even in early adulthood would support the giantism diagnosis. While a race of giants would be healthy, giantism for an individual born among normal height humans brings all sort of heath problems for that individual including cardiovascular disease and respiratory problems
Burial evidence
Goods buried with a body, or the way it was buried can also provide clues as to the person's role in life and how they were treated in their community. No funerary artifacts could mean the burial was typical of the time, suggesting they were included as a normal part of a ‘tall’ society and not a special revered or 'godlike' individual.
Height Study
In the study of height (auxology), growth has long been recognized as a measure of the health of individuals. Genetics is a major factor in determining the height of individuals, though it is far less influential in regard to differences among populations. Average height is relevant to the measurement of the health and the standard of living and quality of life of populations, are factors in height. Malnutrition including chronic under-nutrition and acute malnutrition is known to have caused stunted growth in various populations (North Korea for example).
Environment and genetics
Height is determined by a combination of genetics and environmental factors. A child's height based on parental heights is subject to regression toward the mean, therefore extremely tall or short parents will likely have correspondingly taller or shorter offspring, but their offspring will also likely be closer to average height than the parents themselves. The age of the mother also has some influence on her child's height. Studies in modern times have observed a gradual increase in height with maternal age. Differences in human height is 60%–80% heritable,and nurture and environment can add the rest. Most intra-population variance of height is genetic. Tall stature is known as familial tall stature. Most notably, extreme height may be pathological, such as giantism resulting from childhood hyperpituitarism,. Rarely, no cause can be found for extreme height;
The above link has a slider showing population heights over periods of time. Therefore environmental and genetic factors can and do affect average height. So…a undisturbed population living in NZ who were an average of 7’10’ tall could easily have developed unhindered until the Polynesian and Melanesian immigration occurred.
Below is a photo where the top specimen is from an individual who was obviously much taller than the average population at the time. Both are from over 1000 years ago in the same relative location!
And below some well known evidence of two who lived just 100 years ago elsewhere. The one on the left is Charles Bryne who was 7'7" when he died, at a time when the average human being was 5'5". That is 40% taller than the average Irish person of the time
Certain studies have shown that height is a factor in overall health while some suggest tallness is associated with better cardiovascular health and shortness with longevity. Cancer risk has also been found to grow with height. While tallness is an adaptive benefit in colder climates such as found in NZ, shortness helps dissipate body heat in warmer climatic regions. Consequently, the relationships between health and height cannot be easily generalized since tallness and shortness can both provide health benefits in different environmental settings. At the extreme end, being excessively tall can cause various medical problems, including cardiovascular problems, because of the increased load on the heart to supply the body with blood, and problems resulting from the increased time it takes the brain to communicate with the extremities.
Sources are in disagreement about the overall relationship between height and longevity. A large body of human and animal evidence indicates that shorter, smaller bodies age slower, and have fewer chronic diseases and greater longevity. Average height of Americans and Europeans decreased during periods of rapid industrialization, possibly due to rapid population growth and increased economic inequality. Adult height between populations often differs significantly. For example, the average height of women from the Czech Republic is greater than that of men from Malawi. This may be caused by genetic differences, childhood lifestyle differences (nutrition, sleep patterns, physical labor), or both.
So could 'giants' exist as a race?
As tall people up to 9' - yes! However it is very hard for anyone to function well as a human being above that height. To explain that please visit this link to a previous post of ours - http://tangatawhenua16.wixsite.com/the-first-ones-blog/single-post/2016/06/08/57-A-Giant-sized-problem
It is reasonably understandable that a much taller population could exist and thrive in an isolated an undisturbed environment, in a cold climate, with plenty of food. This is the case of the ones we will present.
And yes, all these recent posts on height are leading to the conclusion of Stage One of our task.
