Tomb of "Giants" Unearthed in Peru
Jennifer Mapes
National Geographic News
(February 15, 2001)
Archaeologists have unearthed a series of tombs rich with treasures of an extinct Peruvian culture. The 1,500-year-old graves held five unusually tall young men surrounded by textiles, ceramics, llama skeletons, and decorative metal works.
The remains are Moche, a culture that thrived on the desert-like coast of northern Peru between A.D. 100 and 800. A farming and fishing community, they constructed irrigation canals, pyramids, palaces, and temples.
The origins of the Moche remain unknown, according to lead archaeologist Christopher Donnan. The skeletons, found during a 1997-99 National Geographic-funded expedition, may yield clues to their culture.
Archaeologist Christopher Donnan examines a male skeleton at the Peru burial site. The skeleton showed abnormalities that may indicate that the man suffered from a disease similar to Marfan syndrome, a genetic bone disorder. Photograph by Kenneth Garrett/NGS
But the discovery also yields more questions: Why were the people found so tall? What caused their early demise?
Donnan's colleague Alana Cordy-Collins, who helped excavate the site, suggests that the skeletons exhibit symptoms of Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder of connective tissue.
That each skeleton has thin, elongated bones is no coincidence, said Cordy-Collins: "We're convinced that it's a genetic anomaly."
Marfan: Now a 'Medical Success'
People with Marfan syndrome tend to be taller than unaffected family members. "Their arms and legs are disproportionately long," explained Eileen Masciale of the National Marfan Foundation.
While Moche males averaged 4' 10'' to 5' 6'' (147 to 168 centimeters) , the men found in the tombs measured a towering 5' 9'' to 6' (175 to 182 centimeters.
The skeletal abnormalities associated with Marfan syndrome also produce longer fingers and an indented chest bone, characteristics found on the Peruvian skeletons.
The skeletal symptoms of Marfan may help identify people with the disease, but "The life threatening part of [Marfan] is how it affects their cardiovascular system," said Masciale. The syndrome often causes potentially fatal aortic complications that Masciale said can cause premature deaths in Marfan patients.
"Even in the 1940s they couldn't do anything about it," she said, causing life expectancies for those with Marfan to be lower than normal in the past. In the last several decades, however, advances in medical technology have brought new hope to Marfan patients and their families. For the Moche, however, Marfan syndrome seems to have been a deadly disease. "None of the men was over 22," said Cordy-Collins. Their contemporaries often lived to 50, she said.
"[Marfan] is one of the great medical success stories," said Masciale. Diagnosed Marfan sufferers can now expect to live into their 70s, she said. "They don't need to suffer the same fate as these ancient people."
Diagnosing People of the Past
The Moche discoveries join Abraham Lincoln and an Egyptian king on the list of historical figures suspected of having Marfan syndrome.
Akhenaton ruled Egypt in the 14th century B.C. Depictions of the king show a man with physical symptoms of Marfan—an elongated face, limbs, and wide hips.
Lincoln, known for his tall stature, is also thought to have had the disease. DNA testing may be useful in diagnosing the disease in Lincoln, said Masciale, but researchers worry about destroying the president's remains by testing.
Cordy-Collins has sent photographs of the skeletons to scientists around the world, hoping to gain a final diagnosis of her discoveries. Although she's received responses to her inquiries, scientists have yet to name Marfan as the definitive cause of the abnormalities. "What would really clinch it," said Cordy-Collins,"is if we could get the ancient DNA." Unfortunately, finding intact DNA in the skeletons is a guessing game, she said. "The technology is not quite there yet."
On one hand, the belief that others discovered North America before Columbus (such as Phoenician, Egyptian, Hebraic, Greek, Roman, Celt, Scandinavian, or even Asian mariners) was explored. On the other hand, the idea of the continent having been isolated from outside influences was put on the table. It was perhaps because of Powell's deference to the native kinship that the latter idea-i.e., screening out any extra-continental visitors-was adopted.
Armed with a self-created doctrine powered by ample funding, and with a little help later from the one-way door to the Smithsonian's inaccessible catacombs, the years that followed saw Powell and his underling nearly succeed in the obliteration of the last notions of the legendary, mysterious, and antique class of mound building people, and for that matter, any people that didn't fit into the mold of his theory. Did Powell intentionally overlook some of the archaeology so as to focus on his own special agenda?........Powell and his associates at the Bureau were quite certain that people had arrived in the Americas only sometime after the first Egyptian dynasty-less than 4500 years ago!............
