Possibility Of Large Bones Being Found In North America

[AaronD]

I'm a slow reader to begin with, but really slow when it's a topic of intense interest because I don't wanna misss anything. On page 22 LOL But it starts off with the Smithsonian founder, James Smithson in 1829 (the same year Yuengling beer began )......but interestingly, James' age at death wasn't even correctly rendered--now what kind of history machine is the Smithsonian if they can't even get their founders' age at death right??? It's interesting stuff!

[Guest Serohs]

I got mine as well Aaron. You might get it finished before me as I have a ton on my plate to do at the moment, but every time I stick my nose in it I am having a hard time putting it down. Powell was the guys name from what we were discussing before. "The Powell Doctrine" that the Smithsonian lives by... Still to this day. Just from what little I have read so far backs up a lot of what Scott Wolters talks about on Unearthed America.

[AaronD]

I just think that, for an entity which exists for the purpose of bringing knowledge of history to the public---to hide anything is proposterous!

[EABiker]

I'm about 25% through it so far; an excellent read! As a huge plus, several of these skeletons were found within 5 miles of my house; I guess I will be looking at things a bit differently when I explore the woods in my area from now on.

[JDL]

In reading about the Powell Doctrine on pages 5 - 12, the dismissal of American archeological finds seems pretty overt.

For those who don't yet have the book, Major John Wesley Powell was a geologist and explorer. After the Civil War, he occupied himself by exploring, most notably the Colorado River from Wyoming to the end of the Grand Canyon. His expedition, as the first to officially explore the Grand Canyon, complete with a photographic record, was famous. In 1879, Powell was appointed as head of the Smithsonian's new Bureau of Ethnology, and held that position until his death in 1902.

Powell's first report to the Secretary of the Smithsonian was titled "On Limitations to the Use of Some Anthropologic Data". In it he commented that "the uses to which the material has been put have not always been wise". Up until then such material had been shared freely without restriction, to include the conclusions of those researching the material, who frequently theorized, based on the artifacts they were finding, that there had been contact between ancient cultures from Europe and the Mediterranean, and the Americas. Powell specifically objected to the use of the information to connect Native American culture to "...so-called races of antiquity in other portions of the world".

I don't want to stray into political or religious ground here, but I will point out for purely historical context that at that time there was a rapidly growing religion based in the American West founded upon the belief that there had been contact between Native Americans and a person of antiquity from another portion of the world. Also, the concept of manifest destiny was in full bloom, which was, in part, predicated on the right to displace "primitive" native cultures. The author suggests that Powell did not want to elevate the status of Native Americans by promoting contact with, or descent from "lost tribes". Powell himself states that "...there is no need to search for extra-limital origin through lost tribes...". He then singles out artifacts that he considers primitive from the American Southwest and states that it is improbable that anything found anywhere else in America would be any more valuable.

One of Powell's statements that I find most damning is "A brief review of some conclusions that must be accepted in the present status of the science will exhibit the futility of these attempts.", (connecting Native American culture to contact with "so-called races of antiquity"). Note that his statement is heavily qualified by a "brief" review of "some" conclusions that "must be accepted" in the "present" status of the science to pronounce such study "futile". This subjective position is not in consonance with the Smithsonian's original objective purpose to "increase the diffusion of knowledge among men". The statement is also self-contradicting because it refers to the "present status of the science", but hampers its advancement by subjectively limiting further study in certain areas. If what he believed to be futile is futile, then it would prove itself futile on its own.

The "Powell Doctrine" remains in force today even as contact with some of those races of antiquity becomes increasingly evident.

To me, there is sufficient cause to hypothesize the past existence of an extinct race of very tall people with its own culture in North America. I will also note that recent DNA findings in Europe show that a genetically different race of humans (non-Neanderthal) once occupied Europe and have since disappeared (died out?) prior to the inward migration of the current human inhabitants (just read the article before coming to this site, and find that the link is now gone from the news site where I found it. I'll have to dig up the source article later).

It makes me wonder.

Did a race of people of large stature with their own culture once exist?
Did they exist in both Europe and the Americas?
If so, what caused them to die off?

When ancient lore refers to "giants in the earth" in those days, or asserts that a given structure was built by giants, are they simply referring to this putative extinct race of people?

Edited January 2, 2014 by JDL

[Guest mariner]

Thought this link on Facebook might be of interest to members. Certainly looks interesting at first glance.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stone-Builders-Mound-Builders-and-the-Giants-of-Ancient-America/556606251021542

 

Thanks

[hiflier]

Hello JDL,

Kudos for one of the most well-written posts that I have read for some time. Clear, concise and on point. I wish I could say the same for the "Major" LOL.

[Guest Serohs]

Wow the more I get into this book it makes me remember other things I have looked at/read. Not sure if anyone here is aware of this site. The guy who studied all of the stuff on this site is about 25 miles south of me. I plan on talking to him one day, but he has found some interesting stuff off our coasts. Here is his site.

 

http://www.ancientcanalbuilders.com/

[JDL]

That site has some pretty compelling stuff, Serohs.  There are those who maintain that there was regular trade throughout the Atlantic in antiquity.

[AaronD]

+1 to you JDL! Glad to have you posting here! I'm on page 76 now. LOL

[Guest LarryP]

One of Powell's statements that I find most damning is "A brief review of some conclusions that must be accepted in the present status of the science will exhibit the futility of these attempts.", (connecting Native American culture to contact with "so-called races of antiquity"). Note that his statement is heavily qualified by a "brief" review of "some" conclusions that "must be accepted" in the "present" status of the science to pronounce such study "futile". This subjective position is not in consonance with the Smithsonian's original objective purpose to "increase the diffusion of knowledge among men". The statement is also self-contradicting because it refers to the "present status of the science", but hampers its advancement by subjectively limiting further study in certain areas. If what he believed to be futile is futile, then it would prove itself futile on its own.

 

 

 

 

A classic example of the establishment science mindset. 

 

Which still prevails to this day.

[Guest DWA]

^^^That little red highlight in that little quote on your signature is a prime example of it too.

 

At one point living coelacanths would have been "perceived to be nonsense" by most scientists.

 

Another way of stating it is:  if it isn't proven, and can't be directly connected to something that is, it isn't real.

 

Odd stance, I'd say, for people who constantly tell us how much there is left to know.

 

On reading that last sentence through their remote bion feed, two aliens looked at each other, laughed, and pointed X'strch'xn for the Alpha Centauri system for a spot of cofteathane.  Just sayin'.

[AaronD]

Uh......DWA?

[Guest LarryP]

The most important reason for Powell's stance was because "manifest destiny was in full bloom" and that's how the government wanted it to stay.

 

So Powell wanted to accede to that wish and as a result any and all objectivety went out the window.

 

That same mindset still continues to this day.

[AaronD]

You are correct, LarryP.....to the suffering of the public, and those who can appreciate real science