The Cousin we don’t talk about: What is Bigfoot?
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There is a nice online article written in this forum:
http://www.thothweb.com/article3051.html
Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 (CDT) by Thoth
From the Cascade Mountains of North America’s Pacific Coast to Central Asia to Australia, people have reported sightings of large, unknown hominid creatures since long before stories were written down. These creatures have been known by names such as Bigfoot, Almas, Yowies, Yeren, Sasquatch, Yeti, Swamp Ape, and Mawas to name but a few.
The size of these creatures seems to range from somewhat smaller than humans to a massive 10 feet and sometimes beyond. Often these sightings are written off as a misidentified bear, or an overactive imagination. But the sightings persist from so many parts of the world that they cannot be dismissed outright.
What if Bigfoot and his relatives are real animals? What could they be? Are they only bears, or could they be a species of animal as yet unidentified by science? Or, could Bigfoot be a species believed to have lived in the past but extinct today, like a species of ape or an archaic form of human?
There have been examples of animals once thought to be extinct turning up very much alive. The coelacanth was known only from the fossil record, and was believed to have died out with the dinosaurs. It was identified by accident however after being found in a fishing net in the Indian Ocean in the 1930’s. Also, a species of rodent thought to have disappeared from the planet 8 million years ago, the Laotian Rock Rat, was found very recently in a market in Laos, destined for the stew pot. Some large mammal species were thought to be hoaxes and tall tales until seen by Europeans; explorers had heard tales of the mountain gorilla for centuries, but they were not recognized by Western science until a specimen was seen in 1901.
In the rainforests of Southeast Asia, researchers are hot on the trail of a possible Bigfoot. In Vietnam, the creatures are called Nguoi Rung, which simply means “forest people.� In some areas of Vietnam it is interesting to note that these creatures are said to use fire, and to sometimes try to interact with people. In areas closer to Laos, it is sometimes known as “khi trau�, which translates as “big monkey.�
In Malaysia, this creature is known as either the mawas, a name which is also used to indicate the orangutan, or the Hantu Jarang Gigi, the “snaggle-toothed ghost“. Most of Malaysia is heavily forested, and has remained relatively undeveloped until recently, although humans of one type or another have lived here for about 1 million years. Legends about these creatures and reported sightings date far back into the region’s history. One local people, the Orang Asli, have a legend of a creature called the Serjarang Gigi, or “Hairy Giant.� These creatures were said to be eight feet tall with huge arms and large, widely-spaced teeth.
In the reports of mawas sightings, the creatures are invariably bipedal, and range from dark golden brown to black in color. The mawas are described as being powerfully built creatures, and range in size from about 6 to well over 10 feet in height. The mawas hair is not said to be as long over the whole body as that of Bigfoot-type creatures in other parts of the world, nor is it as dense. The mawas sightings occur in forested areas, and seem to focus around water or around fruit trees. They seem to travel either singly or in small family groups. From the eyewitness’ descriptions, the mawas are said to eat fruit and have a fondness for fish.
The Malaysian sightings have made news around the world lately, and have become the focus of heated debate among researchers as to what these animals could really be. Plaster casts of footprints have been presented as proof along with a supposed hair sample. A group called the Johor Wildlife Protection Society has made statements that they know of the existence of a colony of the animals, which they call orang lenggor (Lenggor People). This group claims a member of their society has researched and interacted with this colony for six years now. Another researcher, a respected conservationist named Vincent Chow, has co-authored a book based on 11 years of researching the mawas. Mr. Chow says the book contains detailed photographs of the mawas, photos with enough detail to show individual features. In this book, Mr. Chow and his co-authors will reportedly make the startling claim that the mawas are actually a previously unknown group of survivors from an ancient era, our own ancestor, Homo erectus. The book is not available as yet, but will hopefully be in print soon.
What could these mystery creatures be?
One possible Bigfoot candidate is a huge ape known from fossils from Southeast Asia, and has been proposed as Bigfoot by many researchers. The ape is Gigantopithecus blacki, an enormous vegetarian ape who lived during the Pleistocene era.
