Giant by name and giant by nature

We often look back and think of the ancient structures at Stonehenge (3000 BC to 2000 BC) and wonder about the people who made this impressive spot. We are blown away by their inventiveness, just how did they move those large stones (7.3 metres tall and weighing as much as two tons), and wonder why they did it.  We know the stones were mined quite far away and had to be transported long distances so no wonder we are impressed.  

But almost 6000 years earlier than Stonehenge, Gobekli Tepe in South Eastern Anatolia (Turkey) is a Neolithic archaeological site with 17 pillars inscribed with herds of gazelle and other figures of wild animals. This site makes Stonehenge fairly modern by comparison. This is one of the world’s oldest permanent human settlements and is linked to that interesting period when humanity first transitioned from being hunters and gatherers to having an agricultural lifestyle.  Whereas Stonehenge was probably originally designed as a cemetery, Gobekli Tepe is thought to have originated as the world’s first temple and was quite sophisticated, with grinding stones and mortar and pestles etc. Dating from 9500 to 8000 BCE this is certainly an impressive place.

Amidst all the ancient history of such places, there are also stories that seemed to have survived over the millennia in many parts of the world.  Giants in various shapes and sizes have long been the stuff of legend.  Americans dug up skeletons of giants all over their continent in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and their heights were said to range from 7ft to 20 ft tall.   When these were debunked in 1934 by a leading scientist in the Smithsonian Institution (dinosaur bones were included in these finds), many fanatics convinced of their “truth” turned on this institution. Indeed, Smithsonian archaeologists were accused of destroying giant bones in order to cover up their existence.  

Just in case you thought this confusion was a result of early ignorance of scientific investigation this particular story was revived as recently as 2014. An internet story began circulating that claimed the Smithsonian Institution had custody of giant skeletons but they destroyed "thousands of giant skeletons" in the early 20th century.  Reuters and the Associated Press were this time able to expose the falsity of this.  It is depressing that nonsense reappears like a bad smell again and again.  Do we really have to waste valuable research time and money having to dispel crazy myths over and over again?  You think of education as a progressive process always advancing and illuminating humanity but it appears that miseducation is even more prevalent these days!  Will education deteriorate until it simply consists of just removing erroneous information gleaned? 

Two of my three sons shared a bedroom and my youngest son had his head filled with everything his older brother could think to tell him. For instance, that the universe was formed by a monkey and a vending machine in one long complicated tale that his brother retold so many times my youngest knew it by heart.  I feared my youngest son’s first few years of schooling would just entail unlearning all that his mischievous brother had instilled.  Back to the giant legend and to both ancient discoveries and old manuscripts.

Chinese ancient manuscripts speak of legendary figures of great height with deep-set blue or green eyes, long noses with full beards and red or blond hair.  Strangely much later, Pliny the Elder (23-79AD) mentioned a report from a Ceylonese ambassador to the Roman Emperor Claudius of a people in north-west China who exceeded the normal height, had flaxen hair with blue eyes and who made an uncouth sort of noise when talking.  It all sounds like nonsense but then the Tarim Mummies were discovered and these tall red-haired, Caucasian-looking people were found with felt and woven clothing and seemed very tall. They are called Tarim because that is the region in present-day Xinjiang, China (surprise, surprise - North West China!) where they were found.  They existed in this region from 1800 BC to the first centuries BC and are believed to descend from Indo-European language speakers who migrated into the Russian steppes around 3300 BC (no wonder their language was foreign sounding to those in China). 

One such mummy, known as the Cherchen Man, was an adult male who is believed to have died around 1000 BC and was aged around fifty years at the time of his death. He was tall and his hair was "reddish brown flecked with grey, framing high cheekbones", he had an aquiline "long nose, full lips and a ginger beard", and was wearing "a red twill tunic" and leggings with a pattern resembling tartan. 

Obviously, news of this group had travelled far and wide hence the ancient Chinese and Pliny references.  Height variation is not new, after all, ancient hunter gathers had an average height of 5 ft 9 inches but when an agricultural lifestyle was adopted the average height of a man had fallen to just 5 ft 3 inches by 3000 BC.  In comparison to those average heights, these guys must have seemed like giants!

Our species has been on the move over the millennium and with the aid of modern science we have a better notion of how and when that took place.  It is fascinating to see this movement on a map.

Looking at this movement over the millennium it is no wonder the human race is of many hues, sizes and dimensions. We know that pygmy tribes have an average height of 4 ft 11 inches and we accept that this variation is found in tribes.  So perhaps there were tribes of tall people too? After all exceptionally tall people turn up in unexpected places. Here are a few captured on camera. 

Battista (or Baptiste) Hugo and Antoine Hugo were born 11 years apart in the late 1880s. The brothers were born in Vinadio, a village in the Italian mountains. Baptiste reached a height of 7ft 6.5 inches. Antoine was somewhat smaller at just under 7 ft 5ins.