Something very strange and profound going on here, but I'm not sure exactly what. The following was published in 1993. Maybe it has been fully disclosed by now (?), but seemed to be hushed up at the time.
"..............The following is an intriguing article entitled "Archeological Coverups", by David Hatcher Childress in the above NEXUS magazine. Following that is a newspaper article from a 1909 newspaper indicating a bizarre suppressed find in the Grand Canyon area. It indicates either a hoax published at the time OR that the Smithsonian and/or the government is covering up details of past archeological discoveries that would rock current understanding of the past......
Is the Smithsonian Institution covering up an archaeological discovery of immense importance? If this story is true it would radically change the current view that there was no transoceanic contact in pre-Columbian times, and that all American Indians, on both continents, are descended from Ice Age explorers who came across the Bering Strait......
Is the idea that ancient Egyptians came to the Arizona area in the ancient past so objectionable and preposterous that it must be covered up? Perhaps the Smithsonian Institution is more interested in maintaining the status quo than rocking the boat with astonishing new discoveries that overturn previously accepted academic teachings.
Historian and linguist Carl Hart, editor of WORLD EXPLORER, then obtained a hiker's map of the Grand Canyon from a bookstore in Chicago. Poring over the map, we were amazed to see that much of the area on the north side of the canyon has Egyptian names. The area around Ninety-four Mile Creek and Trinity Creek had areas (rock formations, apparently) with names like Tower of Set, Tower of Ra, Horus Temple, Osiris Temple, and Isis Temple. In the Haunted Canyon area were such names as the Cheops Pyramid, the Buddha Cloister, Buddha Temple, Manu Temple and Shiva Temple. Was there any relationship between these places and the alleged Egyptian discoveries in the Grand Canyon?
We called a state archaeologist at the Grand Canyon, and were told that the early explorers had just liked Egyptian and Hindu names, but that it was true that this area was off limits to hikers or other visitors, "because of dangerous caves."
Indeed, this entire area with the Egyptian and Hindu place names in the Grand Canyon is a forbidden zone - no one is allowed into this large area.
We could only conclude that this was the area where the vaults were located. Yet today, this area is curiously off-limits to all hikers and even, in large part, park personnel.
I believe that the discerning reader will see that if only a small part of the "Smithsoniangate" evidence is true, then our most hallowed archaeological institution has been actively involved in suppressing evidence for advanced American cultures, evidence for ancient voyages of various cultures to North America, evidence for anomalistic giants and other oddball artefacts, and evidence that tends to disprove the official dogma that is now the history of North America.
The Smithsonian's Board of Regents still refuses to open its meetings to the news media or the public. If Americans were ever allowed inside the 'nation's attic', as the Smithsonian has been called, what skeletons might they find?
-------------------------------------------------------------------- from the front page of THE PHOENIX GAZETTE of April 5th, 1909
EXPLORATIONS IN GRAND CANYON
Mysteries of Immense Rich Cavern being brought to light
Jordan is enthused
Remarkable finds indicate ancient people migrated from Orient
The latest news of the progress of the explorations of what is now regarded by scientists as not only the oldest archeological discovery in the United States, but one of the most valuable in the world, which was mentioned some time ago in the Gazette, was brought to the city yesterday by G.E. Kinkaid, the explorer who found the great underground citadel of the Grand Canyon during a trip from Green River, Wyoming, down the Colorado, in a wooden boat, to Yuma, several months ago.
According to the story related to the Gazette by Mr. Kinkaid, the archaelogists of the Smithsonian Institute, which is financing the expeditions, have made discoveries which almost conclusively prove that the race which inhabited this mysterious cavern, hewn in solid rock by human hands, was of oriental origin, possibly from Egypt, tracing back to Ramses. If their theories are borne out by the translation of the tablets engraved with heiroglyphics, the mystery of the prehistoric peoples of North America, their ancient arts, who they were and whence they came, will be solved. Egypt and the Nile, and Arizona and the Colorado will be linked by a historical chain running back to ages which staggers the wildest fancy of the fictionist.
A Thorough Examination
Under the direction of Prof. S. A. Jordan, the Smithsonian Institute is now prosecuting the most thorough explorations, which will be continued until the last link in the chain is forged. Nearly a mile underground, about 1480 feet below the surface, the long main passage has been delved into, to find another mammoth chamber from which radiates scores of passageways, like the spokes of a wheel.
