From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia San Pedro Mountains Mummy
San Pedro Mountains Mummy
In October 1932, while digging for gold in the San Pedro are not unusual since its arid climate is conducive to pre-
mountains, Carbon County, Wyoming, two prospectors, serving tissue, however tiny mummies are a rarity.[4] A
Cecil Mayne and Frank Carr, blasted their way through second, similar mummy was found in roughly the same
some thick rock that a large vein of gold continued into. area and brought to the attention of Dr. Gill after he
When the dust settled, they saw they had opened up a appeared on a television show called Unsolved Myster-
small room, approximately 4 ft tall, 4 ft wide, and about ies.[5] After the discovery of the second, this time a fe-
15 ft deep. This is where they claimed that they first saw male mummy, he could x-ray her and look at her in great
the mummy of a tiny person. detail. She was only 4 inches high, and in a slumped po-
sition. Dr. Gill determined that she was an infant and hy-
Pedro the Mummy pothesized that she was either a prematurely born baby,
or possibly a child with anencephaly.[5] After his testing
Pedro the mummy was found sitting in an upright posi- the family that owned the girl mummy took her back and
tion with his arms crossed, covering its crossed legs. It sat was never heard from again.[5] Gill suggested that both
perpendicular to the floor on a small ledge in the room. mummies were the result of malnutrition of babies born
It weighed approximately 12 ounces and was around to a tribe (possibly even immigrants) still adapting to the
7 inches tall sitting, and 14 inches tall (estimated) stand- harsh conditions of the area, about three centuries ago.[6]
ing. Its cranium was flattened, the eyes bulging and so One problem that arises with trying to date the mummy
well preserved that even the fingernails were visible.[1] without it being present is that it was sealed tightly in a
The head was covered in a dark, gelatinous substance, cave with thick rock, which could take thousands of years
leading some to accuse Mayne and Carr of perpetrating if done by natural processes, or it could have been placed
a hoax using an infant from a medical collection, since there and sealed at a later date. Thus without the bodies,
some of the mummy appeared to have been preserved in determining age is improbable.
liquid.[2]
Upon its discovery, it was instantly called a hoax by
most scholars. Many believed that it was a dummy or
Little People of Wyoming
some type of Frankenstein taxidermy. Scientists came Also called the Nimerigar, Native American legends,
from all over the country to take a look at the remains. mainly the Shoshone tribe, speak of an aggressive race
X-rays were performed on the mummy in 1950 and it of "little people"[7] which ranged in height from around
was discovered that there was a "manlike" [3] skeleton in- 20 inches to 3 1/2 feet tall. According to Native American
side, almost fully formed. Some of the bones were bro- lore they lived in the San Pedro Mountains in south cen-
ken, including the spine, collarbone and skull. These in- tral Wyoming and fought constantly with the average
juries and congealed blood at the top of the skull insinu- sized humans of the area using poisoned arrows. It was
ated a violent death. often said that if one of the Nimerigar became sick or old,
they were killed by their own people with a blow to the
Dr. Henry Shapiro’s Findings and head. It was also said that the little mummies brought
Counter Argument bad luck to anyone who found them, and to this day Na-
tive Americans warn people of the tribe of "tiny people
In 1950, the mummy was examined by Dr. Henry Shapiro,
eaters" [3] that roam the San Pedro Mountain Range of
a biological anthropologist from the American Museum
Wyoming. Most of these claims were considered folklore
of Natural History. After examining the x-rays, Dr.
until the discovery of what is now known as "Pedro" the
Shapiro believed that this mummy was the body of an ap-
mummy.