Gigantopithecus was discovered in 1935 by G.H.R. Von Koenigswald when he was browsing through a box of so-called “dragon bones� in an apothecary’s shop in Hong Kong. Von Koenigswald realized that several large, yellowed molars were actually fossilized teeth. Eventually, over one thousand teeth and three separate jaw bones were discovered at various sites in China and South East Asia. Although no other remains for G. blacki have ever been found, the ape’s size has been estimated based on the size of the jaws. Using living apes as a comparison, Gigantopithecus’ size has been put at around 10 feet in height with a weight of 1,200 pounds. G. blacki was a vegetarian who ate mostly bamboo, much like the giant panda with whom it shared territory. This huge ape also probably lived alongside early humans, since it is generally believed to have died out some 100,000 years ago. It is possible that competition with pandas and being hunted by early humans caused the extinction of Gigantopithecus.
Although Gigantopithecus seems a likely candidate for Bigfoot, there are several problems with that idea. The physical proof for Gigantopithecus itself is scant, limited to some one thousand teeth and three jawbones. These few remains were found only in Southeast Asia also, so there’s no proof this ape would have been present in all of the areas where we have reports of wildmen today. However, if other animals, possibly including humans, could have passed over a Bering land bridge into North America from Asia, it’s certainly not a stretch of the imagination for Gigantopithecus to have done the same.Also, we don’t know if Gigantopithecus walked on two legs or on four. Almost every sighting of a Bigfoot-type animal has been of a bipedal animal; that is, one who walks on two.
Another candidate for Bigfoot’s true identity has been proposed from our own family tree. Our direct ancestor Homo erectus was first identified from fossils found in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The first remains were found in China and Indonesia originally, then also in eastern Africa. Homo erectus fossils have been found from Africa and the Middle East to East Asia, and possibly Europe, making Homo erectus our best-traveled early ancestor. Homo Erectus used tools like modern peoples, which probably allowed him to spread over such a huge area.
Homo erectus first appeared some 1.8 million years ago. They are believed to have died out around 400,000 years ago, although the recent discovery of small human remains in Indonesia could prove otherwise. Dubbed “Hobbits� by the press, these small remains named Homo florensensis were found on Flores Island, and are strikingly similar to Homo erectus although smaller. The Homo florensensis remains are believed to date to just about 12,000 to 18,000 years ago, which means they would have lived alongside modern humans. It is possible they were still living in even more recent times, as the local peoples there have stories about creatures they call Ebu Gogo, or “the grandmother who eats everything.� This hominid was a small creature, only standing about 3 feet high when fully grown.Even though it is probably not the source of local Bigfoot stories, the existence of Homo florensensis shows that other species of human could and most likely did live alongside modern humans in some parts of the world. However, it could very well be the basis of sightings of another mystery hominid called the “orang pendek�, or “short fellow.� The orang pendek is believed to live in the forests of Malaysia, and there are tales of similar creatures called nittaewo in Sri Lanka, along with others from many other islands in Indonesia and the Philippines.
The mawas of Malaysia
Though sightings of large, manlike animals in Southeast Asia are not new, and in fact date far back into the past, recent developments in that region of the world could shed light on the mystery of Bigfoot. Researchers in Malaysia have been documenting possible sightings and tracks from these creatures, called mawas by the local peoples. There have been rumors of a possible captured creature, a claim which has been vehemently denied by the Malaysian officials.
The speculation about the mawas’ existence could be answered later this year, when Vincent Chow releases a book he has co-authored on the subject. Mr. Chow claims to be using photographs in this book of the mawas which will definitively prove not only their existence, but also what they are. Mr. Chow’s ideas on these creatures are surprising, and will be discussed further in this article.
