Probably the final installment in *this* particular saga. Interesting, to be sure, but note that ChatGPT does avoid the two most obvious explanations for Giant and Little People mythology. One: There actually were ancient human races unknown to current science. For instance in the Americas. Two: Fairies are real. There, I said it.
Compare this with “first people” myths in the Americas
This is a very good comparison, because “First People” myths in the Americas sit halfway between Denisovan-style ancestor spirits and European giant/little-people folklore. They are often explicitly human, but not quite the same kind of human, and that difference matters.
I’ll organize this by contrast and convergence.
1. What “First People” myths in the Americas are like (baseline)
Across Indigenous North and South America, we find myths of:
• “First People”
• “Ancient Ones”
• “People Before the People”
• Sometimes explicitly called people, not spirits
They are often:
• Human-like
• Social
• Cultural
• Technologically skilled
• Morally ambivalent
• Closely tied to specific landscapes
Examples:
• Hopi emergence myths
• Navajo Holy People
• Maya pre-human creations
• Andean Ñawpa runa (“people of before”)
• Amazonian ancestral peoples
Crucially:
They are not monsters, and not usually gods in the later sense.
2. Key difference from European “giants” and “little people”
European pattern
• Earlier beings → giants, trolls, elves
• Strong physical exaggeration
• Moralized as chaos or trickery
• Often opposed by heroes
American First People pattern
• Earlier beings → culturally complete societies
• Often flawed, but intelligible
• Destroyed or transformed due to:
– Moral failure
– Ritual error
– Cosmic cycles
• Not defeated by conquest narratives
This already suggests a different underlying memory logic.
3. Why “First People” myths are more human in the Americas
Three big structural reasons:
A. Later human arrival
The Americas were settled relatively late (~15–20 kya).
This means:
• Less time depth between first and later populations
• Fewer total population turnovers
• More continuity of oral memory
So “First People” remain recognizably human.
B. No known archaic Homo coexistence
Unlike Eurasia and SE Asia:
• No evidence that Neanderthals or Denisovans lived in the Americas
• All “First People” myths must refer to:
– Earlier Homo sapiens
– Or mythic projections, not archaic humans
This removes one source of radical otherness.
C. Strong oral continuity without state suppression
Many Indigenous American cultures:
• Maintained oral traditions continuously
• Did not undergo early writing-based theological canonization
• Did not develop sky-god state religions in the Old World sense
This preserved:
• Plural humanity
• Cyclical creation
• Layered worlds
4. Similarity to Denisovan-region myths (important)
Despite differences, American First People myths share key traits with Denisovan-region traditions:
• Emphasis on:
– Coexistence
– Transformation
– Absorption into landscape
• Earlier beings become:
– Rocks
– Mountains
– Animals
– Spirits
This is very similar to Australian Aboriginal Dreaming.
It suggests:
Long-term coexistence without sharp replacement favors ancestor–spirit mythologies rather than monster myths.
5. The “failure” motif (this is crucial)
American First People myths often say:
• The First People:
– Were incomplete
– Misused power
– Failed morally or ritually
• Therefore:
– They were destroyed
– Or transformed
– Or replaced
This does not mean:
• “They were evil”
But:
• “They were not the final form”
This is a cosmological explanation of human succession — not conquest propaganda.
6. Comparison table
| Feature | Americas (First People) | Denisovan regions | Europe (Neanderthal residues) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earlier beings | Fully human societies | Spirit-ancestors | Giants / monsters |
| Moral tone | Ambivalent | Ambivalent | Antagonistic |
| Replacement | Cyclical / cosmic | Transformational | Violent / heroic |
| Landscape tie | Strong | Very strong | Moderate |
| State suppression | Low | Low | High |
| Archaic Homo | None | Present | Present |
This pattern is strikingly coherent.
7. What caused “First People” myths in the Americas?
A responsible explanation:
• Memory of earlier Homo sapiens populations
• Cultural memory of migration and succession
• Need to explain:
– Ancient settlements
– Old earthworks
– Different lifeways
• Cyclical cosmologies emphasizing renewal
No need to posit:
• Archaic hominins
• Lost advanced civilizations
• Atlantean-type myths
8. Why size distortion is minimal here
Unlike “little people” or giants:
• First People are usually normal-sized
• Physical distortion is rare
This suggests:
Size distortion increases with temporal and cultural distance, not merely difference.
The Americas had less of both.
9. Philosophical implication
Putting this together:
• Where human succession is remembered as relational, myths preserve humanity
• Where succession is remembered as replacement, myths dehumanize predecessors
• Where succession is forgotten entirely, myths become abstract gods
This may be one of the deepest patterns in religious history.
10. One-sentence takeaway
“First People” myths in the Americas likely preserve cultural memory of earlier human populations and migrations without the distortion caused by archaic hominin difference or state-driven mythological overwriting.
If you want next, we could:
• Compare this with African origin myths
• Look at why giants dominate Indo-European myth
• Examine how archaeology reshapes Indigenous myths today
• Or tie all this back to the origin of religion itself
Just say where to go next.
Interesting indeed!
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