Several hundred rooms have been discovered, reached by passageways running from the main passage, one of them having been explored for 854 feet and another 634 feet. The recent finds include articles which have never been known as native to this country, and doubtless they had their origin in the orient. War weapons, copper instruments, sharp-edged and hard as steel, indicate the high state of civilization reached by these strange people. So interested have the scientists become that preparations are being made to equip the camp for extensive studies, and the force will be increased to thirty or forty persons.
Mr. Kinkaid's Report
Mr. Kinkaid was the first white child born in Idaho and has been an explorer and hunter all his life, thirty years having been in the service of the Smithsonian Institute. Even briefly recounted, his history sounds fabulous, almost grotesque.
"First, I would impress that the cavern is nearly inaccessible. The entrance is 1,486 feet down the sheer canyon wall. It is located on government land and no visitor will be allowed there under penalty of trespass. The scientists wish to work unmolested, without fear of archeological discoveries being disturbed by curio or relic hunters.
A trip there would be fruitless, and the visitor would be sent on his way. The story of how I found the cavern has been related, but in a paragraph: I was journeying down the Colorado river in a boat, alone, looking for mineral. Some forty-two miles up the river from the El Tovar Crystal canyon, I saw on the east wall, stains in the sedimentary formation about 2,000 feet above the river bed. There was no trail to this point, but I finally reached it with great difficulty.
Above a shelf which hid it from view from the river, was the mouth of the cave. There are steps leading from this entrance some thirty yards to what was, at the time the cavern was inhabited, the level of the river. When I saw the chisel marks on the wall inside the entrance, I became interested, securing my gun and went in. During that trip I went back several hundred feet along the main passage till I came to the crypt in which I discovered the mummies. One of these I stood up and photographed by flashlight. I gathered a number of relics, which I carried down the Colorado to Yuma, from whence I shipped them to Washington with details of the discovery. Following this, the explorations were undertaken.
The Passages
"The main passageway is about 12 feet wide, narrowing to nine feet toward the farther end. About 57 feet from the entrance, the first side-passages branch off to the right and left, along which, on both sides, are a number of rooms about the size of ordinary living rooms of today, though some are 30 by 40 feet square. These are entered by oval-shaped doors and are ventilated by round air spaces through the walls into the passages. The walls are about three feet six inches in thickness.
The passages are chiseled or hewn as straight as could be laid out by an engineer. The ceilings of many of the rooms converge to a center. The side-passages near the entrance run at a sharp angle from the main hall, but toward the rear they gradually reach a right angle in direction.
The Shrine
"Over a hundred feet from the entrance is the cross-hall, several hundred feet long, in which are found the idol, or image, of the people's god, sitting cross-legged, with a lotus flower or lily in each hand. The cast of the face is oriental, and the carving this cavern. The idol almost resembles Buddha, though the scientists are not certain as to what religious worship it represents. Taking into consideration everything found thus far, it is possible that this worship most resembles the ancient people of Tibet.
Surrounding this idol are smaller images, some very beautiful in form; others crooked-necked and distorted shapes, symbolical, probably, of good and evil. There are two large cactus with protruding arms, one on each side of the dais on which the god squats. All this is carved out of hard rock resembling marble. In the opposite corner of this cross-hall were found tools of all descriptions, made of copper. These people undoubtedly knew the lost art of hardening this metal, which has been sought by chemicals for centureis without result. On a bench running around the workroom was some charcoal and other material probably used in the process. There is also slag and stuff similar to matte, showing that these ancients smelted ores, but so far no trace of where or how this was done has been discovered, nor the origin of the ore.
"Among the other finds are vases or urns and cups of copper and gold, made very artistic in design. The pottery work includes enameled ware and glazed vessels. Another passageway leads to granaries such as are found in the oriental temples. They contain seeds of varous kinds. One very large storehouse has not yet been entered, as it is twelve feet high and can be reached only from above. Two copper hooks extend on the edge, which indicates that some sort of ladder was attached. These granaries are rounded, as the materials of which they are constructed, I think, is a ver hard cement. A gray metal is also found in this cavern, which puzzles the scientists, for its identity has not been established. It resembles platinum. Strewn promiscuously over the floor everywhere are what people call "cats eyse', a yellow stone of no great value. Each one is engraved with the head of the Malay type.
