January 9, 2012
Did Bigfoot Really Exist? How Gigantopithecus Became Extinct
A reconstruction of Gigantopithecus. Image courtesy of Flickr user Sam_Wise
Bigfoot. Sasquatch. Yeti. The Abominable Snowman. Whatever you want to call it, such a giant, mythical ape is not real—at least, not anymore. But more than a million years ago, an ape as big as a polar bear lived in South Asia, until going extinct 300,000 years ago.
Scientists first learned of Gigantopithecus in 1935, when Ralph von Koenigswald, a German paleoanthropologist, walked into a pharmacy in Hong Kong and found an unusually large primate molar for sale. Since then, researchers have collected hundreds of Gigantopithecus teeth and several jaws in China, Vietnam and India. Based on these fossils, it appears Gigantopithecus was closely related to modern orangutans and Sivapithecus, an ape that lived in Asia about 12 to 8 million years ago. With only dentition to go on, it’s hard to piece together what this animal was like. But based on comparisons with gorillas and other modern apes, researchers estimate Gigantopithecus stood more than 10 feet tall and weighed 1,200 pounds (at most, gorillas only weigh 400 pounds). Given their size, they probably lived on the ground, walking on their fists like modern orangutans.
Fortunately, fossil teeth do have a lot to say about an animal’s diet. And the teeth of Gigantopithecus also provide clues to why the ape disappeared.
The features of the dentition—large, flat molars, thick dental enamel, a deep, massive jaw—indicate Gigantopithecus probably ate tough, fibrous plants (similar to Paranthropus). More evidence came in 1990, when Russell Ciochon, a biological anthropologist at the University of Iowa, and colleagues (PDF) placed samples of the ape’s teeth under a scanning electron microscope to look for opal phytoliths, microscopic silica structures that form in plant cells. Based on the types of phyoliths the researchers found stuck to the teeth, they concluded Gigantopithecus had a mixed diet of fruits and seeds from the fig family Moraceae and some kind of grasses, probably bamboo. The combination of tough and sugary foods helps explain why so many of the giant ape’s teeth were riddled with cavities. And numerous pits on Gigantopithecus‘s teeth—a sign of incomplete dental development caused by malnuntrition or food shortages—corroborate the bamboo diet. Ciochon’s team noted bamboo species today periodically experience mass die-offs, which affect the health of pandas. The same thing could have happened to Gigantopithecus.
A Gigantopithecus jaw. Image courtesy of Wikicommons
Further evidence of Gigantopithecus‘ food preferences and habitat was published last November. Zhao LingXia of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and colleagues analyzed carbon isotopes in a sample of Gigantopithecus teeth. Plants have different forms of carbon based on their type of photosynthesis; this carbon footprint is then recorded in the teeth of animals that eat plants. The team determined Gigantopithecus—and the animals living alongside it, such as deer, horses and bears—ate only C3 plants, evidence the ape lived in a forested environment. This work also supports the proposed bamboo diet, as bamboo is a C3 plant.
So what happened to this Pleistocene Yeti? Zhang’s team suggested the rise of the Tibetan plateau 1.6 million to 800,000 years ago altered the climate of South Asia, ushering in a colder, drier period when forests shrank. Other factors could have exacerbated this crisis. Gigantopithecus‘s neighbor, Homo erectus, may have over-hunted and/or outcompeted their larger ape cousin. And at least one dental study indicates Gigantopithecus developed and matured very slowly—a sign they probably had low reproductive rates, which can elevate a species’ risk of going extinct.
Some Bigfoot hunters say Gigantopithecus is alive and well, hiding out in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Other Sasquatch enthusiasts, however, point out this is unlikely, as Bigfoot is reported to be a swift, agile, upright walker—not a lumbering, 1,200-pound quadruped.