So, of the two candidates discussed above, which is the better match for the mawas? Both are believed to have roamed Southeastern Asia during the same time period, and undoubtedly lived side by side. Open-minded scientists who have considered the existence of Bigfoot often give Gigantopithecus as the possible culprit, and although this large ape does match some descriptions of mystery hominids, what we know of it does not completely match the Malaysian sightings. Gigantopithecus would certainly have been large enough to fit the descriptions of the mawas from eyewitnesses. Gigantopithecus would have been enormously strong, with the heavily muscled body and limbs Bigfoot-type animals are said to have. But researchers are certain it was vegetarian after thorough examination of its teeth, where the mawas are said to have a fondness for fish also.
Our other candidate, Homo erectus, was slightly smaller than the eyewitness accounts of the mawas, although a person coming across an unexpected large animal in a dense forest could well make errors in judging that animal’s size. Researchers are fairly certain that H. erectus was omnivorous, and have found crude stone tools they think were used by H. erectus. Some of the local traditions in Southeastern Asia tell of the mystery hominids using tools like humans, such as the Nguoi Rung of Vietnam. Since researchers have found much more of the remains of H. erectus than Gigantopithecus, they have been able to reconstruct with confidence what our ancestor would have looked like. H. erectus was fully bipedal, though with a sloping forehead and heavy brow ridges. We know that H. erectus was strongly built, like the mawas and other Bigfoot-type creatures.
Is there a third candidate?
While Vincent Chow and his associates are prepared to present their proof that the mawas are a surviving population of H. erectus, another group of researchers in the area has already released their report, and have stated that the mawas are an unknown population of an animal already well-known to science, the orangutan.
A group called the Asia Paranormal Investigators has released an extensive report of their own investigation into the mawas, including field research and interviewing eyewitnesses in Malaysia. API published their report on Feb. 6, 2006, and it details their own research into the area, its peoples and history. API came to the conclusion that the mawas were orangutans based not only on their interpretation of the sightings, but on a news article from China:
I found a Chinese newspaper published on the 25th Feb 2006 revealing that a former Sultan of Johor once reared and later released 40 Orang Utans to either the zoos or the forest. Could this be the Colony of 40 Bigfoot mentioned by the Johor Wildlife Protection Society? Could it account for some of the sightings of Bigfoot prints being found?
Also from the same report:
The Sin Min Daily published an article on the 25th February that said a former Johor Sultan once reared forty Orang Utans, but released them sometimes in the early 1970s. The Royalty being interviewed called the Orang Utan a gorilla, but the actual animal could be clearly discerned from the attached photograph in the article.
Could this be where the claim of the colony of Bigfoot originated from? Perhaps there really was seventeen Orang Utans released into the Forest at one time.
The report from API also points out that the word “mawas� is another name for orangutan in some parts of nearby Sumatra.
Although orangutans still roam the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, they were known to live also in the nearby area we now call Malaysia in the past. During the last Ice Age, sea levels were much lower and most of the large islands of what is now Indonesia were still connected to the mainland, so any orangutans in Malaysia today could be left from this time.
Orangutans can range in color from red to a very dark golden brown, and the large males can sometimes be close to five feet in height. Orangutans are bulky animals, with heavy shoulders and wide chests, much like the mawas. Though the largest male orangs usually travel on the ground because they are so heavy, orangutans are arboreal or tree-living creatures. But it is important to note that orangutans as we know them do not walk upright unless they have been trained to, and they are almost exclusively vegetarian. Also, orangutans do not match the facial description given by people who claim to have seen the mawas.
Is a different species of human living in the forests of Southeast Asia today?
If Mr. Chow and his associates are correct, there could be groups of an archaic human still living today. This is a startling idea to modern humans, as the last other type of human, the Neanderthals, is thought to have died out some 29,000 years ago. If we did live side by side with the Neanderthals, it is believed that our contact with them was rare, and that the overlapping periods were very short. We aren’t sure why this close cousin went extinct, but we modern humans firmly believe that we are the only species of human alive today.
