Did Giant Exist? The Real History of Giants Living on Earth
Humans have long expressed a fascination and fear around the question, “Were there giants on Earth?” Whether in legends or life, giants have been worshipped, reviled, ostracized, and celebrated. Stories of towering beings appear in cultures around the world — from mythology to religious texts — and continue to capture our collective imagination.
While the existence of dinosaurs is backed by extensive scientific evidence, and millions journey to witness massive ancient monuments, the idea that actual human giants — beings over 20 feet tall — once roamed the earth is not supported by any credible scientific evidence. Despite popular claims and persistent folklore, no verified remains, fossils, or historical records confirm the existence of such beings.
That said, the enduring belief in giants raises a compelling question: What were people seeing — or experiencing — that led to these widespread legends? Though giants may not have existed in the literal sense, their presence in stories, symbols, and artifacts points to deeper cultural, psychological, and perhaps even natural explanations worth exploring.
Proof of Giants Throughout History
The concept of giants has been a part of human folklore and mythological narratives for millennia, resonating through various cultures and continents, from the Americas to Africa and from ancient Israel to the Norse. In the Americas, both North and South have indigenous legends speaking of giant beings, some even overlapping with interpretations of megafauna like mastodons that once roamed the land. The Native American tales often include references to a race of giants, which could be considered a cultural memory of these large prehistoric animals.
In Biblical Text
The biblical references, such as those found in the Book of Genesis, speak of the Nephilim, who are often portrayed as giants or mighty warriors and described as the offspring of the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men”. Nephilim have been subject to much interpretation, with some considering them metaphorical giants while others believe in their literal existence. David’s battle against Goliath is one of the most iconic stories of a human overcoming a giant from the Bible.
Around the World
From Africa to Germany, as well as in the Norse traditions of Europe, tales of giants are common, often tied to the creation myths and early histories of peoples. Native American folklore across various tribes frequently speaks of giants, who are depicted as powerful spirits or ancestors that roamed the land, some of whom interacted with the people, teaching or challenging them. In Egyptian mythology, the giant Geb, the god of the Earth, was often depicted as a colossal figure whose laughter was believed to cause earthquakes and whose body formed the hills and valleys of ancient Egypt. Perhaps no culture is more richly intertwined with tales of giants than that of the Greeks, from the gods of Olympus to their offspring, such as the Cyclops.
Giant Skeletal Remains
The Smithsonian Institution in the United States, along with other scientific bodies, has been involved in the study of large humanoid bones that have been discovered, often shrouded in mystery and sometimes labeled as hoaxes. Newspaper articles from the 19th and early 20th centuries in New York and California frequently featured stories of giant skeletons unearthed, fueling speculation about ancient giants on Earth.
Extraterrestrial Theories
Theories about ancient aliens, as seen in various full episodes of Beyond Belief or popular documentaries, sometimes suggest that these giants were extraterrestrial visitors, while others propose that they were simply larger human beings that lived in ancient times.
Skepticism remains high, with many of these stories considered hoaxes or misinterpretations of archaeological findings. The search for evidence continues, with enthusiasts combing through books, historical newspaper articles, and religious texts like the Christian Bible and the Book of Enoch for clues.
Scientific Constraints: The Square-Cube Law
Despite the richness of folklore and speculation, biology and physics place hard limits on the plausibility of giants as described in myths. One critical constraint is the square-cube law — a principle in biomechanics that explains why extremely large human-like beings could not physically exist. As a creature’s size increases, its volume (and therefore its mass) grows faster than its surface area. For humans, this means that as height increases, the weight increases exponentially — but the strength of bones and muscles, which depends on cross-sectional area, does not scale at the same rate.
In practical terms, a human scaled up to 20 feet tall would weigh many times more than their skeleton and muscles could support. The heart and circulatory system would also be unable to efficiently deliver oxygen through such a large body. This fundamental law of nature makes the existence of towering humanoid giants biologically unfeasible — regardless of stories or legends to the contrary.
