Afarensis is a 3.5-2.8 million year old hominin from the Kada Hadar member of the Hadar formation in the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. He is approximately 41 inches tall, weighs approximately 60 pounds and has a cranial capacity of a whopping 410 cc (approximately). Afarensis is currently considered to be transitional between apes and humans and displays some traits of both. Since he spends a lot of time on the couch watching monster movies, some observers question whether he is an obligate biped (although no one has observed him climbing a tree). He also has a blog called 
This is equal parts funny (that people were taken in by it) and sad (because it doesn't say much about scientific literacy). The hoax revolves around a picture of a giant skeleton. The picture was part of a photo manipulation contest but rapidly took on a life of its own. Here is the picture:
According to the person who created the photo:
IronKite started with an aerial photo of a mastodon excavation in Hyde Park, New York, in 2000. He then digitally superimposed a human skeleton over the beast's remains.The later addition of a digging man presented the biggest technical challenge.
"If you look, he's holding a yellow-handled shovel, but there's nothing on the end," IronKite said.
"Originally, the spade end was there. But [it] looked like it was occupying the exact same space as the skeleton's temple, making the whole thing look fake.
"Now it looks like he's just holding a stick, and people don't notice. It's funny."
IronKite also altered the color of the man's clothing to create a "uniform tie-in" with the white-shirted observer peering down from the wooden platform.
What happened next is that a number of media outlets and internet sites reported the find as real. People from various religious backgrounds around the world believed it because it confirmed religious myths about giants in the past. As the National Geographic article puts it:
David Mikkelson of Snopes.com said such hoaxes succeed when they seem to confirm something people are already inclined to believe, such as a prejudice, political viewpoint, or religious belief.A hoax also needs to be presented "in a framework that has the appearance of credibility," he said in an email.
The "ancient giant" has both elements, according to Mikkelson.
"It appeals to both a religious and a secular vision of the world as different and more fantastic than mere science would lead us to believe," he said.
Because worm eating fungi and tool using chimps aren't fantastic enough...
Comments
You left a tag open.
Posted by: John | December 15, 2007 1:31 PM
It looks like you caught it before I had a chance to point it out. Or my browser was acting up.
Posted by: John | December 15, 2007 1:32 PM
"It appeals to both a religious and a secular vision of the world as different and more fantastic than mere science would lead us to believe," he said.
Just curious, here. What secular vision of the world views the universe (extrapolating here to avoid using the word 'world' again) as more fantastic than 'mere' science would indicate? I am a secularist (which I take to mean someone who does not seek supernatural explanations for natural phenomena). I am also an atheist (with a bit of agnostic thrown in). Though I majored in history, I know that science provides the best descriptions of reality. I also know that whenever something crops up that science cannot immediately explain, it just means that the theory which failed to predict the phenomena needs to be adjusted based on new evidence.
I also know that I learn new things constantly, and sometimes those new things are, to say the least, jaw droppers, and I damn well better see some proof (or if not proof, at least some explanations that do not resort to the supernatural). Those worm eating fungi are a perfect example. I am still, after reading about them in more than one location, trying to wrap my had around it.
That said, really well done digital manipulation by IronKite. I deal quite a bit with graphic design, and can appreciate good work.
Posted by: Billy (A Liberal Disabled Vet) | December 15, 2007 1:34 PM
Uh, I'm trying to wrap my HEAD around it, not my had. I don't know if a had can be wrapped, can it?
Posted by: Billy (A Liberal Disabled Vet) | December 15, 2007 1:36 PM
A digital version of the Cardiff Giant hoax.
Posted by: Colguo | December 15, 2007 1:53 PM
Maybe not in this particular case, but think about the abominable snowman, the Loch Ness monster, chupacubaras and such. None of which have any religious import and all of which have the same "the world is more glorious than what those narrow minded scientists would have us believe" appeal. To my knowledge a "had" cannot be wrapped (although a haddock could) :)
Posted by: afarensis, FCD | December 15, 2007 1:58 PM
""It appeals to both a religious and a secular vision of the world as different and more fantastic than mere science would lead us to believe," he said.
Just curious, here. What secular vision of the world views the universe (extrapolating here to avoid using the word 'world' again) as more fantastic than 'mere' science would indicate? I am a secularist (which I take to mean someone who does not seek supernatural explanations for natural phenomena).'
Given how many people think that their beliefs in a variety of paranormal phenomena are legitimated by dubious interpretations of science (seeking "natural" explanations for the supernatural), there clearly isn't a real sharp division between the "secular" and the "religious". That isn't the same thing at all as the difference between rational and irrational or scientific and nonscientific.
Posted by: Moopheus | December 15, 2007 2:38 PM
The photo art is very well done, but sheesh, how gullible can folks get? What about body dimensions being related to body mass? It reminds me of a hoax by (as I recall) Dave Thomas & New Mexico skeptics, where they photographed the excavation of a human skeleton that was "fossilized" in the process of being swallowed by a dinosaur. In that case, "skeletons" were made, arranged, and photographed.
Posted by: mark | December 15, 2007 3:43 PM
Posted by: Ex-drone | December 15, 2007 4:04 PM
Okay. Got it. I may be a little slow (I did major in history, after all) but you give good examples of secular idiocy. I wasn't thinking along those lines.
Wrapped haddock. I have a recipe for haddock wrapped in bacon. The cookbook (from the 1940s?) should be called, How to Make Healthy Food Bad For You.
Posted by: Billy (A Liberal Disabled Vet) | December 15, 2007 4:31 PM
Mark - I remember that incident. It was quite amusing...The above link even has a comment mentioning our giant
Posted by: afarensis, FCD | December 15, 2007 5:19 PM
Funny thing was, I looked at the photo for about 3 seconds and said to myself "where is the rest of the shovel?"
Posted by: dogmeatib | December 15, 2007 5:19 PM
Speaking of fantastic...
Afarensis, do you remember when meteorites were too fantastical to be real. The giant squid?
Posted by: Alan Kellogg | December 15, 2007 9:49 PM
Yes, I do. Got nothing to do with Bigfoot if that is where you are heading. Although you might like this :-)
Posted by: afarensis, FCD | December 15, 2007 10:18 PM
This is still floating around? I remember when this was covered in 2004.
Posted by: Tegumai Bopsulai, FCD | December 17, 2007 3:54 PM
Posted by: Tegumai Bopsulai, FCD | December 17, 2007 3:57 PM
that is a big bone were did you find that
i am in a bone class looking into bone and that it the best one iv seen
from nicol3
Posted by: nicol3 | October 3, 2008 5:18 AM
nicol3 - it is a fake...
Posted by: afarensis, FCD | October 3, 2008 7:39 AM
It's quite intersting. But I wonder it's true or not?
Posted by: Aidan Ang | April 9, 2009 9:06 PM