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Glad to see the Smithsonian maintaining its tradition of objective consideration of the question of Sasquatch/Bigfoot. Gigantopithecus has often been pointed to as a potential antecedent of sasqutch — after all it is a species that is the right size in the right place at the right time. George York’s reconstruction of Gigantopithecus (pictured above) conveys the sense of the enormity of the ape, but it seems unlikely that a terrestrial ape would retain the limb proportions and suspensory specializations of an over-sized orangutan, if it ever even possessed them to begin with. Fragmentation of the Pleistocene forests might just as well have spawned novel adaptations as driven Gigantopithecus to extinction. The extremely sparse fossil record for this large and likely rare ape provides only a meager glimpse of its past range and distribution. As for diet, the recent paper pointing to a C3 diet and therefore a forest habitat is an important addition to our understanding. It really doesn’t lend that much support to the “bamboo hypothesis.” Omitted from discussion is reference to the analysis of dental microwear, which says something about the composition of such a C3 diet (Bamboo feeding, dental microwear, and diet of the Pleistocene ape Gigantopithecus blacki. Daegling, DJ | Grine, FE. South African Journal of Science. Vol. 90, no. 10, pp. 527-532. 1994). This pointed to a catholic diet most similar to that of chimpanzees, not the what was predicted for a specialized bamboo feeder. The characterization of a lumbering 1,200 quadruped (or biped for that matter) –”the size of a polar bear” — is misleading. I suspect few would want to challenge a polar bear to a foot race.
Comment by Jeff Meldrum — January 9, 2012 @ 4:44 pm
The giant ape is probably extinct, but the elusive creature you call “bigfoot” is the sasquatch. I know they are still around, as I have seen three, plus two others through a thermal imager in the dark. They are not an ape, they are probably an ancient race of giant indians. Specimens are rarely found and all bodies have been confiscated. The national guard collected several dead specimens in May, 1980 near Spirit Lake, Mt. Saint Helens. Numerous new sasquatch footprints are documented every year thoughout the US and Canada. Unfortunately some are hoaxed, but I have studied many that were not.
Comment by dmann — January 10, 2012 @ 3:20 am
Keep the faith Jeff Meldrum. Where behind you 100%
Comment by Wattie Hamilton — January 11, 2012 @ 12:18 am
“Whatever you want to call it, such a giant, mythical ape is not real..” and the many, many, many people who have clearly seen what could best be described as a human-like ape of some 6-9 feet in height are deluded, mistaken or plainly lying, and the enormous footprints it leaves obviously all faked, even those found in the deepest forests.
So comforting to know that so many Americans are prone to open-eye hallucinations of ape-men.
“I think sophisticated ’cause I’m living my life like a good Homo sapien…”
Comment by John Grunwell — January 11, 2012 @ 1:25 pm
Jeff Meldrums answer was more interesting and honest than the above piece.
Comment by Obi Twa — January 12, 2012 @ 7:35 am
Meldrum: “after all it is a species that is the right size in the right place at the right time”
His use of the present tense and ambiguous antecedent for “it” makes his comment unclear. In any case, neither Giganto nor “Sasquatch” is a species that has been found in North America, nor have any fossil remains, nor have any unambiguous images, in spite of the fact that Europeans came to this continent some 400 years ago, firearms have been in use for that entire period; every state and province has wildlife agencies and many universities study the populations of animals, nearly all of our forest has been cut over, our land resources have been relentlessly explored and exploited, literally millions of “trailcams’ monitor our forests, and vehicles big and small travel over 6 billion miles A DAY on American roads. Early bigfoot claimants have shown to be largely hoaxers and frauds, and most “reports” of bigfoot are dismissed even by devotees as obviously “in error.”
The bigfoot phenomenon, while very real, is not a manifestation of an uncatalogued primate; rather, it is a living folklore, promoted by hoaxers, profiteers and attention seekers, and subscribed to by the fearful, ignorant and credulous.
Comment by CoastalMike — January 13, 2012 @ 12:01 am
Shall I name off the creatures you “scientists” assured us were gone only to be found alive and thriving?
