The giant of Castelnau are bone fragments of one of the largest humans to ever exist. In 1890, In France, George Vacher De LaPouge discovered a humerus, tibia and Femoral mid shaft bones. From the bones, the human was estimated to be 11 feet 6 inches tall. The bones are said to date back to the neolithic period, or about 10000 -4500 BC.
Vacher De Lapouge was not your average Anthropologist. His legacy is more well known as he is often called the father of Anthroposocilogy, which is the study of race as establishing dominance over another race. Lapouge had a direct influence on Nazi racial ideologies. with this, many believed that he influenced their behavior that led to the Holocaust. Lapouge in 1887 had predicted that the 20th century would witness genocides.
To return to the Giant of Castelnau.
Vacher De Lapouge wrote in the French Scientific Journal, La Nature, the following:
De Lapouge describes the bones in detail: “I think it unnecessary to note that these bones are undeniably human, despite their enormous size…… The volumes of the bones were more than double the normal pieces to which they correspond. Judging by the usual intervals of anatomical points, they also involve lengths almost double…. The subject would have been a likely size of 3m, 50.”
Bones were also examined by other professionals.
In 1892 the bones were examined by Dr. Paul Louis André Kiener, who was a professor of anatomy Montpellier School of Medicine, for which he admitted they represented a “very tall race”, and nevertheless found them abnormal in dimensions and apparently of “morbid growth”.
There’s been countless stories of Giants throughout human history. Some have even been more recent. The tallest man whose height was officially documented was Robert Wadlow. His height was recorded as 8’11. His great size and his continued growth in were due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland. We know that Gigantism is a serious condition that is nearly always caused by an adenoma, a tumor of the pituitary gland. Today there are various treatments and surgery options which makes the odds of a having another Robert Wadlow even lower.
But what about the past?
In the Hebrew Bible, The Nephilim are mysterious beings or people who are described as being large and strong. Over the years, there has been bones found and archeologists have claimed them to be Nephilim. The overwhelming majority of these have proven to be other animals but is it even possible for humans to reach great heights?
Back in the Roman Empire, average height for men was about 5’5. A skeleton was discovered of a man there that was 6’8 and this was considered abnormal.
But could gigantism have occurred throughout human history? Literature and Art suggest that giants have existed, and we know untreated gigantism will lead to the person continue growing in Adulthood.
Perhaps the answer will be found one day when a full giant skeleton is found intact.
One thought on “The Giant of Castelnau”