But with the discovery of the tiny H. florensensis, this attitude has been challenged. Our small cousins lived on the islands of Indonesia while we were there, perhaps scavenging from our gardens or middens and hiding from the tall cousin with the more advanced tools. We know these small humans were hunters, and they were believed to have hunted the large Komodo dragons and similar lizards along with a species of now-extinct elephant and other fairly large mammals. But how similar were they to us, and how similar would a surviving H. erectus be?
To answer this, let’s look at another ape, the chimpanzee. These animals live in the forests of equatorial Africa, where they have existed alongside humans for millennia. Even though our last common ancestor with the chimpanzee is believed to have lived some seven million years ago, recent DNA tests have shown that we share a surprising 96 to 98 percent of our genes with this distant relative. In fact, because we are so alike, when scientists first classified the chimpanzee in 1775, they were originally placed with us under the genus Homo. But because of controversy over placing what was considered a mere animal in the same group as man, the chimpanzee was reclassified sometime around 1816 into its own genus, Pan. If we share so much with an ape not in our direct ancestry, how close would Homo erectus be?
The implications of finding a living but more primitive human in the forests of Southeast Asia are staggering. Would these creatures be considered humans, or animals? Would we feel obligated to extend protection to them if they were found to be extremely closely related to us? Indeed, many indigenous peoples around the world thought of these mysterious forest roamers as another type of people, and the names given to them mean simply, “forest people.� Finding a close cousin of ours living in what we consider our own back yards would force us to redefine who and what human beings are.
Resources:
“Closer to Man than Ape�, Ian Sample, science correspondent The Guardian Tuesday, January 24, 2006
“From the Teeth of the Dragon: Gigantopithecus Blacki�, by Eric Pettifor
“The Malaysian Bigfoot Enigma� by the Asia Paranormal Society, 1st released on 6th February 2006, Last Updated on 23rd April 2006
To visit the homepage of the API, please follow this link : http://www.api.sg/
This article was written by FyreSpirit.© Thothweb – http://www.thothweb.com
All images copyright © by their respective photographers. This article is copyrighted. No part of this article can be reproduced without the written permission of ThothWeb.
-
- Offline
There is a nice online article written in this forum:
http://www.thothweb.com/article3051.html
Posted on Friday, May 19, 2006 (CDT) by Thoth
From the Cascade Mountains of North America’s Pacific Coast to Central Asia to Australia, people have reported sightings of large, unknown hominid creatures since long before stories were written down. These creatures have been known by names such as Bigfoot, Almas, Yowies, Yeren, Sasquatch, Yeti, Swamp Ape, and Mawas to name but a few.The size of these creatures seems to range from somewhat smaller than humans to a massive 10 feet and sometimes beyond. Often these sightings are written off as a misidentified bear, or an overactive imagination. But the sightings persist from so many parts of the world that they cannot be dismissed outright.
What if Bigfoot and his relatives are real animals? What could they be? Are they only bears, or could they be a species of animal as yet unidentified by science? Or, could Bigfoot be a species believed to have lived in the past but extinct today, like a species of ape or an archaic form of human?
There have been examples of animals once thought to be extinct turning up very much alive. The coelacanth was known only from the fossil record, and was believed to have died out with the dinosaurs. It was identified by accident however after being found in a fishing net in the Indian Ocean in the 1930’s. Also, a species of rodent thought to have disappeared from the planet 8 million years ago, the Laotian Rock Rat, was found very recently in a market in Laos, destined for the stew pot. Some large mammal species were thought to be hoaxes and tall tales until seen by Europeans; explorers had heard tales of the mountain gorilla for centuries, but they were not recognized by Western science until a specimen was seen in 1901.
