*This post is written by respected researcher, David Claerr.
In this essay, I will present an hypothesis on the origins and nature of the wilderness hominins
variously known as Sasquatch, Bigfoot, and Skunk Ape in the Americas, and as the possibly related Almasty or “relict humans” in the Eurasian continent most notably, Russia.
For the a few decades, I have embarked on research and study that includes field expeditions with
organized groups and independent forays on my own.
I have been fortunate to not only examine evidence in the form of cast prints, hair, tissue samples, photographic and video evidence, but have also had sightings and encounters with the hominins in the field.
I have also been apprised of some of the interpretation of results from current DNA sequencing, the majority of which is now public knowledge. (As of this updated writing, [Dec. 2024]), more data including nuclear DNA, which is passed on by the male lineage, has been shown to differ from modern humankind.
In the previous hypothesis, I posited that the Sasquatch and modern Humans are significantly more
closely related to each other than any of the higher primates or "great apes," and share a more common
recent ancestor, that may be in the direct lineage of the genus Homo that resulted in the Neanderthal,
Denisovan, Cro-magnon, and modern human. This assessment is borne out by the mitochondrial DNA, inherited from the female lineage, which shows a close relation to that of the modern human.
In this essay, however, I am positing that there is also a close correlation of the Sasquatch to a more
ancient member of the genus Homo - the family of man - based on the fossil record.
Most of the more ancient fossils of hominins and hominids are mineralized or "turned to stone" to a
degree that any extraction of DNA is virtually impossible. The rather extensive and often bewildering
variety of fossils are classified according to their morphology; more simply put, surface features in the
shape of the specimens that match other specimens most closely.
I spent many hours visually comparing the fossil skulls and skeletal remains of hominins from the earliest ancestors in Africa, through later-dated discoveries in Europe and Asia, using hard-copy books and online resources. A resource that was particularly helpful is the 3D CG library complied by the Smithsonian Institute, with which the computer-scanned reconstructions of fossil skulls can be viewed from virtually any angle.[1]
I also reviewed the scientific literature for other possible correlations, such as the ranges of time the fossil records span, and other incidentals such as the height and physical characteristics of the species. What I was looking for was traits that I have observed myself, and that were also reported by innumerable eyewitness accounts.
Most significantly , I had the opportunity to analyze a skeleton unearthed in Texas. The skeletal remains were not fossilized and appeared to be no more than 200 years old, apparently buried at a depth of about 2 feet .
The results of this study is that I have found a type of hominin that has very close morphological elements in both the unique structure of the cranium and the large, robust skeletal structure. The estimated time-span covered in the fossil record also correlates with the currently accepted theory of migrations of hominins out of Africa into Eurasia and eventually into the western hemisphere.
The specimen that is illustrated above is notable in that it was found in 1921 by Tom Zwiglar, near what is now Kabwe, Zambia. It was first known as "Rhodesia Man" after the former name of the now post-
colonial country. This specimen has many intriguing and significant elements. Dated at 30,000 to 100,000 years ago, It has a curious combination of both ancient and modern characteristics. The ancient features include a prominent brow ridge and a significantly prominent ridge crest along the top of the cranium, and two perpendicular ridges that run up from the sides, forming a distinctive cone-like peak at the top of the skull. Both the prominent, protruding brow and the coned cranium are often cited in reports of Sasquatch sightings.
I can attest to having observed these features as well. However, there are also more modern elements in the Kabwe specimen. such as the volume of the brain-case which, at1300 cc., is within the range of modern humans. The profile of the face is also flatter than more ancient specimens and has the structural support for the cartilage that would form a projecting or "hooded" nose with downward facing nostrils, more similar to the modern human than the ape.
Another remarkable feature of Kabwe Man is that there is an enlarged projecting feature (the occipital
torus) at the rear base of the skull, which serves as a robust support for the connecting muscles of the
trapezius group. This is a trait in common with another very noticeable feature of the Sasquatch or Bigfoot- high shoulders that slope up to the base of the skull, lending an appearance of having "no neck", as it is often reported.
The eye sockets, or ocular orbits of the Kabwe specimen are also larger, rounder and more widely
spaced than those of modern humans. This feature could be evidence of an adaptation to low-light
environments, such as a nocturnal or crepuscular (foraging at dawn and dusk) basis of activity. The
Sasquatch is considered by most researchers to be mainly nocturnal or crepuscular, depending on
geographic region.