Comment by ed — January 13, 2012 @ 8:28 am
It’s hard to accept the existence of nearhuman or subhuman beings. I understand that. But, when a small search is done, it can be seen that this is a worldwide phenomenon. Sasquatch, De Loysi Ape, Almas, Yeti, Agogwe, Rock Ape, Ebu Gogo, Orang Pendek, Nuk-Luk and others… We should understand the message: Human beings are not alone on earth.
A “faithful” archeologist from Turkey.
Comment by Kerem SAYIN — January 13, 2012 @ 10:25 am
@John Grunwell
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”
Albert Einstein
Say hello to the sod for me pal.
Comment by Jeff Davis — January 13, 2012 @ 10:33 am
John has apparently never spent much time in the Louisiana woods. Bigfoot , Sasquatch etc is very real. I myself have had numerous encounters with “something” in North Louisiana. Primarily swampy low lying areas. I have never had a visual sighting per se but have been followed out of the woods on more than one occasion, paced just out of sight many times, it is quite unnerving to say the least when you hear breathing and other vocalizations, whistles, grunts by more than one individual. Once while stargazing at 1 a.m. in the early spring, I heard what can only be described as a very heavy low guttural “sigh” that would be too low to have been made by a human, right behind me less than 50 feet coming from a treeline on our property!!!! scary stuff to say the least.. Yes John they are alive and well in Louisiana. I also know several people who have had visual close encounters in the same geographical area over the years. It will just be a matter of time before the “Jane Goodall” of Sasquatch makes her debut, but rest assured I think it will happen.
Comment by Everette — January 13, 2012 @ 11:34 am
We have an articulate response from Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum, and then his supporters chime in with the following:
“The national guard collected several dead specimens in May, 1980 near Spirit Lake, Mt. Saint Helens.”
“They are not an ape, they are probably an ancient race of giant indians.”
“It will just be a matter of time before the “Jane Goodall” of Sasquatch makes her debut, but rest assured I think it will happen.”
Unfortunately, These are the comments that the good Dr. has to deal with when trying explain his reasoning for Sasquatch existing.
Please Ed, tell us what animals were thought extinct but are now ‘Thriving’.
Comment by Drew — January 13, 2012 @ 1:40 pm
Not to interject too much in the conversation, but here is a link: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/14-extinct-animals-that-were-rediscovered
And as too the logic that since many distinct societies have a mythical giant ape man, all of those societies also have dragon mythology, and I have yet to see a 100ft flying lizard that breaths flame. I want to though.
Comment by Alex Taylor — January 13, 2012 @ 6:13 pm
The person who wrote this article is obviously NOT thinking like a scientist. That’s the reason he’s getting the criticism he deserves. In science, in general, there have been many ideas throughout history that were perceived as unlikely, but turned out to be true. This can range from the speculation of whether atoms exist, or don’t exist – to the possibility of flight from human invention – something which some of the best physicists and scientists of the 19th century deemed as absolutely impossible – yet it wasn’t long until they were proven wrong.
You can’t just say something like, “Bigfoot doesn’t exist” – you can say it… Sure… But it IS making you look ignorant – not smart, and it IS making you look like you’re NOT a scientist. Scientists who make a difference are the ones who keep open minds about what reality can throw at us… In fact there seems to be OVERWHELMING evidence that Bigfoot DOES exist – a dead body hasn’t shown up, but we DON’T understand the REASONS why it hasn’t… To dismiss it as, “A dead body hasn’t shown up because they don’t exist”, straight-up makes you sound stupid.
Comment by Hunter — January 13, 2012 @ 6:25 pm
Excellent article Smithsonian. To a degree, as Jeff Meldrum pointed out, this is simply a scaled up Ponginate; but nonetheless, I love it. Although I am not a Sasquatch believer, to dismiss the estimated 30,000+ accounts – statistically arrayed in natural arrival distributions and not in ‘human-S’ hysteria curves, and declare that the creature does not exist, sans a rigorous application of the Scientific Method, is declarative pseudoscience. I say the jury is still out. Simply because there are those in power who will penalize you if you do not hold this position of ‘skepticism’, is more of a indicator of your courage and character than any adjudication as to the veracity of the subject.
