{"title":"Measuring the merit of a sensationalist documentary: A critical assessment of the Julcuy “Giant”","authors":"Nicholas Landol","doi":"10.1002/oa.3296","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>This commentary evaluates the assertions presented in the documentary series <i>Code of the Wild</i> that the skeleton of a 7-ft Manteño-Huancavilca individual allegedly recovered in the Ecuadorian village of Julcuy serves as evidence that a population of individuals of considerable stature once inhabited the region. Given that an intact femur survived a flood that occurred in Julcuy during the rainy season of 2023, it was possible to implement the Trotter and Gleser technique to determine the individual's stature with precision. By analyzing the femur of this individual, the commentary demonstrates that the stature of the individual had been grossly overestimated. This commentary reinforces the significance of mathematical formulae devised to determine living stature as opposed to rudimentary field measurements.</p>","PeriodicalId":14179,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Osteoarchaeology","volume":"34 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Osteoarchaeology","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oa.3296","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This commentary evaluates the assertions presented in the documentary series Code of the Wild that the skeleton of a 7-ft Manteño-Huancavilca individual allegedly recovered in the Ecuadorian village of Julcuy serves as evidence that a population of individuals of considerable stature once inhabited the region. Given that an intact femur survived a flood that occurred in Julcuy during the rainy season of 2023, it was possible to implement the Trotter and Gleser technique to determine the individual's stature with precision. By analyzing the femur of this individual, the commentary demonstrates that the stature of the individual had been grossly overestimated. This commentary reinforces the significance of mathematical formulae devised to determine living stature as opposed to rudimentary field measurements.
期刊介绍:
The aim of the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology is to provide a forum for the publication of papers dealing with all aspects of the study of human and animal bones from archaeological contexts. The journal will publish original papers dealing with human or animal bone research from any area of the world. It will also publish short papers which give important preliminary observations from work in progress and it will publish book reviews. All papers will be subject to peer review. The journal will be aimed principally towards all those with a professional interest in the study of human and animal bones. This includes archaeologists, anthropologists, human and animal bone specialists, palaeopathologists and medical historians.