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| {{Short description|Preserved body found in Wyoming, United States}} | |||
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| {{weasel|date=July 2013}} | |||
| {{more citations needed|date=July 2013}} | |||
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| The '''San Pedro Mountains mummy''' (known informally as |
The '''San Pedro Mountains mummy''' (known informally as "Pedro") is a ] discovered in Wyoming in the 1930s and since lost. Scientific analyses have concluded that it is the mummy of a Native American infant that was born with ], but due to its small size and unusual physical features, it has been regarded as an ] and related to legends of ]. A similar mummy, also lost, has been nicknamed "Chiquita". | ||
| ==Discovery and description== | |||
| In October 1932, while digging for gold in the San Pedro mountains, ], two prospectors, Cecil Mayne and Frank Carr, blasted their way through some thick rock that a large vein of gold continued into. When the dust settled, they saw they had opened up a small room, approximately 4 ft tall, 4 ft wide, and about 15 ft deep. This is where they said that they first saw the ] of a ]. | |||
| The mummy that became known as Pedro was discovered in either 1932 or 1934 in the San Pedro mountains in ], near ] by two gold prospectors, Cecil Mayne and Frank Carr. After blasting open a cave, on a ledge inside it they discovered a mummified body in a seated position, approximately {{convert|6–7|in|cm}} tall, weighing approximately {{convert|1|lbs|g}}.<ref name=Gazette>{{cite news |first=Jeremy |last=Fugleberg |url=https://gazette.com/travel/meet-chiquita-wyomings-500-year-old-mummy/article_1fdb6202-147c-56d3-be49-1856e39cb2c6.html |title=Meet Chiquita: Wyoming's 500-year-old mummy |newspaper=The Casper Star-Tribune |agency=AP |via=''The Denver Gazette'' |date=July 6, 2014 |access-date=April 21, 2024 }}</ref><ref name=ReferenceA>{{cite news|url=http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_c77f7c03-6169-5f9f-b3a8-4350c70b8966.html|title=Man offers $10,000 for Pedro Mountain Mummy|last=Burke|first=Brendan|date=February 3, 2005|newspaper=Casper Star-Tribune|accessdate=April 21, 2024}}</ref><ref name=Billings>{{cite news |first=Jeremy |last=Fugleberg |url=https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/into-the-cave-is-little-man-mine-site-where-mummy-was-found/article_d83e8a89-d059-5101-b6d7-4b0b2eab626b.html |title=Into the cave: Is 'Little Man Mine' site where mummy was found? |newspaper=Casper Star-Tribune |via=''Billings Gazette'' |date=September 15, 2014 |access-date=April 21, 2024 }}</ref> Its standing height was estimated at {{convert|17|in|cm}}.<ref name=ReferenceA/> The site may be within the Little Man mining claim.<ref name=Billings/> | |||
| ==Subsequent history and analysis== | |||
| This first mummy was examined using X-rays which determined that it was the body of an ] "whose cranial deformity gave it the appearance of a miniature adult." A second mummy examined by University of Wyoming anthropologist George Gill and the Denver Children's Hospital in the 1990s was also shown to be an anencephalic infant. DNA testing showed it to be Native American and radiocarbon dating dated it to about 1700.<ref>{{cite book|last=Loendorf|first=Lawrence L.|title=Mountain Spirit: The Sheep Eater Indians of Yellowstone|year=2006|publisher=University of Utah Press|isbn=978-0874808681|page=189|author2=Nancy Medaris Stone }}</ref> | |||
| In 1936, Mayne stated in a sworn affidavit that the mummy was then the property of Homer F. Sherrill and was in the ] in Chicago, which has no record of it.<ref name=Wyo>{{cite web |first=Rebecca |last=Hein |url=https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/pedro-mountain-mummy |title=The Pedro Mountain Mummy |website=WyoHistory |publisher=Wyoming Historical Society |date=November 8, 2014 |access-date=April 21, 2024 }}</ref> Sherrill, a Nebraskan, exhibited it as an early hominid.<ref name=Gazette/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7886175/mummified_pygmy_found/|title=Mummified Pygmy Found|newspaper=The Waco News-Tribune|date=December 15, 1934|page=7|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=April 21, 2024 |agency=UP}}</ref> It was displayed for years in the window of a ] in ]. It was purchased in the 1940s by ] car dealer Ivan Goodman,<ref name=ReferenceA/> who mounted it on a wooden base and enclosed it in a domed glass jar and advertised it as a 65-year-old "pygmy", "preserved as it actually lived".<ref name=Gazette/><ref name=Wyo/> In 1950, in New York, Goodman either lost it<ref name=Gazette/> or, according to a 1979 article in the '']'', sold it to Leonard Wadler, who reportedly moved to Florida and died there in the 1980s.<ref name=ReferenceA/> | |||