Until one has enough information, the ethical skeptic remains neutral. Rigorously and defiantly neutral. Not sycophant-ish.
Graham
Comment by Graham — January 13, 2012 @ 8:18 pm
Presuming that “Bigfoot/Yetis”, etc. do exist, and I sincerely believe they do due to certain incidents which occurred in my youth, IMO there are only two possible theories – ONE, that one or more specias of early giant ape have survived in the wild + have PARTIALLY EVOLVED due to natural environmental changes; or SECOND, that one or more primitive specias of MAN, e.g. NEANDERTHALS OR PRIOR HOMINIDS, had REGRESSED OR MAL/DE-EVOLVED by some unknown reason or processes backward towards the likes of their and Mankind’s simian or ape ancestors.
IFF THE EARLY ANCESTORS OF MAMMALIAN WHALES, ETC. CAN COME ASHORE FROM THE SEA, EVOLVE OER EONS INTO AIR-BREATHING LAND ANIMALS, + THEN RETURN TO THE SEA TO BECOME THE MODERN WHALES PROPER, WHY NOT EARLY SPECIAS OF MAN DE-EVOLVING BACK INTO APES, I.E. NOT MAN, BUT ALSO NOT APE???
Comment by JosephMendiola — January 13, 2012 @ 8:20 pm
Wow. The Smithsonian is actually talking about extinct Giants! Imagine that.
Now that they bring the subject of Gigantopithecus up, how about they mention the hundreds of skeletons of 7 to 9 foot tall “Indians” they extracted from burial mounds in the east and mid-west. Femurs 25 to 30 inches long, and skulls of immense size, & copper axe heads weighing 20 lbs…
The New York Times and Washington Post reported on over 100 stories of large and giant sized human remains found in North America and Europe between 1850 and 1950. Even if we discounted a number of these reports as hoaxes, or press unreliability, a great number have very good documentation and highly credible institutions tied to them. For example the Giant bones of Castelnau, France.
I honestly don’t think the Smithsonian even has a clue what they have in their vaults, nor do they care. Evidence of giants simply is too explosive for the current paradigm to handle. Hence the on going cover-up of their mortal remains.
Folks… Gigantopithecus and Homo Floresiensis are just the tip of the ice berg. You don’t want to know what they have in their closets.
Comment by Citizen X — January 13, 2012 @ 8:24 pm
I’, not sure if this site is connected to the institution of the same name; however, if so, would be very curious as to where they come off trying to determine what is/isn’t a legit comment inasmuch as they, themselves, have gone to great lengths to keep much of “non-conforming” discoveries (bone of giant humans) out of public sight. I guess if something doesn’t conform to what most consider “normal”, the public doesn’t have a right to know about it!
Comment by Ray Williams — January 13, 2012 @ 10:08 pm
“Whatever you want to call it, such a giant, mythical ape is not real—at least, not anymore.” Really! Then what the Hell was that thing I saw in Oregon? Let me guess, I guy in a Monkey suit 30 miles in the middle of nowhere?
Comment by Rod — January 13, 2012 @ 11:41 pm
The Paiutes and other desert tribes from the Great Basin tell a story of how their people had to fight giants in order to claim their land. The say the final battle took place about 20 miles south of Lovelock, Nevada at the cave of the moon. This cave was formed long, long ago by the waters of the ancient Lake Lahonton. This was a great inland lake that gradually dried until there is but a small remnant left. But the cave is a different story…During the final battle the giants, whose numbers were depleted, took refuge in the cave. Unsuccessful at coaxing these survivors from the cave, the Paiutes built a creosote bushes and fired arrows into the cave…Now the state maintains the area as archeologists have found giant jaw bones and skeletal bones that are much bigger than normal homo sapiens. In fact, they too have been estimated to have been around ten feet tall. Many believe that this folk tale of the Paiute is in fact a historical record of an actual event…Were these remnants of Gigantopithecus?