Modern Giants, A Brief Look at Gigantism
Merriam-Webster defines a giant as being a “legendary humanlike being of great stature and strength,” as well as “a living being of great size.” In physical terms, a giant is a person over seven feet tall with a condition known as “gigantism.” The tallest person documented in modern history was Robert Wadlow (1918-1940), known as the “Alton Giant,” or the “Giant of Illinois,” who stood 8 feet 11 inches tall.
Robert Wadlow, the Alton Giant
Wadlow intended to study law but lived as a celebrity after traveling with the Ringling Brothers Circus and as a spokesman for giant-sized shoes. He died at a young age, an all too common end for those with gigantism — their weight and size put constant strain on the heart and skeletal system.
Today, genetic giants are gaining acceptance because, overall, humans have evolved into a taller species. According to Max Roser, an economist studying global standards of living conditions, between 1810 and 1980, European male height grew from an average of 160 centimeters to 185 centimeters. But despite this acceptance, giants can still find life in a normal-sized world stressful and lonely and, like Wadlow, are treated as an oddity. This contradiction doesn’t exactly mirror how giant races have been regarded throughout history.
Were there Giants on Earth?
In the realm of archaeology and anthropology, there is no credible evidence to suggest that a race of giants once roamed the Earth. Large bones often claimed to be from giant humans are usually identified as remains of prehistoric animals such as dinosaurs or mammoths.
However, tales of giant humans across the earth, whether rooted in mythology, religion, or speculative history, continue to intrigue us. From America to Africa, and from the annals of the Smithsonian to the pages of the Christian Bible, the concept of giants weaves a complex tapestry of intrigue, belief, and scholarly curiosity. Whether these stories emerge from real giants or are simply metaphors within cultural histories, they remain a compelling part of our collective narrative.
About the Author
The Zone of Silence: An Ancient Mystery of Old Mexico
Because of Mexican engineer and chemist Harry De La Peña’s blond hair and blue eyes, since high school he had been called “El Luminaro,” the Luminous One. After a European education, De La Peña returned to Mexico to teach chemistry at the Instituto Tecnológico de Laguna in Torreon, Mexico. On a blistering day in 1966, he departed Torreon for a photo expedition with a group of friends.
On that day, El Luminaro would stumble into a zone of anomalous paradox. While native mestizos, the ethnically mixed descendants of Anglo and indigenous people, had long known the the area had strange and special qualities, it was now on the radar of a European-trained scientist. The locals believed that couples having trouble conceiving children could visit the Zone with a baby coming nine months later. Notably, Zone locals also had superior dental health with straight white teeth, and random blood samples from Zone residents show far greater health than those from outside the area.
Like the Bermuda Triangle, the Zone of Silence is located on the 27th parallel. Comprised of 1,500 square miles of inhospitable desert and extreme temperatures, there are no roads; only dirt tracks. And travel mishaps are dangerous as it’s difficult to call for help. El Zona del Silencio is an electromagnetic void; an anomaly, where compasses spin like dervishes and cell phone and radio signals are the definition of “hit-and-miss.” Even so, some view these odd reports as “deliberately invented to generate tourism and sold to the world via the mass media.”
Entering El Zona del Silencio
Ceballos, in the Mexican State of Durango, is the point of departure closest to the zone. In 1966 the town, comprised of dirt roads and shacks, was barely on the map. More than 50-years since, the roads are still some combination of dirt, dust and mud, but signs point the way to El Zona del Silencio, and a 16 kilometer rail spur provides access from the outside.
The wise enter the zone with as much ice and water as a vehicle can carry as well as extra gas. Only a fool would forget a hat. During monsoon season the ground becomes a slippery paste, and dry arroyos fill with torrential flood waters in an instant. Daytime temperatures can hit 120F and plummet to freezing after the sun drops below the horizon.
Nopal cactus grow in abundance — on the zone outskirts they have the typical green coloring, but change to pink and purple as one travels deeper into the region. What’s even weirder is that the purple and pink specimens are interspersed with green cactus plants.
Another rare species, the tailless Mapimí tortoise, is native to the area. Foot-long centipedes with purple heads and tails hunt anything they can catch, including mice and birds. Insects grow two to three times normal size, and albino reptiles and snakes are frequently sighted. Today much of the zone is within the boundaries of the Mapimí Biosphere Reserve — the inexplicable flora and fauna are subject to ongoing research.
