Mysterious human skeletons, from giants to small mummies. Mysteries of history

A mummy is the body of a living creature specially treated with a chemical substance, in which the process of tissue decomposition is slowed down. Mummies are stored for hundreds and even thousands of years, carrying the history of our ancestors, their customs and appearance. On the one hand, mummies look terribly scary, sometimes you get goosebumps from just one glance, on the other hand, they contain the most interesting history of the ancient world. We have compiled a list of the 13 most creepy and at the same time most interesting mummies ever discovered in the world:

13. Guanajuato Mummies Museum, Mexico

The Guanajuato Mummies Museum in Mexico is one of the strangest and most gruesome in the world, housing some 111 mummies (59 of which are on display) that died between 1850 and 1950. Distorted facial expressions on some mummies indicate they were buried alive. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the museum every year.

12. Baby mummy in Qilakitsoq, Greenland

Another example of a living burial - the photo shows a 6-month-old boy found in Greenland. Three more mummies of women were found nearby, perhaps one of them was the boy’s mother, with whom he was buried alive (according to Eskimo customs of that time). The mummies date back to 1460. Thanks to the icy climate of Greenland, clothing from that time was well preserved. A total of 78 pieces of clothing made from animal skins, such as seals and deer, were found. The adults had small tattoos on their faces, but the child's face was simply terrifying!

11. Rosalia Lombardo, Italy

Little Rosalia was only 2 years old when she died of pneumonia in 1920 in Palermo (Sicily). The saddened father commissioned the famous embalmer Alfred Salafia to mummify the body of Rosalia Lombardo.

10. Mummy with painted face, Egypt

When we think about mummies, the first thing that comes to mind is Egypt. Many films have been made featuring these preserved corpses, which, wrapped in bandages, come back to life to attack civilians. The photo shows one of the typical representatives of mummies (the exhibit is on display at the British Museum).

9. Christian Friedrich von Kalbutz, Germany

The photo shows the German knight Christian; an aura of mystery surrounds this scary look of the mummy.

8. Ramses II, Egypt

The mummy shown in the photo belongs to Pharaoh Ramses II (Ramses the Great), who died in 1213 BC. and is one of the most famous Egyptian pharaohs. He is believed to have been the ruler of Egypt during the campaign of Moses and is represented as such in many works of fiction. One of the distinctive features of the mummy is the presence of red hair, symbolizing the connection with the god Set, the patron of royal power.

7. Woman of Skrydstrup, Denmark

Mummy of a woman, 18-19 years old, buried in Denmark in 1300 BC. Her clothing and jewelry suggest that she belonged to the chief's family. The girl was buried in an oak coffin, so her body and clothes were surprisingly well preserved.

6. Ginger, Egypt

The Ginger “Ginger” mummy is an Egyptian mummy of an adult male who died over 5,000 years ago and was buried in sand in the desert (at that time the Egyptians had not yet begun mummifying corpses).

5. Gullah Man, Ireland

This strange looking mummy, known as Gallagh Man, was discovered in a bog in Ireland in 1821. A man was buried in a swamp wearing a cloak with a fragment of a willow branch around his neck. Some researchers believe he may have been strangled.

4. Man Rendswüren, Germany

The Rendswühren bog man, like the bog man Gallach, was found in a bog, this time in Germany in 1871. The man was 40-50 years old, it is believed that he was beaten to death, the body was found in the 19th century.

3. Seti I – pharaoh of ancient Egypt

Seti I ruled 1290-1279 BC. The pharaoh's mummy was buried in an Egyptian tomb. The Egyptians were skilled embalmers, which is why we can see them at work in modern times.

2. Princess Ukok, Altai

The Greek Titans, the Norse Giants, the Chinese Giant Pangu and the biblical Goliath and Anak are all examples of stories of huge creatures across cultures. This makes you wonder if there were real giants. One example is Cap Dois. His body was discovered in Patagonia off the coast of South America, and it is unusual not only for its size, but also because it has two heads.

Giant Bones in Baltimore

The height of Cap Dua is 3.66 m, his body is kept in a museum in Baltimore (Maryland). Patagonia has long been considered a land inhabited by giants, and legends about them have appeared since the time of Ferdinand Magellan.

Magellan and his team explored South America, where they allegedly encountered natives who were twice the height of an ordinary person. Some indigenous peoples of the region, namely the Tehuelche, are indeed taller than the average European, but the difference in height may well have been exaggerated, which led to the birth of the myth of giants.