The Imperial Durbar in Delhi in January 1903 was designed to celebrate the ascension of Edward VI and Alexandra of Denmark as the Emperor and Empress of India. In attendance at the Durbar, were the Rulers from all the big and small states that made up India.  The Maharaja of Kashmir brought along his giant bodyguards who literally stood heads and shoulders above everyone there.  They were twin brothers of which the taller one was 7 ft 9 inches and the shorter one 7 ft 4 ins tall. Called the Giants of Kashmir they were in service of the Maharaja as elite riflemen and his personal bodyguards.

Martine Van Buren Bates (1837-1919), called the Kentucky giant, was 7 ft 9 inches tall and he is photographed below with his wife who was even taller at 7 ft 11 inches.  

Mind you being this tall could bring its own problems.  Martin was one of the few of this height who survived into his 80s.  Health problems can arise due to extreme height and vice versa, health problems can cause extreme height.  There is a disease that triggers excessive growth due to a tumour on the pituitary gland. Gigantism is a very rare condition that happens when a child or adolescent has high levels of growth hormone (GH) in their body, which causes them to grow very tall. Many children with gigantism (29%) have a genetic mutation that causes the pituitary tumour to form. Given this is inherited, nowadays genetic screening of patients with GH excess is recommended to avoid the excessive growth associated with this condition.  In contrast, nowadays to treat short stature, growth hormone can be supplied to children to trigger growth.  It is horrifying to discover that in the 1950s and 60s estrogen treatment was given to some girls to stunt their natural growth.  It was thought if they were tall it would impact their future ability to marry!  

The evidence is clear not only do giants exist now but they have also existed in the past. Here is a table of giants and I have only selected those over 7 ft 5 inches and got no further than India in the alphabet of countries so apologies to those I have left out. Note too, how many died at quite a young age.  Being tall is obviously a challenge to our physical systems.

The next question is, could there have been tribes of giants?  Well, given the genetic components both in terms of simple inherited height and also gigantism it is conceivable that an isolated tribal community could have boosted their height considerably relative to others.  The average height of a man from Netherlands is 6 ft, among the tallest in the world, and their diet which is rich in milk and meat seems to have helped.  The Trapp family in Esko, Minnesota, USA, consisting of mum Krissy (6 ft 3 inches), dad Scott (6 ft 8 inches), children Savanna (6 ft 8 inches), Molly (6 ft 6 ins), and Adam (6 ft 8 inches) demonstrate that clearly having tall parents helps boost height 

Imagine, if instead of having three children the Trapp family had 12.  After all, when I go back to my own family two generations on both sides 12 was a fairly common family size.  Then, suddenly the idea of a tribe of giants seems not just a possibility but a distinct probability.

Interestingly I read this study, which has relevance to where I am from, Northern Ireland.

“An international team of scientists led by Prof. Márta Korbonits from Queen Mary University, London, reported key findings regarding pituitary tumours of genetic origin. The study, published in the journal Human Mutation and covered by the BBC and The Times, identified an increased number of patients with acromegaly and gigantism in the Mid Ulster region of Ireland and demonstrates how a change in the gene called AIP was inherited from one single person, the "common ancestor", who lived approximately 2,500 years ago….These findings may explain the known historical accounts of Irish giants originating from the area and, in a way, justifies the numerous local legends involving giants.”

I am not at all sure I agree with that last statement. After all, giants have been mentioned in cultures all over the world so did they all suffer from this disease?  Before modern medicine, gigantism meant you died fairly young so I am not sure that is an evolutionary gain. I don’t want to make a big thing out of this but the tall the short of it is, physical size is just one aspect of being human.  By far the biggest is the person you are inside and the quality of that will determine your own legend and legacy.  Those we remember throughout history were rarely the tallest but they contributed massively to our civilisation.

A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men.

Plato

Maximinus Thrax- Giant in stature and gigantically flawed

The emperor of Rome, in the third century, Severus was returning from an eastern expedition, to celebrate with extensive military games, the birthday of his younger son Geta. The whole country gathered in crowds to watch their emperor and enjoy the spectacle. A young barbarian of enormous stature asked earnestly, in his crude dialect, to be allowed to contend in the wrestling match. As it would have offended the Roman soldiers for this crude barbarian to be successful,  in such a public match, only the toughest and stoutest followers of the camp were sent forward to wrestle with the cheeky barbarian. 

The barbarian wrestled successfully with 16 of the Roman soldiers, one after the other, laying each on the ground. His rewards were some small gifts and also he was permitted to enlist in the emperor’s troops.  The next day, the triumphant barbarian was seen dancing and exulting riotously amid the crowd of new recruits. By such unusual behaviour, he managed to attract the emperor’s notice. Immediately, he ran up to the emperor’s horse and proceeded to run alongside him as the Emperor rode at some pace.