| Due to its small size and adult appearance, the mummy was related to ] legends of ] called the ],<ref name=history>{{cite news|url=https://historycollection.com/truth-behind-disturbing-mystery-san-pedro-mountains-mummy/3/|title=The Truth Behind the Disturbing Mystery of the San Pedro Mountains Mummy |website=History Collection|date=January 4, 2018|first=Natasha|last=Sheldon |access-date=April 21, 2024}}</ref><ref name=legend>{{cite news|url=http://trib.com/lifestyles/weekender/did-a-mummy-prove-the-legend/article_89ec3ff7-852a-52b1-a235-78fe97cd4b1a.html|title=Did a mummy prove the legend?|date=October 31, 2010|first=Christine|last=Peterson|newspaper=Casper Star-Tribune |access-date=April 21, 2024 }}</ref> and to non-Native American folklore about "pygmy" Indians.<ref>{{cite book|last=Loendorf|first=Lawrence L.|title=Mountain Spirit: The Sheep Eater Indians of Yellowstone|year=2006|location=Salt Lake City|publisher=University of Utah Press|isbn=978-0874808681|page=90|author2=Nancy Medaris Stone }}</ref> In August 1941, the '']'' wrote about it in an article headlined "Did a Race of Pygmies Once Live in America?"<ref name=Wyo/> In 1979, John Adolfi of ], offered $10,000 for the mummy, hoping to use it to cast doubt on the established account of ].<ref name=ReferenceA/> | |||
| According to a July 7, 1979, article in the '']'' the first mummy started debates over whether it was a hoax, a baby, or one of the legendary "]". The mummy ended up in ] at a local drug store where it was shown as an attraction for several years before it was bought by ], a ] businessman. The mummy was then passed on to Leonard Wadler, a New York businessman, and its present location is unknown. | |||
| <ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite news|url=http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_c77f7c03-6169-5f9f-b3a8-4350c70b8966.html|title=Man offers $10,000 for Pedro Mountain Mummy|last=Burke|first=Brendan|date=February 3, 2005|work=Casper Star-Tribune|publisher=trib.com|accessdate=25 January 2011}}</ref> Seeking to prove evolution wrong, an offer of a $10,000 reward was made for the person who finds the missing mummy according to the Casper Star-Tribune.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> | |||
| The '']'' reported in 1950 that X-rays of the San Pedro mummy showed adult vertebrae and teeth,<ref name=ReferenceA/> and there were reports of solid food in the stomach and of broken bones,<ref name=Wyo/><ref name=history/> but an examination led by ] of the ] concluded that it was an anencephalic infant; the appearance of a miniature adult was the result of the deformed head.<ref name=Loendorf189>Loendorf and Stone (2006). p. 189, note 2.</ref> ] of the ] saw the X-rays and agreed with this determination,<ref name=Wyo/> but the films have also been lost.<ref name=Gazette/><ref name=ReferenceA/> | |||
| ==Chiquita== | |||
| After "Pedro" was lost, it wasn't until the 1990s that another discovery was made. After an appearance on ], Gill was shown the mummified remains of a baby like human. The ] family that presented these remains had kept this mummy in their attic for generations. Her arms and legs were folded in the same way as "Pedro", which was seen as a direct connection between the two. Gill examined these ] remains on three separate occasions, and he deduced that these were the remains of a little girl, and claimed that her birthdate was somewhere in the 1500s. Gill also presumed, that because of the stark similarities he observed with the ], that "Chiquita" and "Pedro" had a connection that went beyond their ]. With ] research, they were able to find out that the baby was of Native American origin, despite the fact that she had blond hair. The ] discovered that "Chiquita" had died as a result of ], which draws another connection to "Pedro", and strengthens Gills beliefs that the cause of "Pedro"'s death and mummification was due to his anencephaly.<ref name="Sheldon">{{cite news|url=https://historycollection.com/truth-behind-disturbing-mystery-san-pedro-mountains-mummy/3/|title=The Truth Behind the Disturbing Mystery of the San Pedro Mountains Mummy|date=January 4, 2018|first=Natasha|last=Sheldon}}</ref> | |||