The Hieroglyphics
"On all the urns, or walls over doorways , and tablets of stone which were found by the image are the mysterious hieroglyphics, the key to which the Smithsonian Institute hopes yet to discover. The engraving on the tables probably has something to do with the religion of the people. Similar hieroglyphics have been found in southern Arizona. Among the pictorial writings, only two animals are found. One is of prehistoric type.
The Crypt
"The tomb or crypt in which the mummies were found is one of the largest of the chambers, the walls slanting back at an angle of about 35 degrees. On these are tiers of mummies, each one occupying a separate hewn shelf. At the head of each is a small bench, on which is found copper cups and pieces of broken swords. Some of the mummies are covered with clay, and all are wrapped in a bark fabric.
The urns or cups on the lower tiers are crude, while as the higher shelves are reached, the urns are finer in design, showing a later stage of civilization. It is worthy of note that all the mummies examined so far have proved to be male, no children or females being buried here. This leads to the belief that this exterior section was the warriors' barracks.
"Among the discoveries no bones of animals have been found, no skins, no clothing, no bedding. Many of the rooms are bare but for water vessels. One room, about 40 by 700 feet, was probably the main dining hall, for cooking utensils are found here. What these people lived on is a problem, though it is presumed that they came south in the winter and farmed in the valleys, going back north in the summer.
Upwards of 50,000 people could have lived in the caverns comfortably. One theory is that the present Indian tribes found in Arizona are descendants of the serfs or slaves of the people which inhabited the cave. Undoubtedly a good many thousands of years before the Christian era, a people lived here which reached a high stage of civilization. The chronology of human history is full of gaps. Professor Jordan is much enthused over the discoveries and believes that the find will prove of incalculable value in archeological work.
"One thing I have not spoken of, may be of interest. There is one chamber of the passageway to which is not ventilated, and when we approached it a deadly, snaky smell struck us. Our light would not penetrate the gloom, and until stronger ones are available we will not know what the chamber contains. Some say snakes, but other boo-hoo this idea and think it may contain a deadly gas or chemicals used by the ancients. No sounds are heard, but it smells snaky just the same. The whole underground installation gives one of shaky nerves the creeps. The gloom is like a weight on one's shoulders, and our flashlights and candles only make the darkness blacker. Imagination can revel in conjectures and ungodly daydreams back through the ages that have elapsed till the mind reels dizzily in space."
An Indian Legend
In connection with this story, it is notable that among the Hopi Indians the tradition is told that their ancestors once lived in an underworld in the Grand Canyon till dissension arose between the good and the bad, the people of one heart and the people of two hearts. Machetto, who was their chief, counseled them to leave the underworld, but there was no way out. The chief then caused a tree to grow up and pierce the roof of the underworld, and then the people of one heart climbed out. They tarried by Paisisvai (Red River), which is the Colorado, and grew grain and corn.
They sent out a message to the Temple of the Sun, asking the blessing of peace, good will and rain for people of one heart. That messenger never returned, but today at the Hopi villages at sundown can be seen the old men of the tribe out on the housetops gazing toward the sun, looking for the messenger. When he returns, their lands and ancient dwelling place will be restored to them. That is the tradition.
Among the engravings of animals in the cave is seen the image of a heart over the spot where it is located. The legend was learned by W.E. Rollins, the artist, during a year spent with the Hopi Indians.
