As a point of policy, most U. S. museums no longer have exhibits that include Native American human remains. The only time that this skull from Morhiss may have been on display was in the exhibit that the WPA lab arranged while the excavations were underway.
You asked about relevant information; I can only cite the early observations, as there are no new studies on that particular skull.
Physical anthropologist Marcus S. Goldstein says in his manuscript, "A couple of unusual crania were unearthed at Morhiss Mound in Victoria County. One of these, although much mended and its base quite warped, is nevertheless obviously a skull of extraordinary size, in many respects larger than any yet reported. The bones of this individual do not indicate excessive stature, but they are remarkably robust and plainly point to a very muscular man. The possibility of abnormality, perhaps an endocrine disturbance, arose immediately, but the largeness of the skull seems to be symmetrical, the hand bones do not show the 'knobbing' typical of acromegaly, and stature was evidently in no wise unusual. Moreover, other crania from the same site approximate the skull in question. Hence, it is my opinion that this exceptionally large skull was not the result of endocrine pathology."
I hope this provides sufficient information.Carolyn
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Carolyn Spock
Head of Records
Texas Archeological Research Laboratory
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station, R7500
Austin TX 78712-0714
512.471.6006 voice 512.471.5973 fax
www.utexas.edu/research/tarl
www.texasbeyondhistory.net/
| From: Carolyn Spock [mailto:c.spock@mail.utexas.edu] Sent: 10. February 2010 08:14 To: Terje Dahl Regarding: Re: Giant human skull It would appear that the post-cranial material wasn't out of the ordinary, though definitely robust. No extra digits were noted in Duffen's field form for the burial, though he does say that the "skull seems large" and that he "looks like a large individual to begin with." Goldstein mentions the lack of "knobbing" in the hand bones in his description; I'm sure extra fingers would have been noted. The unusual can certainly be blown out of proportion; the last paragraph in the newspaper article stating that finds "in Texas are beginning to give weight to the theory that man lived in Texas 40,000 to 45,000 years ago" is fantastical even today. Carolyn |
Have you ever heard of the Si-Te-Cah? They were said to be the ancient enemies of the Paiute. Some of the stories said the Si-Te-Cah were red-haired giants. Charles Fort or Ivan Sanderson had some stories about giant skulls with double dentition found in Utah around Pyramid Lake if I remember the stories correctly.