One of the aspects of the Sasquatch or Bigfoot that is difficult to conceive is the exceptional height and
body mass- typically reported as between seven and ten feet tall and weighing ranging from 600lbs to 900lbs.
I have also been apprised of some of the interpretation of results from current DNA sequencing, the majority of which is now public knowledge. (As of this updated writing, [Dec. 2024]), more data including nuclear DNA, which is passed on by the male lineage, has been shown to differ from modern humankind.
In the previous hypothesis, I posited that the Sasquatch and modern Humans are significantly more
closely related to each other than any of the higher primates or "great apes," and share a more common
recent ancestor, that may be in the direct lineage of the genus Homo that resulted in the Neanderthal,
Denisovan, Cro-magnon, and modern human. This assessment is borne out by the mitochondrial DNA, inherited from the female lineage, which shows a close relation to that of the modern human.
In this essay, however, I am positing that there is also a close correlation of the Sasquatch to a more
ancient member of the genus Homo - the family of man - based on the fossil record.
Most of the more ancient fossils of hominins and hominids are mineralized or "turned to stone" to a
degree that any extraction of DNA is virtually impossible. The rather extensive and often bewildering
variety of fossils are classified according to their morphology; more simply put, surface features in the
shape of the specimens that match other specimens most closely.
I spent many hours visually comparing the fossil skulls and skeletal remains of hominins from the earliest ancestors in Africa, through later-dated discoveries in Europe and Asia, using hard-copy books and online resources. A resource that was particularly helpful is the 3D CG library complied by the Smithsonian Institute, with which the computer-scanned reconstructions of fossil skulls can be viewed from virtually any angle.[1]
I also reviewed the scientific literature for other possible correlations, such as the ranges of time the fossil records span, and other incidentals such as the height and physical characteristics of the species. What I was looking for was traits that I have observed myself, and that were also reported by innumerable eyewitness accounts.
Most significantly , I had the opportunity to analyze a skeleton unearthed in Texas. The skeletal remains were not fossilized and appeared to be no more than 200 years old, apparently buried at a depth of about 2 feet .
The results of this study is that I have found a type of hominin that has very close morphological elements in both the unique structure of the cranium and the large, robust skeletal structure. The estimated time-span covered in the fossil record also correlates with the currently accepted theory of migrations of hominins out of Africa into Eurasia and eventually into the western hemisphere.
The specimen that is illustrated above is notable in that it was found in 1921 by Tom Zwiglar, near what is now Kabwe, Zambia. It was first known as "Rhodesia Man" after the former name of the now post-
colonial country. This specimen has many intriguing and significant elements. Dated at 30,000 to 100,000 years ago, It has a curious combination of both ancient and modern characteristics. The ancient features include a prominent brow ridge and a significantly prominent ridge crest along the top of the cranium, and two perpendicular ridges that run up from the sides, forming a distinctive cone-like peak at the top of the skull. Both the prominent, protruding brow and the coned cranium are often cited in reports of Sasquatch sightings.
I can attest to having observed these features as well. However, there are also more modern elements in the Kabwe specimen. such as the volume of the brain-case which, at1300 cc., is within the range of modern humans. The profile of the face is also flatter than more ancient specimens and has the structural support for the cartilage that would form a projecting or "hooded" nose with downward facing nostrils, more similar to the modern human than the ape.
Another remarkable feature of Kabwe Man is that there is an enlarged projecting feature (the occipital
torus) at the rear base of the skull, which serves as a robust support for the connecting muscles of the
trapezius group. This is a trait in common with another very noticeable feature of the Sasquatch or Bigfoot- high shoulders that slope up to the base of the skull, lending an appearance of having "no neck", as it is often reported.
The eye sockets, or ocular orbits of the Kabwe specimen are also larger, rounder and more widely
spaced than those of modern humans. This feature could be evidence of an adaptation to low-light
environments, such as a nocturnal or crepuscular (foraging at dawn and dusk) basis of activity. The
Sasquatch is considered by most researchers to be mainly nocturnal or crepuscular, depending on
geographic region.
One of the aspects of the Sasquatch or Bigfoot that is difficult to conceive is the exceptional height and
body mass- typically reported as between seven and ten feet tall and weighing ranging from 600lbs to 900lbs.
Does Kabwe Man have any traits that correlate with this size? The surprising answer is, yes. Professor
Lee R. Berger of the University of Witwatersrand, extrapolating measurements from the bone
fragments of numerous individuals, estimates that many of them were "giants" typically over (7 ft)
2.13 m tall. [2]
Kabwe Man
Kabwe Man has been classified as a specimen of Homo Heidelbergenis, fossils of which have been
discovered in Europe and Asia as well as in Africa. (The oldest fossil cranium was discovered in Italyand dated at about one million years old) Most of the fossils, however, are dated to the Middle Pleistocene, about 780 to 126 thousand years ago.