There are two theories of the origin of the Egyptians. One is that they came from Asia; another that the racial cradle was in the upper Nile region. Heeren, an Egyptologist, believed in the Indian origin of the Egyptians. The discoveries in the Grand Canyon may throw further light on human evolution and prehistoric ages. -------------------------------------------------------------------------
One has to remember that one of the Communist goals (now firmly entrenched) was getting control of the education establishment and the museums, for propaganda purposes. I'm sure LOTS of stuff ends up in the "black memory hole" with the Smithsonian - just look what they did to Nikola Tesla! [NIKOLA TESLA ERASED BY THE SMITHSONIAN http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a37dbcdbd4a8a.htm. Why? Comment #6....."Tesla was a genius. Alternating current, which powers our electrical grid, is his invention. He broadcast electrical power 25 miles WITHOUT WIRES to light a bulb. He invented radio; he turned the earth into a giant capacitor; he listened to radio signals from outerspace; he developed hundreds of electrical devices; he developed a flying vehicle powered by remote electrical signals (some say the UFO may be, in fact, a Tesla device of black-ops origin). There is no doubt of his genius.....His crime resulting in his ablation from public memory is this: He sought to produce FREE energy and to broadcast it universally without copper wires. In short, the capitalists had a stroke and he was "excommunicated." During WW2, his laboratory at Montauk was destroyed by the government; burned down and graded over (sound familiar?)....His genius was rewritten as Thomas Edison's story. Tom was a capitalist... liked copper, big business, and monopolies. End of story."] See the whole article here http://www.keelynet.com/unclass/canyon.txt
The Smithsonian's other purpose, I'm convinced is to seize and retain control of our nation's historical artifacts for the international banksters. Note a comment from another FR thread (Sen. Criticizes Smithsonian Exhibits http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a379f6f146866.htm). "I visited this museum Saturday morning before the FReeper rally. Of course, I spent all my time talking with a friend so I actually saw very little in detail. But what I noticed as we walked through was a series of disjointed, incohorent topical exhibits - no unifying themes, nothing on traditional American history, nothing that would give a visitor a grasp of the important influences in American history....On the other hand, if you like collections of gold coins, or fancy 19th century dresses, or a bunch of old printing presses, check it out. Sigh."
I went there a few months back, and saw that where they used to have a fine collection of 18th century and earlier artifacts, almost all of these things had disappeared in favor of more current trash that "joins us" as a disparate people. An early log settler's cabin was being dismantled to be replaced by what, Julia Child's kitchen? As soon as you walk in, there is a huge movie screen with a siren voice encapsulating our nation's history: starting with about 10-15 seconds of a full screen picture of our flag and noting that the national anthem was written during the Battle of 1812 - not a word about the first settlement at Jamestown, founding the country with a cross at Cape Henry in the name of Jesus Christ, nor a single word about the Revolutionary War - followed by WWII and our communist president FDR and his Conservation Corp. I couldn't watch any more after that. I also was told that the whole upstairs was being replaced. Guess what was upstairs? A whole floor of guns, hundreds and hundreds of them, from the size of about 1" to the size of a cannon. Too politically incorrect now, I'm sure.
The thread also shows the Smithsonian's anti-Christian bias, referring to what it deemed "invasive forms of Christianity" (i.e., Protestantism). I guess this is to be expected from an institution that has as its logo the symbol of the sun-worshipping Aztecs.
I wondered then, and still wonder where all these historical items and priceless works of art ended up. Something tells me they are not in the "black memory hole" of some of the other useless paraphenalia donated to the Smithsonian, but probably sitting in someone's private collection. I wonder if anyone has ever checked the inventory. Not that it probably matters much any more.
By the way, the Smithsonian also has 2 or 3 thousand private acres posing as a conservation and breeding area for endangered species, in Front Royal, VA. If you check our their website, you'll be looking straight at an advertisement for Agenda 21 and the Wildlands Project. Very strange, it has its own railroad tracks and old barracks and barns where they had Italian prisoners-of-wars working on horse-breeding projects (supposedly) during WWI (?). The Washington Times did a big feature on it a year or so ago (Smithsonian's Secret Sessions - Small Issue?). I can't find hide nor hair of it now. Wonder if they got their almost 1/2 BILLION dollars from US taxpayers.
Every now and again something slips out,like evidence the sphinx is 10,000 years old,radioactive battlefields in the India/Pakistan area,giant ancient relief scale maps in 3d made by advanced technology in the former soviet union,pictures of aircraft on temple walls we're only developing now e.g stealth....sheer logic determines what happens when Religions and Kings don't restrain us the advances of the last 100 years,now were doubling information every 2 years etc...the accepted 6000 years is hogwash
ps if a day for the Lord is as 1000 years,6000 years could be a very long time,who knows Noah might of been Atlantean,the archival flood tales and the probable event the breaching of the Gibraltar straights go back to time immemorial,records which were kept according to Greek and Roman scholars by the Egyptians and knowledge Moses who was taught the wisdom and ways of Egypt probably assimilated.
Did they build pyramids? Did they fly around those pyramids? Did they dispatch philosophers to Greece? Did they teach mathematics, philosophy and computer science to them there Greeks?
Why is it that none of those suppossed giant skeletons unearthed in the past several centuries survived to this day? Why is it that a picture or drawing was never made? Why is it that archaeologists aren't finding them anymore?