| ==Second mummy== | |||
| With the suggestion that these two unique cases of mummified remains being closely related, and believers of the theory of the ] were quick to use this as an example as well. These legends go back in time throughout the Native American culture in the area, and the story leads people to wonder if these tales may be true. Called the ], the stories that are told mention these beings to be around three feet tall. Throughout the ] and the mountain ranges in ], stories of these beings describe them as magical, and were gifted with the ]. Even though they are described as possessing these abilities, they are depicted to be violent and were a threat to the local people. The name, Nimerigar, is said to mean "People Eaters", further stressing the fear that the locals felt around these creatures. | |||
| In 1994, Gill was interviewed about the San Pedro mummy for an episode of the TV show '']'' along with Eugene Bashor, who was seeking evidence of the Nimerigar.<ref name=legend/> A family in ] who saw the program then came forward with a similar mummy, {{convert|4|in|cm}} high, which had been purchased from a sheepherder in the same region of Wyoming around 1929<ref name=Wyo/> and was dubbed "Chiquita". X-rays and DNA testing performed at Ivinson Memorial Hospital in ] and ] confirmed that it was a naturally mummified anencephalic female infant of Native American ancestry,<ref name=Gazette/><ref name=legend/><ref name=Loendorf189/> and it was carbon-dated to approximately 1500<ref name=Gazette/> or 1700.<ref name=legend/> The family then withdrew access to the mummy.<ref name=Gazette/><ref name=legend/> | |||
| Both mummies are unique among Wyoming Native American burials in being in a seated position, with the arms wrapped around the legs. Chiquita is also unusual for a Native American in being blonde.<ref name=Gazette/> | |||
| Stories of the Nimerigar are aplenty within the local culture. It is said to be a bad idea to make any of them angry, because they would attack the people who frustrated them with ]. There is also a story in ] that directly relates to the condition of the heads of the mummified remains found in the area. Nimerigar also reportedly killed off the local community members that suffered from old age or sickness, and they were said to have done this with a "blow to the head".<ref name="Sheldon"/> | |||
| The direct connection between the stories pertaining the race of tiny people, known as Nimerigar, attacking with a blow to the head allow theorists to make a direct connection to the remains of "Pedro" and "Chiquita". The theory of a race of "little people" in America has been peddled throughout history, and had been a topic of interest for ], ], and ] alike. It was widely reported in the ] and ] in 1876 that a six acre graveyard was discovered in ] and contained a tribe of people who were measured at around three feet of height. They were also said to have been found in sitting and standing positions, and were also found to have ], suggesting that they were not children. This is referred to as a ] grave, and is still a mystery in the sense that we do not know what these beings were doing all together in this grave. Also reported with this specific news, it was discovered that there was an eerily similar find at a site in ], near ]. | |||
| With these discoveries being brought to light with the finding of the "San Pedro Mummy", and years later "Chiquita", theorists were sure that these tales of an ancient civilization full of people who are considered to be little were to be true. It is a hard fact to swallow that there cannot be any more studies done on "Pedro" because he was lost. Many geologists and archaeologists still wonder about this discovery today, and with the advancement in technology since the remains were lost, we would undoubtedly be able to find out more from our studies. | |||