Stories (or legends)

There are two conflicting stories about Cap Dois. According to the first, Cap Dua was captured by Spanish sailors in Patagonia, taken to their ship and tied to the mast. When he escaped, the sailors had to kill him. Cap Dua's body was then mummified and transported first to Britain and then to the States in the 19th century, where it was displayed in exhibitions.

The second story says that the giant was found dead on the shore with a spear in his chest. In this version, his body was discovered by the people of Paraguay, who mummified the corpse and worshiped it. The British captain George Bickle heard about this, he arrived in Paraguay and stole the mummy to take it to Great Britain.

Both stories end the same way: the body ends up in the hands of showmen, who add it to their collection of rarities. There are also doubts about its authenticity. Some believe that the body is real, while others are convinced that it is a fake.

What is the probability of the existence of a two-headed giant man?

While a two-headed giant seems like a rather far-fetched idea, it's actually not that unlikely. Gigantism is a very real phenomenon. The tallest man in history was Robert Wadlow (1918-1940) with a height of 2.72 m, and he would have grown further if not for his sudden death at 22 years old.

Also in history there were people and animals with several heads. This is a type of intrauterine twin fusion (dicephalic twins), but in most cases they do not survive, except in a few rare cases.

Science VS legend

If Cap Dua is real, then two very unlikely cases can be assumed at once. These are dicephalians with gigantism who were somehow able to overcome all their health problems and become full-fledged adults, strong and healthy enough to fight with a crew of sailors.

The body was allegedly examined by doctors in the 1960s, who said it was not a hoax, but provided no other information.

Even more doubts

Another problem with the body's authenticity is its relationship to Phineas Taylor Barnum. He was a 19th century businessman and politician who loved to hold shows where he showed off creatures or objects from distant lands. Two famous examples were the horned hare and the Fiji mermaid. Most of his exhibits, of course, were fakes. In other words, any connection with Barnum immediately calls into question the reality of Cap Dua.

Additionally, there is a strange art form called crypto-taxidermy, which consists of reconstructing corpses to make them look like mythical creatures (dragons, fairies, goblins). And it was a very popular hobby in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Despite the fact that Cap Dua is scientifically probable, no one has studied his body, and therefore the giant from Patagonia still remains a mystery.

