There are a number of photographs online that depict giants being uncovered either in archaeological digs or industrial endeavors. The incredible size of these beings is enough to give a second look at the stories many have gathered and spread of giant humans, but can we confirm the existence of these beings that are larger than life?
Recently the Reverend Swope wrote an article describing these super-humans where he illustrated a fairly well thought out depiction of the archeology of the 1800s. In local communities, he suggested, most people would be known by the general populace. As a result, those who were predisposed to fabricating tales would often be considered dishonest as opposed to those who would propagate only the truth. For the most part it was the reputation of these individuals that drove them to greater and more well thought out and accurate findings. It stands to reason that in the anonymous world of the Internet such a reputation would mean less to those making such discoveries and should stand on its own merit to some degree.
But whether or not the giants discovered in these older photographs and accounts were verified, is there any precedent in Native American lore? Actually, there are several stories of giants existing outside of a given community, though they were often depicted as gods or a force of nature. But with some legends still surviving today of giants towering above the other men of the tribe, is it possible that a race of giants roamed the western world long ago?
In examining the possibility of an ancient race, let’s take on the concept of food preparation in an ancient tribal society. Food, for example was far different in these times than it would be considered now. As food production depended heavily on the land that a tribe would inhabit there were often periods of abundance followed by famine and relocation to new lands as the area was hunted out. As a result, a giant entity, which would require far more food in order to sustain itself would be able to survive easier in this society than it would in a society driven primarily by agriculture alone where rationing and economy would be driving factors. Second, a tribe would likely find a giant among them to be a positive factor when it came to protection, not merely because a giant would be naturally more able to do battle (it may in fact find itself more vulnerable on a battlefield) but because the psychological effect one would have may be something another tribe would have to consider before doing battle with him. Finally, the giant would likely be endowed with proportionally greater strength and would be worth several humans in the acquisition of raw materials from the surrounding area. As a result, such giants would make incredible builders and gatherers.
So could giants have been feasibly sustained in a tribal society? There is no single factor that suggests they could not have been. Of course biologists have cited in the past that a giant with a strictly human physiology may have extreme back and joint discomfort due to its massive size, though these analyses are often made with incredibly tall people with disproportionate physiologies in mind in a modern lifestyle setting. Without better understanding of the giants themselves (such as through the acquisition of a skeleton) it would be difficult to determine how adept they would be at handling their surroundings.