Hiedelbergensians have notable morphological traits that differentiate them from both the earlier Homo Ergaster and the later Homo Neanderthalensis. However there are also notably discernible differences between Heidelbergensians from different geographical regions that suggest an ability to interbreed with related subspecies of hominins.
This type of hybridizing ability has been also established, through genetic studies, in the Neanderthals, who share DNA with modern humans of Eurasian origins. The import of this is that the Heidlebergensians could be either the ancestors, or a closely related subspecies, of the same hominins as the Sasquatch or Bigfoot that inhabit North America today.
Another important aspect that is currently being researched is the apparent capability of speech in the
Sasquatch, or Bigfoot. Sound recordings dating back as far as the 1970's have provided evidence of
complex vocalizations that follow patterns similar to those found in human languages. The significant
correlation in the fossil record is that H. Heildelbergensis also had the hyoid bone as part of the
structure of the larynx. The hyoid is a roughly horseshoe-shaped bone that is critical for the formulation of distinct syllables and enunciated words.[3] The hyoid bone in H.Hiedelbergensis is another feature in common with the Sasquatch.
Pages Following have the Important Comparisons and Photographic Evidence!
Comparisons of Skull Fragments from the Texas Skeleton to Homo Heidlebergensis
Fragments clockwise from neck vertebra, partial eye orbital socket, mandible.
In the above Composted Image, The Eye Orbit fragment fits precisely on the H. Heidlebergensis brow ridge. The Mandible fragment fits with the same occlusion of the teeth very precisely as well. The Vertebra fragment has been place in the relative skeletal position.
In another significant detail, the Texas Skull's Orbital Socket has a feature not found in neither Modern Humans nor Neanderthals, but is present in Homo Heidlebergensis.
The feature is a protrusion in the middle of the top orbital ridge that dips down toward the center of the Eye.
composite with Hiedelbergensis compared with fragments
As I searched through the Smithsonian 3D CG library, I found no 3D mandibles of H.Hiedelbergensis.
There was, however, an example of a Neanderthal mandible.
Since Neanderthals are chronologically earlier than humans, I compared the Texas Skull mandible with the 3D Neanderthal mandible. Once again, there was a surprisingly close correlation of the specimens.
The Neanderthal and the H.Heidelbergensis share a trait in relation to the mandibular dental arch, or the shape of the curve of the teeth in the lower jaw. Both the Neanderthal and the H, Hiedelbergensis have a flattened arch in comparison with the modern human, whose front teeth form a section of a nearly circular arc.
Along with the skull was, apparently, the entire skeleton, still partially covered. In accordance with State and Federal Laws, the proper authorities were notified. Consequently, the remains were categorized as Native American by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and they were excavated by archaeologists. I was not impressed by their expertise, or rather, lack thereof. The exhumed skeleton was sent to a prominent university in the Eastern US. I have tried to contact the University on their findings with no answers or results.
However, I also have analyzed the proportions of the skeleton using photometrics and comparisons to measurements, including surveyor scale, rule tapes and tape measurements. The skeleton, using the relative proportions of modern humans was in the range of 11ft. Native American?
In a future essay, I intend to comment on the findings of the full- length skeleton.
Though the exact origins of the Sasquatch at present is controversial, there are comprehensive DNA studies on the mitochondrial DNA collected by researchers throughout North America. The entire genome of some individuals ave been obtained, and that data is expected to be released in 2025.
There is the possibility that we will obtain vital clues as to the origin of Man, and knowledge that may help us with medical advances and genetic therapies. Any serious professional in the fields of anthropology or biology should recognize that we have the opportunity for what will certainly be one of the most significant scientific discoveries of the 21st century.
Resources and references:
[2] The Naked Scientists: Science Radio & Science Podcasts, Our Story: Human Ancestor Fossils.
November 2007
[3] MartÃnez I, Arsuaga JL, Quam R, Carretero JM, Gracia A, RodrÃguez L, Human hyoid bones from
the middle Pleistocene site of the Sima de los Huesos (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain),
Journal of Human Evolution, 2008, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 118-124. PMID: 17804038
David Claerr's book "Sasquatch Tool Use"
(Use the search bar in the upper right of the blog to look up other posts by David Clearr)
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