| The discovery of "Chiquita" in the attic of the Native American family also raises the question as to why this family made effort over a span of 500 years to protect these remains. This draws connections to different ] throughout history around the world, which believe that mummification will help in certain ways when a person is set to encounter the ]. | |||
| Pygmy remains have caused speculation for ages, and the discovery of these beings creates direct connections to ] which was previously believed to be fiction. It is also speculated that these could be alien remains due to their head shape and body shape, but most theorists let go of that idea when it is revealed that these are in fact human remains, which causes a whole new set of questions to arise. Surely, as more artifacts are found throughout time, if there was a time in history where an entire civilization of dwarfs was a possibility then we will find more evidence. It is more likely that the remains found in the mountains in Wyoming and in the attic of the Native American family were mummified because of post death religious practices enacted by the native people on the land at the time. The study of the question asking why these smaller humans were buried in different ways than it was previously believed is a common one when thinking over the findings of these mummies. | |||
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| * ] | |||
| * ], small people in North American legends | |||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| * ] | * ] | ||
| * ], a person about {{cvt|19.5|in|cm|order=flip}} tall | |||
| * ], small people in Ainu folklore | * ], small people in Ainu folklore | ||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
| {{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
| {{refbegin}} | |||
| *{{cite book|last=Reader's digest |title=Mysteries of the unexplained|year=1982|publisher=Reader's Digest Association|location=Pleasantville, N.Y.|isbn=0895771462|edition=Repr. with amendments|author2=Monte Davis |author3=Valerie Moolman |author4=Georg Zappler |page=40}} Photo of mummy | |||
| *{{cite news|url=https://historycollection.com/truth-behind-disturbing-mystery-san-pedro-mountains-mummy/3/|title=The Truth Behind the Disturbing Mystery of the San Pedro Mountains Mummy|date=January 4, 2018|first=Natasha|last=Sheldon}} | |||
| {{refend}} | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
| ⚫ | * , ], ] | ||
| * {{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7886175/mummified_pygmy_found/|title=Mummified Pygmy Found|work=The Waco News-Tribune|date=15 Dec 1934|page=7|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=17 December 2016}} | |||
| * {{cite news|url=http://trib.com/lifestyles/weekender/did-a-mummy-prove-the-legend/article_89ec3ff7-852a-52b1-a235-78fe97cd4b1a.html|title=Did a mummy prove the legend?|date=October 31, 2010|first=Christine|last=Peterson|work=Casper Star-Tribune}} | |||
| * {{cite news|url=https://historycollection.com/truth-behind-disturbing-mystery-san-pedro-mountains-mummy/3/|title=The Truth Behind the Disturbing Mystery of the San Pedro Mountains Mummy|date=January 4, 2018|first=Natasha|last=Sheldon}} | |||
| ⚫ | * |
||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 12:42, 21 April 2024
The San Pedro Mountains mummy (known informally as "Pedro") is a mummy discovered in Wyoming in the 1930s and since lost. Scientific analyses have concluded that it is the mummy of a Native American infant that was born with anencephaly, but due to its small size and unusual physical features, it has been regarded as an early hominid and related to legends of little people. A similar mummy, also lost, has been nicknamed "Chiquita".
Discovery and description
The mummy that became known as Pedro was discovered in either 1932 or 1934 in the San Pedro mountains in Carbon County, Wyoming, near Pathfinder Reservoir by two gold prospectors, Cecil Mayne and Frank Carr. After blasting open a cave, on a ledge inside it they discovered a mummified body in a seated position, approximately 6–7 inches (15–18 cm) tall, weighing approximately 1 pound (450 g). Its standing height was estimated at 17 inches (43 cm). The site may be within the Little Man mining claim.
