Giants in Scripture
In the Pearl of Great Price we read about giants in days of Enoch, Moses 7:15, and giants in days of Noah, Moses 8:18.
Also in the LDS Bible Dictionary we read the following about giants. “Unusually large, tall persons, apparently having great physical strength. They are mentioned both before the Flood (Gen. 6:4; Moses 8:18) and after (Num. 13:33; Deut. 2:10–11, 20; 3:11–13; 9:2; Josh. 15:8; 18:16). Raphah of Gath was said to be the father of several giants of whom Goliath was one (1 Sam. 17:4–7; 2 Sam. 21:16–22; 1 Chr. 20:6). A 12-fingered, 12-toed giant is also mentioned as one of the sons. The giants in Palestine were also known as Anakims, Emims, and Zamzummims.”
We also know the story of the strength of Samson. In the Bible Dictionary it says, “Samson, Of the sun. Son of Manoah, and the twelfth of the “judges” of Israel (Judg. 13:24–16:30). He seems to have been a man notorious for his great physical strength but weak in intellectual and moral character.
Goliath’s Height
The oldest manuscripts, namely the Dead Sea Scrolls text of Samuel from the late 1st century BCE, the 1st-century CE historian Josephus, and the major Septuagint manuscripts, all give it as “four cubits and a span” (6 feet 9 inches or 2.06 metres), whereas the Masoretic Text has “six cubits and a span” (9 feet 9 inches or 2.97 metres). Many scholars have suggested that the smaller number grew in the course of transmission (only a few have suggested the reverse, that an original larger number was reduced), possibly when a scribe’s eye was drawn to the number six in line 17:7.
Enjoy my Favorite One-Minute Video about David and Goliath
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The Princess of Aztalan, Wisconsin Princess Mound
The skeleton of the princess or prince [Picture Left] , when found had no head. We suspect that the head belonged to a male that was not part of the original body. It would seem that the Prehistoric city of Aztalan may be very similar to the one in Illinois. where over 40,000 people lived harmoniously within six square miles.
Although we don’t know much about Aztalan, we can judge by the funeral attire of a priest king of the Illinois Ruins , that these appear to be the same people , carrying on the same traditions.
The Illinois metropolis existed in the American Bottoms between present-day East St. Louis and Collinsville. The people inhabited 120 sites, planted crops, and traded with tribes as far away as Mexico. *Note Mexican Shells found on the Aztalan Princess/Priest King (?).”One of the biggest mysteries of Aztalan is what they did with their dead. No cemetery has been found as yet, and the burials found thus far are too few to accurately generalize as to their burial methods”.
The Princess was very carefully wrapped for burial. She was wrapped in three belts of decorated shell beads numbering over 3 thousand. As you can see, the beads were carefully wrapped around the body: one about the shoulders, one around the waist and the third went twice around the lower part of the legs and ankles. Each belt was four feet long and six inches wide. A few of these shells came from as far away as the Gulf of Mexico. The condition of her spinal column indicates that she had been slightly deformed.
Because of this abnormality, she may have been looked upon with reverence as
the case with other tribes. (Ritzenthaler, Prehistoric Indians of Wisconsin ) Note: There is a great deal of controversy concerning the Princess today. Native Americans have demonstrated at the Milwaukee Public Museum demanding that her remains be returned to Aztalan for reburial. What is your opinion concerning this? (J. Neefe,writer)
Giant Skeletons of Mound Builders
“In recent years, research by Jim Vieira and others into historical claims of giant human skeletons has reinvigorated the interest (and controversy) in a topic that is widely discounted as pseudoscience.
My interest in the subject began where it has for many – with the mention of giants in the ancient texts commonly referred to as the book of Genesis. It is easy to disregard these antediluvian tales of an extraordinary race of giants produced through the coupling of celestial beings with human females. When these stories were first told, humanity was still huddling in dark caves and making offerings to the various gods and spirits who governed their fates.
However, stories of giants are not exclusive to archaic origin stories fabricated by ancient cultures to make sense of a world without scientific understanding.
It seems that around the turn of the century, human skeletons measuring unnatural heights were being unearthed all over America, often from the burial mounds of an unknown people we call Effigy Mound Builders.
If the media of the time is to be believed, Wisconsin has yielded several unique and significant clues to the giant skeleton mystery. This may be due to the numerous animal effigy mounds all across the state, as well as a large population of Middle Mississippian mound builders who flourished in the area for four hundred years before they vanished.
Aztalan: Wisconsin City of the Mound Builders
Photo: Joshua Mayer/Creative Commons
The remnants of a city built around a large central mound was discovered near Madison in 1835. The city, known as Aztalan, is believed to have flourished from 900-1300, possibly serving as a northern outpost for the much larger city of Cahokia in present-day Illinois.
Most of the Aztalan mounds were destroyed in the late 1800s, whatever relics to be found taken by treasure hunters. One disturbed mound was found to contain the remains of a young female now called the Princess of Aztalan. She was found to have a slight deformation in her spinal column, which may have caused her to be more highly regarded. She was wrapped in belts of seashells, some coming from as far away as the Gulf of Mexico.
Though she was of average height, the princess is one of only a few burials discovered in the area, which include a headless male and five cremated remains. There are rumors of a giant skeleton unearthed in the area, but I haven’t found any reports to corroborate it.
Though not a giant, the Aztalan Princess is unique amongst Wisconsin mound burials.
In 1891, the New York Times reported that Smithsonian scientists excavating the Aztalan site had discovered three pyramid-shaped mounds in nearby Rock Lake, which are believed to have been built by the inhabitants of Aztalan.
Maple Creek Giant
A New York Times article published December 20, 1897 reported the discovery of a giant human skeleton in the largest of three recently discovered mounds in Maple Creek, WI. The article states the skeleton measure over nine feet from head to foot and the skull was “as large as a half bushel measure.” Tempered copper rods and other relics were found with the bones.
The two remaining mounds were going to be “excavated soon.” What was found in them, and where is the giant now?
18 Skeletons Found Near Lake Delavan
The May 4th, 1912 edition of the New York Times reported what might be one of the strangest giant skeleton discoveries of all. An excavation of one large mound on Lake Fawn Farm near Lake Delavan revealed the skeletal remains of eighteen individuals measuring between 7.6 and 10 feet. The “heretofore unknown race of men” were found to have six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, as well as double rows of teeth in their large, elongated skulls.
“From directly over the eye sockets,” the article states, “the head slopes straight back and the nasal bones protrude far above the cheek bones. The jaw bones are long and pointed, bearing a minute resemblance to the head of the monkey. The teeth in the front of the jaw are regular molars.”
It goes on to say that other remains, presumably of women, were found with smaller heads but similar characteristics. The remains were found embedded in charcoal and covered with layers of baked clay to shed water from the sepulchre.
A Large and Mighty Man-
And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord—Jared, his brother, said unto him: “Cry unto the Lord, that He will not confound us, that we may not understand our words.” Ether 1:34
Page 460 Annotated Book of Mormon
“In the 1800s, many discoveries of very large skeletal remains were found in burial mounds of North America. The skeletons were described as reaching upwards of seven to eight feet in length, with a lower frequency of discoveries spanning up to nine feet in length, all having very large skulls and gigantic lower jawbones. Historians often detailed these remains in early local records, such as the following from Cass County, Michigan:
“It was a mound about thirteen feet high….the diameter of its base was about fifty feet Portions of the skeletons were in a good state of preservation. The femur, or thigh bone, of one of the males, which Dr. Bonine has now in his possession, is of great size and indicates that its owner must have been at least seven feet in height” – Alfred Matthews, History of Cass County, Michigan [1882].
Another account from Chillicothe, Ohio stated: “A recent exploration of a mound near this place resulted in some interesting discoveries…The [skeleton] form was large, the jaws massive, and the teeth perfect.”
In the 1880s, the Eastern Mound Division of the Smithsonian discovered a number of gigantic skeletons in their wanton destruction of North American tumuli. The 12th Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology documents numerous gigantic skeletons found by Smithsonian agents:
“Near the original surface [of the mound]… lying at full length upon its back, was one of the largest skeletons discovered by the Bureau agents, the length as proved by actual measurement being between 7 and 8 feet….In the center [of mound 11], 3 feet below the surface, was a vault 8 feet long and 3 feet wide. In the bottom of this…lay a skeleton fully 7 feet long…The length from the base of the skull to the bones of the toes was found to be 7 feet 3 inches. It is probable, therefore, that this individual when living was 7.5 feet high.”
Annotated Book of Mormon page 460 (American Antiquarian, Vol. 2 No. 1 [1879]). (*See Editorial comment on p. 37, Annotated Book of Mormon, lower left panel, regarding interpreting artifacts.)
Lizard Mound Skeleton in West Bend
While researching his book Washington County Paranormal, author J. Nathan Couch uncovered an account of a giant skeleton discovered right here in our backyard.
I was fascinated by Lizard Mound County Park, just outside of West Bend, WI, ever since my first visit when I was very young. At the time, an installation constructed by the Milwaukee Public Museum provided a window into one mound, showing the bones and artifacts as they were originally buried.
Though those bones were of normal size, larger bones were accidentally unearthed by farmers in another nearby mound. Read the account of that find: Giant Skeleton Unearthed by Wisconsin Farmers in 1912
Giant Indian Bones Found Near Fond Du Lac
This snippet of a newspaper so far is the only thing I have found on the topic of a giant skeleton being found near Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.” Source
Effigy Mounds
Only a small percentage of the earthworks built by the Adena, Hopewell, and Fort Ancient cultures are effigy mounds, or earthworks in the shape of animals and birds. Their rarity does not decrease the skill with which they were made. Their precise function, though assumed to be generally ceremonial, is still unknown, though few effigy mounds served as burial grounds. They are often low, rarely more than six feet high but can reach extraordinary lengths. Felines, birds, deer, turtles, and bears are only a small sampling of the animals shaped with earth. Like their geometric counterparts, many of them fell victim to modern urban expansion, but, fortunately, their recognizable shapes often captivated European settlers and several stunning effigy mounds still remain.
Effigy mounds, like geometrical mounds, are not exclusive to the Ohio River Valley. Cultures such as those in northern Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota, though comparatively poorly-known, left equally impressive effigy mounds, of which many more survive than their Ohio River Valley counterparts. For the sake of cultural comparison, several of these are included for reference on this page and also on the Map of Mounds in the Ohio River Valley.
This video above, courtesy of CERHAS, discusses effigy mounds within and outside of the Ohio River Valley.
Alligator Mound in Ohio
This video above, courtesy of CERHAS, discusses the history of Alligator Mound.
Alligator Mound was probably given its name via a mistranslation by early European settlers, who mistook the Underwater Panther, a supernatural creature which lived in bodies of water, for an alligator. One of only a select number of effigy mounds within the Ohio River Valley, it still survives today, although its form is hard to detect without an aerial view.
This is the ‘elephant-shaped’ effigy mound which inspired so much fervor among academics and popular writers alike. Many archaeologists today believe that the mound began as an oval shape which was later given extensions, creating an image which, quite unintentionally, vaguely echoes that of an elephant.