Marvin Rainwater, the owner of a farm in eastern Iowa (USA), has long been planning to dig a new well on his property. On the hot day of July 23, 2001, he finally got to work. Imagine Marvin’s surprise when, having dug a hole about 2.5 m deep, he came across a very hard stone. Trying to bring it to the surface, the farmer discovered that the width and length of the stone exceeded a meter. After much unsuccessful attempts to move his find, Rainwater decided that he must have encountered a layer of bedrock, although it does not usually come this close to the surface. Rainwater studied geology in his youth and easily determined that the stone did not resemble limestone, which is very common in eastern Iowa. Further research showed that the stone surface did not have the roughness and roughness of natural rock, but, on the contrary, was smooth, as if polished. The next day, Marvin called several friends from a nearby farm to help him recover the strange find. It soon became clear that the stone was not a single conglomerate, but consisted of slabs fitted so closely to each other that even a knife blade could not be inserted between them. Each slab was a square with a side of 25 cm. Rainwater and his friends cleared a space of several square meters, but did not find the edges of the neatly laid slabs. When the slabs cleared of earth were hit with a sledgehammer, a characteristic sound was heard, which indicated that there was empty space under the slabs. It became clear that the find was some kind of unusual ancient structure, the farmer contacted his geologist friend, an employee of the University of Chicago. Soon he arrived and determined that the slabs were cut out of a stone that was not found in Iowa - it was basalt, a very hard and dense volcanic rock. This type of building material was used by the ancient Egyptians to build their gigantic, astounding monuments. The depth at which the polished slabs were discovered indicated that they had been there for a very long time, perhaps the structure was built before the onset of the Ice Age. The geologist concluded that the farmer's find could be of great value. Soon a scientific expedition from the University of Chicago arrived at the farm, which included archaeologists and anthropologists, specialists in the indigenous tribes of the North American continent. When the stone slabs were completely cleaned, they were found to be folded into a perfect square with a side of 50 m. Digging around the perimeter, scientists discovered that the slabs represented the ceiling of some kind of stone structure that went deeper into the ground. The cyclopean structure was shaped like the pyramid in Marrietta (Ohio), although the latter was built by the Indians not from stone, but from a kind of brick consisting of a mixture of clay and reed dried in the sun. The excavations took several months, and finally the entire structure appeared in its original form. It was a square building without windows, made of polished stone slabs. Its entire appearance was reminiscent of ancient Greek temples. Adjoining it on the eastern side was a vaulted passage through which the explorers walked in trepidation. At the end of the passage, several stone steps led down. From the darkness came the smell of decay. When the light of the lanterns cut through the darkness, a cry of amazement escaped from those who entered. Seven statues stood around a conical stone located in the center of the room. Upon closer examination, it turned out that these were not statues carved from stone at all, but mummies of representatives of some enormous humanoid race. The mummies were in vertically standing stone boxes, similar to sarcophagi. The height of the mummified giants reached 3 m. Narrow, sloping foreheads, strongly protruding brow ridges. The thick, wrinkled skin on the giants' faces was dark brown, and their red hair was braided in short braids. The mummy's arms were crossed on his chest, his faces with drooping eyelids had some strange mysterious expression, it seemed that they were mocking those who dared to disturb their peace. On the conical stone, researchers found writing in an unknown language and images of deer, horses and birds. Who are these giants locked in a stone room, and where did the stone used in construction come from? Very carefully, the mummies were removed from the ground and sent to a laboratory at the University of Chicago for research. According to experts, the anthropometric characteristics of the mummies are characteristic of the peoples who inhabited North America during the pre-glacial period. The only unusual thing is the enormous growth of ancient people. Also interesting are the robes in which the mummies are wrapped. They are woven from red hair, identical to that preserved on the heads of giants. Ancient people made clothes from their own hair! University employee and specialist in North American Indian folklore Thomas Holder made an interesting assumption. The legends of the Layut Indians mention giants with red hair. The Layuts called them si-te-cash and constantly fought with them. Sea-te-cash lived in what is now Nevada. According to Hodder, the mummies found belong to representatives of this tribe, who for some reason traveled east to the territory of what is now the state of Iowa. True, there is no other historical evidence of the existence of a race of giants, except for the legends of the Layut Indians. Currently, the study of mummies continues. Perhaps genetic research will provide a solution. The inscriptions on the stone have not yet been deciphered. It is only clear that the writing is not characteristic of any of the known ancient languages. The origin of basalt also remains unexplained. The sensational discovery caused a lot of noise. American ufologists became interested in her. In their opinion, the mummies belong to some extraterrestrial civilization, whose representatives visited Earth and left their dead here. The inscriptions on the conical stone may carry a message to earthlings about the race of giants and from which corner of the Universe the last ones flew to the blue planet. However, university staff studying the remains completely reject the extraterrestrial version of the origin of the mummies. Meanwhile, Marvin Rainwater sold the farm to people interested in the find, and is now completely happy, since the proceeds will be enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his days. The former farmer will never have to dig wells himself.

Paranormal mysteries? large numbers throughout the world and in every culture, some important to the evolution of society, some not so much. But not all mysteries can be solved, and in most cases they remain a mystery to us. Many human remains, including misplaced specimens of skulls and skeletons, have been present for many centuries, which in turn have left many questions in the history of human evolution. Whether you believe that humans are the descendants of Adam and Eve, or that we are the result of millions of years of evolution, or that we are the genetic creation of a distant alien race, these strange skeletons can truly tell us about our past. Was man the first intelligent species on earth, or was there someone before us?

Below are some of the most intriguing cases to date.

Ancient pygmies

In 2004, on a remote island, scientists from Indonesia were stunned by the discovery of abnormally small adult human skeletons that were only about 91.5cm to 122cm tall. The skeletons were no larger than a modern 3-year-old child, with heads no larger than a grapefruit. Scientists believed that they belonged to an ancient race of people that was isolated from the rest of the world. This race of pygmies was named Floresiensis Homo and they were called hobbits because of their unusually small size. Research suggests that the pygmies went extinct around 13,000 years ago, but as recently as 2009, an eyewitness pointed to a tiny race of people currently living in isolated parts of the Indonesian jungle.

Horned Devils

In the early 1800s, archaeologists made a surprising discovery while excavating ancient mounds in the town of Sayre in Bradford, Pennsylvania. Buried deep beneath the ancient burial mounds, archaeologists unearthed human skeletons that measured about 2.2 meters in length. Although the height of these skeletons was amazingly large, the more notable features of these skeletons were not their height, but the strange horn-like projections above the eyebrows on their skulls! At the time, it was estimated that these humanoid creatures walked the earth around the year 1200. According to some sources, the skeletons were sent to the American Research Museum in Philadelphia for analysis, but after that their trace was lost, and the remains are considered missing to this day.

Mica Giant

Another huge skeleton was found in Brewersville, Indiana in 1879. According to the Indianapolis News (1975), the giant skeleton was about 3 meters tall! This time the skeleton was actually examined and confirmed by scientists from Indiana and New York. The skeleton was then transferred back into the possession of Mr Robinson, who owned the land on which the mound stood. However, according to sources at the time, in a series of tragic events, floods that occurred in 1937 destroyed Mr. Robinson's home and washed away the unusual bones.

Neanderthals

This strange and elongated skull is estimated to be tens of thousands of years old, and was found in South America. It is obvious that a person with a cranial anomaly has characteristics of a human and a Neanderthal. This skull would not have received so much attention if not for the fact that Neanderthals never existed in South America. So how did the skull get here? Scientists aren't sure. The only explanation they have for the abnormally elongated skull is that primitive races of people used ancient practices known as skull binding, a practice in which the human head was tightly bound with cloth or leather straps for centuries. throughout his/her life, this method was usually used as a religious practice. Most likely, this ritual was carried out in order to honor their Gods.

Copper Man

Nature magazine reported the discovery of the skeleton of a giant man, 4 meters 30 centimeters tall, in the center of one of Ohio's mysterious mounds in December 1891. The huge man's weapon, jaw, chest and belly were made of copper. Wooden horns are also covered with copper. His mouth was filled with large pearls, and a pearl-studded necklace of bear teeth hung around his neck. (Stephen Wagner). Where this man came from, and what race of people he belonged to, remains a mystery to this day.

Jaws

In the United States, in 1888, in a mound near Clearwater, Minnesota, scientists discovered another set of skeletons, 7 to be exact. The skeletons were placed in a sitting position and had unusual skulls, and they also had two rows of teeth - upper and lower jaws. The scientist also noted that the forehead was low and sloping and there were clearly visible eyebrows, unlike normal human skulls.

Mummy Pedro Mountain

One of the most famous discoveries made in modern times was in 1932 in the gorges of the Pedro Mountains, about 60 miles south of Casper Wyoming. Thanks to the efforts of gold miners who blasted mountains and canyons in search of gold, a completely mummified middle-aged man was discovered sitting cross-legged on a ledge. What was more surprising was that the mummy was only 35.5 centimeters tall! Pedro, as he was nicknamed, was believed by scientists in the 40s to be in fact not an adult, but only an infant or small fetus who may have been affected by the disease anencephaly. Were these conclusions correct? And the more important question also arises, how did he get there and why?

Skull Star Child

In 1930, an unusual skull was found in an abandoned mine in Copper Canyon about 100 miles south of Chihuahua, Mexico. The skull was sent to the United States for analysis. Returning to the States, Lloyd Pye, a researcher and analyst, took it upon himself to name the unusual skull, he called it the “Starchild Skull.” The skull is unusually wide and its eye sockets are much larger than ordinary eye sockets. Although the origin of the skull is unknown, he suggested that it could be a skull of alien-human origin, or at least belonging to a human-alien hybrid. In 1999, the skull was subjected to DNA testing to provide definitive proof of its terrestrial origin. Although the test results showed that the skull contained human DNA, there were also strands of DNA that did not match human DNA and had no known origin. So the question, like the skull itself, remains a mystery.

Red giants

In 1911, 22 miles southwest of Lovelock, Nevada, after excavating layers of guano from a cave, miners stumbled upon the mummified remains of a giant's foot. It may have belonged to the ancient Native Americans, if not for the pronounced red hair that still remained on the skull. “Surprisingly, the ancient legends of the local Paiute Indians described a race of red giants - they were called Si-Te-cahs - who were the enemies of many Indian tribes in the region.”

Fat heads

This skull is called the Thick Skull because it is abnormally large. Was first photographed by Robert Connelly. However, the age, date and origin of the skull are unknown. At first glance, the skull looks like a human skull. However, the extremely large skull and eye sockets, which are 15% larger than the average human size, may lead one to believe otherwise. Researchers are discussing the alien/human hybrid theory in this regard, in which they are trying to find out whether the skull is actually a genetic mutation or belongs to an unknown species of creatures.