In the rainforests of Southeast Asia, researchers are hot on the trail of a possible Bigfoot. In Vietnam, the creatures are called Nguoi Rung, which simply means “forest people.� In some areas of Vietnam it is interesting to note that these creatures are said to use fire, and to sometimes try to interact with people. In areas closer to Laos, it is sometimes known as “khi trau�, which translates as “big monkey.�
In Malaysia, this creature is known as either the mawas, a name which is also used to indicate the orangutan, or the Hantu Jarang Gigi, the “snaggle-toothed ghost“. Most of Malaysia is heavily forested, and has remained relatively undeveloped until recently, although humans of one type or another have lived here for about 1 million years. Legends about these creatures and reported sightings date far back into the region’s history. One local people, the Orang Asli, have a legend of a creature called the Serjarang Gigi, or “Hairy Giant.� These creatures were said to be eight feet tall with huge arms and large, widely-spaced teeth.
In the reports of mawas sightings, the creatures are invariably bipedal, and range from dark golden brown to black in color. The mawas are described as being powerfully built creatures, and range in size from about 6 to well over 10 feet in height. The mawas hair is not said to be as long over the whole body as that of Bigfoot-type creatures in other parts of the world, nor is it as dense. The mawas sightings occur in forested areas, and seem to focus around water or around fruit trees. They seem to travel either singly or in small family groups. From the eyewitness’ descriptions, the mawas are said to eat fruit and have a fondness for fish.
The Malaysian sightings have made news around the world lately, and have become the focus of heated debate among researchers as to what these animals could really be. Plaster casts of footprints have been presented as proof along with a supposed hair sample. A group called the Johor Wildlife Protection Society has made statements that they know of the existence of a colony of the animals, which they call orang lenggor (Lenggor People). This group claims a member of their society has researched and interacted with this colony for six years now. Another researcher, a respected conservationist named Vincent Chow, has co-authored a book based on 11 years of researching the mawas. Mr. Chow says the book contains detailed photographs of the mawas, photos with enough detail to show individual features. In this book, Mr. Chow and his co-authors will reportedly make the startling claim that the mawas are actually a previously unknown group of survivors from an ancient era, our own ancestor, Homo erectus. The book is not available as yet, but will hopefully be in print soon.
What could these mystery creatures be?
One possible Bigfoot candidate is a huge ape known from fossils from Southeast Asia, and has been proposed as Bigfoot by many researchers. The ape is Gigantopithecus blacki, an enormous vegetarian ape who lived during the Pleistocene era.
Gigantopithecus was discovered in 1935 by G.H.R. Von Koenigswald when he was browsing through a box of so-called “dragon bones� in an apothecary’s shop in Hong Kong. Von Koenigswald realized that several large, yellowed molars were actually fossilized teeth. Eventually, over one thousand teeth and three separate jaw bones were discovered at various sites in China and South East Asia. Although no other remains for G. blacki have ever been found, the ape’s size has been estimated based on the size of the jaws. Using living apes as a comparison, Gigantopithecus’ size has been put at around 10 feet in height with a weight of 1,200 pounds. G. blacki was a vegetarian who ate mostly bamboo, much like the giant panda with whom it shared territory. This huge ape also probably lived alongside early humans, since it is generally believed to have died out some 100,000 years ago. It is possible that competition with pandas and being hunted by early humans caused the extinction of Gigantopithecus.
Although Gigantopithecus seems a likely candidate for Bigfoot, there are several problems with that idea. The physical proof for Gigantopithecus itself is scant, limited to some one thousand teeth and three jawbones. These few remains were found only in Southeast Asia also, so there’s no proof this ape would have been present in all of the areas where we have reports of wildmen today. However, if other animals, possibly including humans, could have passed over a Bering land bridge into North America from Asia, it’s certainly not a stretch of the imagination for Gigantopithecus to have done the same.Also, we don’t know if Gigantopithecus walked on two legs or on four. Almost every sighting of a Bigfoot-type animal has been of a bipedal animal; that is, one who walks on two.
Another candidate for Bigfoot’s true identity has been proposed from our own family tree. Our direct ancestor Homo erectus was first identified from fossils found in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The first remains were found in China and Indonesia originally, then also in eastern Africa. Homo erectus fossils have been found from Africa and the Middle East to East Asia, and possibly Europe, making Homo erectus our best-traveled early ancestor. Homo Erectus used tools like modern peoples, which probably allowed him to spread over such a huge area.