Comment by R. W. — January 14, 2012 @ 4:53 am
meant to say they built a fire of creosote bushes
Comment by R. W. — January 14, 2012 @ 5:01 am
Drew, my comment was in response to John Grumwell, not the above article. The fact that it existed in the fossil record is just more proof to me that they are ‘still’ in existence. As to extinct species that are still around…does the celocanth ring a bell?, thought to be extinct for millions of years are in fact alive and well. Even enjoyed in the occasional meal. I get really tired of so called “EXPERTS” who know everything and really never leave the comforting environment of their lecture halls to explore the real world. Here in Louisiana wildlife biologists claim that Black panthers or cougars, pumas etc do not exist, even though the local population know otherwise, because we are out here and see them! I personally have watched a mother with 2 cubs from my deer stand, as well as black bear that are not here either…until they darted one out of a tree in downtown Bossier City last year, even then it must have been a fluke because they don’t live here….open your minds people and get out of the house once in a while..there is a lot more that meets the eye in the real world. Get out and see for yourself. I personally can’t wait for the day I can see one rather than just hearing them.
Comment by Everette — January 14, 2012 @ 11:15 am
“Some Bigfoot hunters say Gigantopithecus is alive and well, hiding out in the forests of the Pacific Northwest.”
Bigfoot hunters all say “Sasquatch” is found all over the North America (!) Ohio, Kentucky, Arizona, Texas…everywhere.
“Other Sasquatch enthusiasts, however, point out this is unlikely, as Bigfoot is reported to be a swift, agile, upright walker—not a lumbering, 1,200-pound quadruped.”
Meldrum, in his evasive response, erects a straw man by asking whether one would like to race a polar bear(!?). The issue is that the upright human-like gait and footprints he espouses in the Patterson film of 1967 are certainly not those of Gigantopithecus. Meldrum has no answer for that.
Comment by CoastalMike — January 14, 2012 @ 2:55 pm
Apparently, if you want to find Bigfoot, one needs to find their dentist. Perhaps, the hunters should use modern molecular techniques. There is one where you can obtain the identity of animals who have walked over an area by analyzing for the fallen DNA in the soil. Of course, a good tracker would earn lots of money tracing hair and stuff.
Comment by Curculio — January 17, 2012 @ 9:50 am
What’s more logical: That various cultures (Celts, Chinese) that had zero contact with one another have a creature in their lore that looks similar (dragon) by complete coincidence, or that such a creature did exist in the past? Similarly, what’s more logical: Numerous sightings, legends, and stories in lore about a giant ape man are complete hoax and coincidence, or that such a creature really exists? Seriously, the scientific community needs to open their minds and be a little more LOGICAL about what might be.
Comment by jeffk — January 18, 2012 @ 12:26 pm
The article states: “Whatever you want to call it, such a giant, mythical ape is not real—at least, not anymore.” This immediately reveals the author as mediocre minded. One cannot prove that something does not exist. This closed minded sort of mindset is the same manifestation that forced the flat earth paradigm to die out only when its supporters in unfortunately aquired positions of authority also died out. Remember previous such erroneous commitments were that the sound barrier could not be breached and that man could not fly. What is so impossible about a reclusive large North American primate anyway.
Comment by Seijinvet — January 18, 2012 @ 5:24 pm
If a large primate animal currently exists in North America, ( or any of the reported locations ) where are the bones ? The reproductive life cycle of large mammals is well understood. There has to be a minimum number of breeding individuals, offspring that must eat, sleep and then reproduce to continue population. And all of this has to occur in secret, and if the believers in ” a reclusive large North American Primate ” claim, simultaneously in several locations over decades. Please
Comment by Seiad7 — January 23, 2012 @ 4:21 am
I should like Mr. Grunwell to propose a plausible hoaxing scenario for the “enormous footprints it leaves obviously all faked” and the reports from “the many, many, many people who. . .are deluded, mistaken or plainly lying.” He really needs to proffer a reasonable explanation for:
- the remarkable similarity of descriptions of this creature given by witnesses, beyond simply attributing them to unoriginal, copy-cats seeking their 15 minutes of fame.
