The story of the Paiute tribe and their battle with the giants was recorded in 1882 by Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, daughter of the Indian chief of the tribe. Her book, Life Among the Piutes, was the first written account of the legend. But it was only the beginning.
In the early 20th century, archaeologists discovered Lovelock Cave and thousands of artifacts, which led to a long excavation of the site. These excavations sparked interest and controversy in the scientific community.
One of the key artifacts found at Lovelock Cave were rafts made of a fibrous plant known as tulle. According to Paiutes legend, the giants used these rafts to cross Lake Lahontan, which once covered much of northern Nevada. This lake is considered one of the largest freshwater lakes in North American history. Researchers speculate that Lake Lahontan existed about 16,000 years ago, during the last ice age.
During the battle with the giants, the Paiutes united with other tribes in the area. They pursued the last remaining giants and found their refuge at Lovelock Cave. The Paiutes demanded that the enemy come out of the cave and fight, but the giants refused. In response, the tribesmen started a fire at the entrance of the cave to smoke the giants. A few giants managed to get out of the cave, but the rest either burned alive or suffocated from the smoke. The entrance to the cave collapsed and remained inaccessible to humans for many years.
Lovelock Cave, also known as Bat Cave, is located 20 miles south of present-day Lovelock, Nevada. It is a very old cave that predates the existence of humans on the continent. In 1886, mining engineer John T. Reid found the cave based on information from Native American lore. Reid, however, was unable to begin archaeological excavations, but two miners, James Hart and David Pugh, realized the value of the guano and decided to begin mining it in 1911.
It was Hart and Pugh who contacted Alfred Kreber, founder of the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, to report their discovery of prehistoric artifacts. This stimulated Lovelock’s first archaeological excavations in 1912, led by L.L. Loud. A second series of excavations occurred in 1924, and after the work was completed, Lowood published a report of his findings in 1929.
What was discovered as a result of these excavations? About 10,000 archaeological specimens were found, including tools, bones, baskets and weapons. The most surprising discovery was 60 mummies of medium height and several of very large, reaching up to 3 meters. These mummies became an object of interest for scientists and researchers, who tried to understand who these people were and how they were related to the legend of the giants.
Many scholars believe that the legend of the Paiute giants has a basis in real events. They point to artifacts found in Lovelock Cave that confirm the presence of the ancient tribe and their struggles with the giants.
Time passed and all the irrelevant artifacts began to disappear. At this point, all that remained were excavation reports, photographs, some even had large mummies, but all these artifacts disappeared, and now scientists were sputtering in response to their mention – “Prove” Provide the actual mummies, bones, and evidence!” Of course… They destroyed everything themselves or hid it in secret vaults, and now they pretend to be something incomprehensible…
In the photos below is a print of a giant hand from Lovelock Cave, a drawing from an ancient Indian manuscript describing the war with the giants. By the way, these giants were friendly and there is no mention that they chased the Indians, on the contrary – the Indians chased and killed the giants taking advantage of their numerical superiority.