At the end of this horse run, Emperor Severus, thinking the barbarian to be exhausted, cleverly suggested another wrestling match. The barbarian proceeded to overthrow seven of the strongest soldiers in the army. The barbarian, whose name was Maximin, won another prize of a gold collar and was promoted to serve in the house guards whose job it was to protect the sovereign.  The barbarian was descended from his father a Goth  (East Germanic people) and his mother of the nation of the Alini  (Iranian nomadic people). He was subsequently seen to show on every occasion a valour comparable to his enormous strength and a tremendous almost animal-like fierceness. He rose to the rank of centurion and was esteemed by Severus and his son. The fourth Legion, to which Maximin was appointed Tribune, soon became the best disciplined of the whole army. The soldiers applauded their impressive commander and would call him Ajax or Hercules and he was quickly promoted to even higher military command.

Maximinus was, according to all accounts, the biggest man ever to hold the office of Roman emperor.  The History Augusta claims he was 8 foot 6 ins tall and was renown for pulling laden carts single handed. His coins depict a man with a massive head and thick brow and huge, thick nose. Added to this were cold, narrowed eyes and the close-cropped hair of a professional soldier.

Such quick promotion inflamed the barbarian’s growing ambition. Although without much wisdom, he had a selfish cunning nature and years later realised that the new Emperor no longer had the affection of the army and he engineered their growing discontent for his own advantage. Eventually, he put to death the young leader and proclaimed himself emperor. He had a savage appearance and was completely ignorant of arts and had a great fear of the contempt of others. He could remember times waiting at the doors of proud nobles and not even been allowed admittance by their slaves. Those who remembered his previous obscurity were often put to death, even those who had been his benefactors. His baseness and ingratitude knew no limit.   Even without witnesses or without a trial, senators could be put to death and in one case along with 4000 others. On even the smallest accusation a Roman noble could be slaughtered, endure torture and be beaten to death with clubs. Anxious to amass wealth he stripped the temples of their most valuable ornaments of gold and silver and had statues melted down and made into money.

How his wife Caecilia Paulina died is a mystery; contemporary gossip claimed that Maximinus had cut her to pieces in a fit of rage.  It has been suggested that he probably suffered from a form of acromegaly. Of “frightening appearance and colossal size,” he displayed a prominent forehead, large nose, and lantern jaw, typical symptoms of pituitary gland overproduction of growth hormones. Maximinus seems to share some of those characteristics typical of this complaint.

Acromegaly is typically due to the pituitary gland producing too much growth hormone. In more than 95% of cases the excess production is due to a benign tumour.  There are a few famous modern cases of sufferers from this disease like Andre the Giant.  

In fact, as if to back up this premise recently the first complete ancient skeleton of a person with gigantism has been discovered near Rome (as reported in National Geographic), study in Nov 10, 2012 found dating from the same time period as Maximinus.

"At 6 feet, 8 inches tall, the man would have been a giant in third-century A.D. Rome, where men averaged about 5 and a half feet tall. Finding such skeletons is unique, because gigantism itself is extremely rare, today affecting about three people in a million worldwide. The condition begins in childhood, when a malfunctioning pituitary gland causes abnormal growth.

To find out if the skeleton had gigantism, the team examined the bones and found evidence of skull damage consistent with a pituitary tumour, which disrupts the pituitary gland, causing it to overproduce human growth hormone. His early demise—likely between 16 and 20—might also point to gigantism, which is associated with cardiovascular disease and respiratory problems."  

In fact, the life expectancy of a patient, even today, with untreated acromegaly is 50 years. This is because the condition causes cardiomyopathy and ventricular arrhythmia. Just in case you think Maximinus’s height is impossible there are a few more recent examples worth checking out.  The photos are pretty incredible.

Coyne was born in 1897 in Iowa, USA. His 1918 World War I draft card listed his height as 8 feet. His Guinness book of records entry states that he was refused entry to the war due to his height. At the time of his death it was possible that he had reached the height of 8 foot 4 inches.

Edouard Beaupré, born in 1881, was a circus sideshow freak, a strong man, and a star in Barnum and Baileys. He was the eldest of 20 children and was born in Canada. While he was of normal height during his first few years of life, by the age of nine he was 6 feet tall. His death certificate showed him as being 8’3″ and still growing. As a strongman, his feature stunt was crouching down and lifting a horse to his shoulders. He reportedly lifted horses as heavy as 900 pounds.

Leonid Stadnyk (8 feet 5 inches) was born in 1971 in the Ukraine. He is a registered veterinary surgeon and lives with his mother. He is currently the world’s tallest human according to the Guinness Book of Records.

Johan was born in America the year that his mother moved there from Norway. Interestingly his mother was also a giant, at 7’2″. According to his death certificate from Mendocino State Hospital, at the time of death he was 9’2″ – if this is true then he is the tallest recorded human – beating Robert Wadlow below, by 3 inches. He is buried in Montana.

Robert Wadlow was (8′ 11.1″) and was often referred to as the Alton giant because he came from Alton, Illinois. At the time of his death he weighed 440 pounds and showed no signs of stopping growing. He was born in 1918, the oldest of five children. He died at the age of 22 from an infection caused by a blister on his ankle, which he got while making a professional appearance at the National Forest Festival.

Interestingly, so many of the above giants are referred to as gentle characters.  It seems Maximinus shared their height but not their placid natures. What a terrifying spectacle he must have made in the third century!