proximately 65 year old man at the time of his death. Al-
so, this mummy had particularly large canines in com-
Comparisons with Other "Little People"
parison with the rest of his body size, almost vampire-
like.[3] These findings were substantiated by Harvard in Native American Folklore
University and their anthropology department. Howev- Other alleged discoveries, like that of the 1876 discovery
er, 30 years later, Dr. George Gill, a forensic anthropolo- of a "pygmy" graveyard in Coffee County, Tennessee, has
gist proposed another theory after looking at the x-ray. some people saying that a race of pygmy people ranged
He thought that the body could have been an infant of all over the United states, and they often use Pedro the
some unknown tribe of Indians. Mummies in Wyoming mummy as the proof.[8] A man plowing his field suppos-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia San Pedro Mountains Mummy
edly found graves that were 2 feet long, 14 inches wide, [5] ^ Peterson, Christine (October 31, 2010). "Did a
and 18 inches deep. Other explanations have been of- mummy prove the legend?". Casper Star-Tribune
fered for the burials, that they were of children or dis- (trib.com). http://trib.com/lifestyles/food-and-
articulated people.[9] The Cherokee had a legend of little cooking/
people who lived in mountains, came up to an average article_89ec3ff7-852a-52b1-a235-78fe97cd4b1a.html.
sized persons knee and were quite nice unless you dis- Retrieved 25 January 2011.
turbed their homes.[10] There are many Native American [6] "Tiny Mummies are not The Prehistoric Little
stories about little people. People". University of Wyoming News. 2001-09-28.
http://www.uwyo.edu/news/archives/
The Disappearance of the showrelease.asp?id=12502. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
[7] Muaddib (2007-01-20). "The Nimerigar, fact or
Mummy fiction?, page 1". Above Top Secret.
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/
The mummy ended up in Meeteetse, Wyoming, at a local
thread263569/pg1. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
drug store where it was shown as an attraction for sev-
[8] Sutherland, Mary. "North American Hobbits
eral years before it was bought by Ivan T. Goodman, a
Little People in North America
Casper, Wyoming businessman. A July 7, 1979, article in
North American Pigmies". burlingtonnews.net.
the Casper Star-Tribune stated that Goodman died in 1950
http://www.burlingtonnews.net/littlepeople.html.
and the mummy was passed on to Leonard Wadler, a New
Retrieved 25 January 2011.
York businessman.[11] The mummy has not been seen in
[9] Eberhart, George M. (2002-12). Mysterious creatures:
public since Wadler, who died in the 1980s, took posses-
a guide to cryptozoology. ABC-CLIO. p. 541.
sion of it. The mummy’s whereabouts are currently un-
ISBN 9781576072837. http://books.google.com/
known. Until the mummy shows up again, it will be im-
books?id=z9gMsCUtCZUC&pg=PA541&lpg=PA541&dq=A+Pygmy+G
possible to know if the mummy is real. If it is, the pri-
hdnQ&hl=en&ei=16jNTN6GD8W9nAfbpc0Y&sa=X&oi=book_result&
mary focus will be on finding the age and nationality
Retrieved 25 January 2011.
of the mummy. There is currently a $10,000 reward for
[10] "Native American Indian Lore: Little People of the
the person who finds the missing mummy according to
Cherokee". StoneE Producktions. 1996.
Trib.com.[11]
http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/lore132.html.
Retrieved 25 January 2011.
See also [11] ^ Burke, Brendan (February 3, 2005). "Man offers
$10,000 for Pedro Mountain Mummy". Casper Star-
• Wyoming
Tribune (trib.com). http://trib.com/news/state-
• Shoshone
and-regional/article_c77f7c03-6169-5f9f-
• Nimerigar
b3a8-4350c70b8966.html. Retrieved 25 January
• Cherokee
2011.
References
[1] Pedro the San Pedro Mystery Mummy
[2] "Pedro: La Momia Extraterrestre de Casper" (in
Spanish). anomalia.org. 2006-11-07.
http://www.anomalia.org/perspectivas/fotosets/
momia_casper.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
[3] ^ The Little People of Wyoming and the Pedro
Mountains Mummy
[4] The Pedro Mountain Mummy
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Pedro_Mountains_Mummy&oldid=459211040"
Categories:
• Mummies
• Archaeology of the United States
• Legendary creatures of the indigenous peoples of North America
• Pseudoarchaeology
• Out-of-place artifacts
• Forteana
• History of Wyoming
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia San Pedro Mountains Mummy
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