- how this apparent hoax has been so cleverly and perfectly perpetrated over hundreds of years, across cultural divides, and with little variation.
- why so many people would join in on such a hoax when there seems to be little profit in it.
- the astronomical chances against a hoaxer, randomly placing big foot prints in the soil or snow in a remote part of the wilderness, and them being “accidentally” discovered by a hunter, hiker or other person. Wouldn’t this suggest that the hoaxer and the discover might be in league?
- how it’s possible to say with conviction that anyone with a dissimilar experience base from himself must be deluded or lying. Certainly he has never had first-hand experience of a clouded leopard, the surface of Mars, atomic radiation, or some such thing, yet he most assuredly wouldn’t deny their existence. There are photos of such things, or scientific data to support radiation. Must science bless something before it becomes manifest?
If Mr. Grunwell can submit reasonable answers to these and similar questions, it might be easier to simply dismiss claims for the existence of an as-yet uncatalogued primate.
Comment by Mark — January 23, 2012 @ 3:04 pm
Having read through this interesting conversation I feel most of the participants are not quite ‘getting’ what ‘unknown’ animal investigation is about. And that is proof, scientific proof and that means a specimen. Whether we like it or not we are talking Zoology here and that is mainstream science. Digital photography has ruined photographs as admissable evidence and tracks are not impossible to fabricate. Pix and prints might be indicators of what we pursue and therefore help in creating collecting strategies but a body or part thereof is needed on the slab. I hope that slab is in the Smithsonian.!
Comment by Simon Townsend — February 1, 2012 @ 6:43 pm
Maybe the Smithsonian should be honest and just say it like it is. Giant humans and giant apes HAVE existed and were (for the most part) exterminated by human beings at the dawn of our emergence as a species.
They could maybe write an informative article documenting the legitimate fossil discoveries of actual giants.
Fossil Giants: Ancient Men Over 7 Feet Tall:
http://revelationnow.net/2012/01/31/fossil-giants-ancient-humans-7-to-12-feet-tall/
Of course, to actually report the facts would be academic suicide. Giants can’t exist, there couldn’t REALLY be any unknown hominids lurking behind the stories of ancient man? After all, only 86 PERCENT of our Earth’s Species are Still relatively unknown: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110824-earths-species-8-7-million-biology-planet-animals-science/
So let’s pretend we know all the facts and say giants are impossible. That’s what the Smithsonian does best, after all they’ve been stuffing giant corpses into giant closets since the good old days of Cyrus Thomas, and John Wesley
Powell.
Don’t believe me… Research it… think for yourself.
Comment by Citizen X — February 4, 2012 @ 6:46 pm
Haha :D Amazing how the mere mention of Bigfoot can start such a comment battle in a blog about science! Scientists should mention the big guy more often.
I like to keep an open mind and I wouldn´t say Bigfoot is or isn´t real because I have never seen one myself, and all the evidence I’ve seen appears dubious. Then again, I have never seen a giant squid or a Vu Quang Ox either…
To those who argue that Gigantopithecus was never found in North America, I may as well remind you that the remains of such typically Asian animals such as the tiger and the dhole have been found in North America (the dhole even got as far south as Mexico). Not saying this is what happened, but there’s no reason to assume that other Asian animals didn´t cross the strait as well and perhaps existed for some time in our continent. Absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence.
Comment by C. — February 11, 2012 @ 3:28 pm
I used to not believe, then I saw one.
Now I believe.
Ah, but I am a liar, a hoaxer, a deluded one who hallucinates.
Yeah, right.
Comment by Wayne R. McKinney — February 13, 2012 @ 5:44 pm