Subsequent history and analysis
In 1936, Mayne stated in a sworn affidavit that the mummy was then the property of Homer F. Sherrill and was in the Field Museum in Chicago, which has no record of it. Sherrill, a Nebraskan, exhibited it as an early hominid. It was displayed for years in the window of a drug store in Meeteetse, Wyoming. It was purchased in the 1940s by Casper car dealer Ivan Goodman, who mounted it on a wooden base and enclosed it in a domed glass jar and advertised it as a 65-year-old "pygmy", "preserved as it actually lived". In 1950, in New York, Goodman either lost it or, according to a 1979 article in the Casper Star-Tribune, sold it to Leonard Wadler, who reportedly moved to Florida and died there in the 1980s.
Due to its small size and adult appearance, the mummy was related to Shoshone legends of little people called the Nimerigar, and to non-Native American folklore about "pygmy" Indians. In August 1941, the Milwaukee Journal wrote about it in an article headlined "Did a Race of Pygmies Once Live in America?" In 1979, John Adolfi of Syracuse, New York, offered $10,000 for the mummy, hoping to use it to cast doubt on the established account of human evolution.
The Casper Tribune-Herald reported in 1950 that X-rays of the San Pedro mummy showed adult vertebrae and teeth, and there were reports of solid food in the stomach and of broken bones, but an examination led by Harry L. Shapiro of the American Museum of Natural History concluded that it was an anencephalic infant; the appearance of a miniature adult was the result of the deformed head. George W. Gill of the University of Wyoming saw the X-rays and agreed with this determination, but the films have also been lost.
Second mummy
In 1994, Gill was interviewed about the San Pedro mummy for an episode of the TV show Unsolved Mysteries along with Eugene Bashor, who was seeking evidence of the Nimerigar. A family in Cheyenne who saw the program then came forward with a similar mummy, 4 inches (10 cm) high, which had been purchased from a sheepherder in the same region of Wyoming around 1929 and was dubbed "Chiquita". X-rays and DNA testing performed at Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie and Denver Children's Hospital confirmed that it was a naturally mummified anencephalic female infant of Native American ancestry, and it was carbon-dated to approximately 1500 or 1700. The family then withdrew access to the mummy.
Both mummies are unique among Wyoming Native American burials in being in a seated position, with the arms wrapped around the legs. Chiquita is also unusual for a Native American in being blonde.
See also
- Atacama skeleton
- Alyoshenka
- Koro-pok-guru, small people in Ainu folklore
References
- ^ Fugleberg, Jeremy (July 6, 2014). "Meet Chiquita: Wyoming's 500-year-old mummy". The Casper Star-Tribune. AP. Retrieved April 21, 2024 – via The Denver Gazette.
- ^ Burke, Brendan (February 3, 2005). "Man offers $10,000 for Pedro Mountain Mummy". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ Fugleberg, Jeremy (September 15, 2014). "Into the cave: Is 'Little Man Mine' site where mummy was found?". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved April 21, 2024 – via Billings Gazette.
- ^ Hein, Rebecca (November 8, 2014). "The Pedro Mountain Mummy". WyoHistory. Wyoming Historical Society. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- "Mummified Pygmy Found". The Waco News-Tribune. UP. December 15, 1934. p. 7. Retrieved April 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sheldon, Natasha (January 4, 2018). "The Truth Behind the Disturbing Mystery of the San Pedro Mountains Mummy". History Collection. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ Peterson, Christine (October 31, 2010). "Did a mummy prove the legend?". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- Loendorf, Lawrence L.; Nancy Medaris Stone (2006). Mountain Spirit: The Sheep Eater Indians of Yellowstone. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0874808681.
- ^ Loendorf and Stone (2006). p. 189, note 2.
External links
- Description of the Wyoming Mummy collection, 1929-1991, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming