Giant Insects, Scorpions, Sharks, why not Giant Hominids?

JD Adams of Salem-News.com writes an article titled, "The Enigma of the Giants" Although, Gigantopitecus is mentioned, Adams goes beyond the familiar Giganto-theory and speaks about Giant Humans. Below is a great introduction to the article followed by a link to the whole thing.

Every form of life has had its giant stage in evolution. During the Carboniferous period, the Meganeura, resembling a dragonfly, grew to have a wingspan of 30 inches. The Pulmonoscorpius, an early scorpion, were one meter in length. A giant crocodile, the Sarcosuchus, lived during the Cretaceous period, and were 40 ft. in length and weighed over 8 tons. The Titanoboa, the largest snake that ever lived, reigned during the Paleocene epoch, and was up to 50 ft. long and 2,500 lbs in weight.

The Megalodon, an ancient shark of the Cenozioc era, was one the largest predators in vertebrate history. Lacking a complete skeleton, estimates of its size range from 67 to 82 ft. in length, and a body mass of approximately 100 tons. Then we have the Pleistocene Megafauna which included larger versions of most modern species, like the saber-tooth cat known as Smilodon populator, which weighed 1000 lbs. and had 12 in. canine teeth. These huge specimens were the result of favorable conditions such as plentiful habitat and prey, and a different mixture of atmospheric gases, at one time being 35%, oxygen, versus the 22% of today. The interaction of developing species, including ecological niches which were yet to be filled, also played a part.

So, why not giant humans? The Meganthropus, or Giant Java Man, was an inhabitant of Southeast Asia, slightly smaller than the Gigantopithecus of China, but still huge at an estimated 8 ft. in height. It's stature has been inferred from jaw and skull reconstruction. The Meganthropus skull has a double sagittal crest (running front to back along the top) which distinguishes it from the Homo erectus that some believe it is descended from. The crest is an indication of powerful jaw muscles. The actual size and lineage of Meganthropus is the subject of much debate, and it is considered a possible predecessor to Bigfoot by Cryptozoologists.

If ever there was a species worthy of the giant label, it is Gigantopithecus. Fossil remains suggest a height of 10 to 13 ft. Whether the species was a hominid or more ape-like is a point of serious contention, but it appears that mainstream anthropologists are simply fearful of disrupting the house of cards that is accepted dogma in human evolution and geologic history. The Gigantopithecus molars which have been discovered are distinctly hominid in appearance, and the brain case is actually larger than modern man.

EXTERNAL LINKS
Salem-News: The Enigma of the Giants
There Were Giants in Those Days
Cryptomundo's Post about True Giants

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The Mysteries of the Pleistocene; Bigfoot, Clovis and Missing Major Fauna

JD Adams of SalemNews.com writes a well researched, and well referenced article tying together several aspects of the Pleistocene Epoch, including geology, jaw bones and the Gigantopithecus.

(SALEM, Ore.) - The Pleistocene Epoch spans a time from 2.6 million years ago to the end of the last Ice Age at 12,000 years Before Present. It is an immensely interesting period because of the existence of legendary, enigmatic creatures and people.

We shall discuss the mysterious disappearance of the Pleistocene Megafauna, the changes wrought by Ice Ages, the massive Missoula Floods that scoured Oregon and Washington, how a meteor impact changed evolutionary history, and how the interaction of ancient human species with the towering Gigantopithecus, the largest primate ever to live on Earth, relates to our modern legend of Bigfoot.

Human history corresponds roughly to the Pleistocene and is known as the Paleolithic Era. It is initially characterized by the use of tools made of stone, wood, or bone, advancing to more complex tools used in agriculture.

The migration of humans out of Africa and into Asia, and subsequently into the North American continent, is thought to have been a contributing factor to the extinction of the large animals known as the Pleistocene Megafauna.

During the last Ice Age, the lowering of the sea level created the Bering Land Bridge between what is now Siberia and Alaska. Paleolithic hunters brought their skills and techniques over from Asia, confronting a world of mammoths and mastodons, saber-toothed cats, and the giant bear arctodus simus, the largest North American carnivore, standing over 11 ft. on their back legs.

These great beasts were examples of extreme adaptation, evolving exotic forms in the fertile land that lay south of the glaciers. During this time period, there is volcanic upheaval while glaciers recede and advance, shaping a constantly changing landscape of lakes and streams in valleys where giant bison and ground sloths grazed.

These variations in climate would have severely stressed the Megafauna by altering food sources and locations. On other continents, the timetable for extinctions was somewhat different, but ultimately resulted in the proliferation of the smaller, smarter, more versatile animals similar to what we see today.

Ice sheets covered large areas of the northern United States during the Pleistocene Epoch, including northern Washington, Idaho, and Montana. The release of an ice dam backing up a glacial lake flooded the Willamette Valley 400 feet deep!

The raging torrent swept down the Columbia River drainage, permanently altering the landscape in the most significant event of its kind ever recorded in geologic history.

Roughly 15,000 years ago, glacial ice grew southward into northern Idaho to block the Clark Fork River, creating 200-mile long Glacial Lake Missoula in western Montana. As the level of the lake increased, it eventually worked its way under and around the obstruction.

SRC: Salem-News.com

EXTERNAL LINKS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleistocene_megafauna
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missoula_Floods
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clovis_culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Younger_Dryas_impact_event
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantopithecus
http://www.bfro.net/ref/theories/mjm/whatrtha.asp

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