Homo erectus first appeared some 1.8 million years ago. They are believed to have died out around 400,000 years ago, although the recent discovery of small human remains in Indonesia could prove otherwise. Dubbed “Hobbits� by the press, these small remains named Homo florensensis were found on Flores Island, and are strikingly similar to Homo erectus although smaller. The Homo florensensis remains are believed to date to just about 12,000 to 18,000 years ago, which means they would have lived alongside modern humans. It is possible they were still living in even more recent times, as the local peoples there have stories about creatures they call Ebu Gogo, or “the grandmother who eats everything.� This hominid was a small creature, only standing about 3 feet high when fully grown.Even though it is probably not the source of local Bigfoot stories, the existence of Homo florensensis shows that other species of human could and most likely did live alongside modern humans in some parts of the world. However, it could very well be the basis of sightings of another mystery hominid called the “orang pendek�, or “short fellow.� The orang pendek is believed to live in the forests of Malaysia, and there are tales of similar creatures called nittaewo in Sri Lanka, along with others from many other islands in Indonesia and the Philippines.
The mawas of Malaysia
Though sightings of large, manlike animals in Southeast Asia are not new, and in fact date far back into the past, recent developments in that region of the world could shed light on the mystery of Bigfoot. Researchers in Malaysia have been documenting possible sightings and tracks from these creatures, called mawas by the local peoples. There have been rumors of a possible captured creature, a claim which has been vehemently denied by the Malaysian officials.
The speculation about the mawas’ existence could be answered later this year, when Vincent Chow releases a book he has co-authored on the subject. Mr. Chow claims to be using photographs in this book of the mawas which will definitively prove not only their existence, but also what they are. Mr. Chow’s ideas on these creatures are surprising, and will be discussed further in this article.
So, of the two candidates discussed above, which is the better match for the mawas? Both are believed to have roamed Southeastern Asia during the same time period, and undoubtedly lived side by side. Open-minded scientists who have considered the existence of Bigfoot often give Gigantopithecus as the possible culprit, and although this large ape does match some descriptions of mystery hominids, what we know of it does not completely match the Malaysian sightings. Gigantopithecus would certainly have been large enough to fit the descriptions of the mawas from eyewitnesses. Gigantopithecus would have been enormously strong, with the heavily muscled body and limbs Bigfoot-type animals are said to have. But researchers are certain it was vegetarian after thorough examination of its teeth, where the mawas are said to have a fondness for fish also.
Our other candidate, Homo erectus, was slightly smaller than the eyewitness accounts of the mawas, although a person coming across an unexpected large animal in a dense forest could well make errors in judging that animal’s size. Researchers are fairly certain that H. erectus was omnivorous, and have found crude stone tools they think were used by H. erectus. Some of the local traditions in Southeastern Asia tell of the mystery hominids using tools like humans, such as the Nguoi Rung of Vietnam. Since researchers have found much more of the remains of H. erectus than Gigantopithecus, they have been able to reconstruct with confidence what our ancestor would have looked like. H. erectus was fully bipedal, though with a sloping forehead and heavy brow ridges. We know that H. erectus was strongly built, like the mawas and other Bigfoot-type creatures.
Is there a third candidate?
While Vincent Chow and his associates are prepared to present their proof that the mawas are a surviving population of H. erectus, another group of researchers in the area has already released their report, and have stated that the mawas are an unknown population of an animal already well-known to science, the orangutan.
A group called the Asia Paranormal Investigators has released an extensive report of their own investigation into the mawas, including field research and interviewing eyewitnesses in Malaysia. API published their report on Feb. 6, 2006, and it details their own research into the area, its peoples and history. API came to the conclusion that the mawas were orangutans based not only on their interpretation of the sightings, but on a news article from China:
I found a Chinese newspaper published on the 25th Feb 2006 revealing that a former Sultan of Johor once reared and later released 40 Orang Utans to either the zoos or the forest. Could this be the Colony of 40 Bigfoot mentioned by the Johor Wildlife Protection Society? Could it account for some of the sightings of Bigfoot prints being found?
