ocal legends passed down by the Paiute Indians tell of a race of giants who were exterminated by the tribe. It is said this was done by trapping the giants in a cave, shooting arrows at them, and then starting a large fire at the mouth of the cave. When the Lovelock Cave was later mined, many giant skeletons and artifacts were found in the area; there was also a large quantity of arrowheads found in the cave. Many of the artifacts were lost in a fire, but some of the skulls and artifacts are located at this museum.Yup. Legends of giants all over the place LINK
You'll find a small, barely marked collection of the artifacts (arrowheads, etc.) on the second floor, in the display case by the window. The skulls themselves are kept in a back room, where the curator stores them out of view so as "not to offend the Indians." Ask her about the legend and she'll lead you downstairs to her office, where she keeps them unceremoniously lined up in a cabinet.
The problem, of course, is trying to figure out the real story from the crazies.
you know some reports are crazy when the Freepers pull apart their claims.
However, there are red headed albinos in some South West American tribes. (we delivered one when I was doing some training in Gallup).
Or were they Vikings who got lost? or were they Irish? or related to the red haired mummies of ancient China? Or ancient Greeks? Menaleus and Odyseus were red haired according to legend, and Athena had grey eyes.
So is there any DNA or dating evidence on the skeletons?? a few have been found to be faked in the past, ) (piltdown man was not the only "fake" in those days) but one does wonder..
And the book 1491 suggests that a lot of the advanced civilizations in the USA/Americas has been ignored.
Nat Geo article on Kennewick man and that other skulls out there are going to be tested for DNA.
The local Tribes object to the Smithsonian etc. showing off the bones of their ancestors as "artifacts", and after a century of abuse, they have the courts behind them . As a scientist, I'd like the bones to study, but more traditional cultures see the bones of their loved ones as something to be respected.