Also from the same report:
The Sin Min Daily published an article on the 25th February that said a former Johor Sultan once reared forty Orang Utans, but released them sometimes in the early 1970s. The Royalty being interviewed called the Orang Utan a gorilla, but the actual animal could be clearly discerned from the attached photograph in the article.
Could this be where the claim of the colony of Bigfoot originated from? Perhaps there really was seventeen Orang Utans released into the Forest at one time.
The report from API also points out that the word “mawas� is another name for orangutan in some parts of nearby Sumatra.
Although orangutans still roam the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, they were known to live also in the nearby area we now call Malaysia in the past. During the last Ice Age, sea levels were much lower and most of the large islands of what is now Indonesia were still connected to the mainland, so any orangutans in Malaysia today could be left from this time.
Orangutans can range in color from red to a very dark golden brown, and the large males can sometimes be close to five feet in height. Orangutans are bulky animals, with heavy shoulders and wide chests, much like the mawas. Though the largest male orangs usually travel on the ground because they are so heavy, orangutans are arboreal or tree-living creatures. But it is important to note that orangutans as we know them do not walk upright unless they have been trained to, and they are almost exclusively vegetarian. Also, orangutans do not match the facial description given by people who claim to have seen the mawas.
Is a different species of human living in the forests of Southeast Asia today?
If Mr. Chow and his associates are correct, there could be groups of an archaic human still living today. This is a startling idea to modern humans, as the last other type of human, the Neanderthals, is thought to have died out some 29,000 years ago. If we did live side by side with the Neanderthals, it is believed that our contact with them was rare, and that the overlapping periods were very short. We aren’t sure why this close cousin went extinct, but we modern humans firmly believe that we are the only species of human alive today.
But with the discovery of the tiny H. florensensis, this attitude has been challenged. Our small cousins lived on the islands of Indonesia while we were there, perhaps scavenging from our gardens or middens and hiding from the tall cousin with the more advanced tools. We know these small humans were hunters, and they were believed to have hunted the large Komodo dragons and similar lizards along with a species of now-extinct elephant and other fairly large mammals. But how similar were they to us, and how similar would a surviving H. erectus be?
To answer this, let’s look at another ape, the chimpanzee. These animals live in the forests of equatorial Africa, where they have existed alongside humans for millennia. Even though our last common ancestor with the chimpanzee is believed to have lived some seven million years ago, recent DNA tests have shown that we share a surprising 96 to 98 percent of our genes with this distant relative. In fact, because we are so alike, when scientists first classified the chimpanzee in 1775, they were originally placed with us under the genus Homo. But because of controversy over placing what was considered a mere animal in the same group as man, the chimpanzee was reclassified sometime around 1816 into its own genus, Pan. If we share so much with an ape not in our direct ancestry, how close would Homo erectus be?
The implications of finding a living but more primitive human in the forests of Southeast Asia are staggering. Would these creatures be considered humans, or animals? Would we feel obligated to extend protection to them if they were found to be extremely closely related to us? Indeed, many indigenous peoples around the world thought of these mysterious forest roamers as another type of people, and the names given to them mean simply, “forest people.� Finding a close cousin of ours living in what we consider our own back yards would force us to redefine who and what human beings are.
Resources:
“Closer to Man than Ape�, Ian Sample, science correspondent The Guardian Tuesday, January 24, 2006
“From the Teeth of the Dragon: Gigantopithecus Blacki�, by Eric Pettifor
“The Malaysian Bigfoot Enigma� by the Asia Paranormal Society, 1st released on 6th February 2006, Last Updated on 23rd April 2006
To visit the homepage of the API, please follow this link : http://www.api.sg/
This article was written by FyreSpirit.© Thothweb – http://www.thothweb.com
All images copyright © by their respective photographers. This article is copyrighted. No part of this article can be reproduced without the written permission of ThothWeb.
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