In search of bones, caves nearby

[vilnoori]

So, how serous are we? ;D

I want to focus for a minute about thinking about finding Sasquatch bones. Very few have been found, and of those found, none have been subjected to scientific scrutiny.

Ancient human bones in North America are much in dispute. Laws state that old human remains must be submitted to the archaeological authorities which have jurisdiction in an area, and they in turn must eventually submit the bones to the aboriginal tribes nearest where the bones have been discovered. The aboriginals usually bury them secretly in ancestral burial grounds or nearby the area the bones were found, for spiritual reasons. Aboriginals by and large do not appear interested in scientific study of these bones. AFter burial these bones are lost to scientific scrutiny, which is too bad but it's the law.

If sasquatch bones were found, would they be taken for human remains, albeit unusually large ones? Quite possibly, if my surmise is correct that these creatures are descended from H. erectus. Many of the apparent differences are in soft tissue areas only, or are discerned only by an educated eye.

So as soon as you found bones, you'd need to amass as much photographic evidence as possible (make copies and vault them), while disturbing the bones and surrounding ground as little as possible. Then turn them over to the authorities, and if you never hear about them again, don't be surprised.

That's why it would be so important to take as much evidence initially as possible. It might even be an idea to take a couple of impressions of the skull, if you find one, and make sure to photograph the base of the skull, or each angle of it, with something in comparison (a ruler is good) nearby.

Take meticulous measurements, particularly of the general size, the interior of the cranium if you can, and the shape, size and position of the foramen magnum (hole at base of skull). Then the safest thing would be to publish the photographs online as soon as possible, and if you could do it at multiple locations under several different secret names, that would be a good thing too, knowing the paternalistic ways of authority, particularly here in Canada.

Forget about fame and fortune here, I think the world deserves to know the truth, don't you? Just get the info out asap.

Now about locations. Animals that die out in their environs rarely last long--something comes along quite quickly and eats them, and the remains are consumed and scattered. But there are caves. Hominid and Hominin remains are frequently found in caves, because that is where old members return to die, or die in their sleep, also possibly they may be interred by tribal members there, too. Remember that people of old buried their dead in the floors of their houses. It is a logical place to look for bones!

So who has heard of caves frequented by Sasquatch, in the southern BC area? The Charley Victor story leaps to mind immediately. A mine shaft will not do, it is not old enough to have accumulated a repository of bones. But a naturally occurring cave formation, and a big one, long inhabited by a tribe would be perfect. Since the Chaley Victor cave sighting happened a few miles away from Yale, that seems an ideal place to start. There may even be a chance the tribe has left that particular cave (let's hope so). If it has been covered by a stone, it will have kept out the predators, too, so is safer and less complicated.

So who's game to go look? You'd need a trowel, a camera, and a ruler. And some guts.

If you succeed, return with some rubber casting material and keep your mouth shut until you have succeeded in partially digging out, photographing and rubber/latex/plastercine casting the largest bones while trying to disturb them the least amound possible. Take a couple big molar teeth away if you can, and some of the dirt of the location. The tooth will have a good DNA sample, and the dirt will confirm the age of the sample and exact location of your find (pollen analysis).

Send a tooth and dirt sample, and a copy of your pictures to the Ohio State University research team who has an open mind, unlike our own Canadian authorities. Make sure to vault your own tooth and dirt sample with bagged dessicant in an airtight container. A clean cookie or tea tin, for example, or sealable sandwich bags in a tin.

Any takers?

[sebastian]

First, thank you for noting the legality of "finding bones". I am an archareologist, and I can apply for a permit if I have to. But first, if one is not sure if bones found (hopefully on surface) are human or not, it is by far better to label as faunal remains first. Information on osteometric measurements can be found in William Bass' "Human Osteology".
I think that if the bones are buried in a right environment almost immediately, they will be gone within a year or so. Caves or not, there are many animals that will gnaw on the bones. The acidic environment here in BC doesn't help either. I think that the most logical place to find bones consistently is shell midden.
Don't want to get into the possible natural history of sasquatch, but it is logical to assume that sasquatch are more robust that human. Fundamental differences will be the morphology of the cranium, but there will likely be other differences. In short, all joints on bones will be larger even if they are well within the human range. Vertebrates will likely to have larger and longer processes.
I don't think that one should send Canadian samples in the US first. There are many Universities here have people that are open-minded. Try archaeology/anthropology dept, zoology/biology dept, even oceanography dept (and I am not joking).

[vilnoori]

As far as I know, as a gardener the high acidity of the soil here in BC is because of the high level of moisture constantly leaching the soil. But in a cave, if it was a dry one, and deep enough, temperature and humidity would be constant and there would be a pretty good chance, I think, of bones surviving quite a while. The same acidic conditions exist in Flores, for the same reason, and look what they found! It sure is worth having a look, I think.

As to Canadians, well, the history has not been too good in that regard. I know for a fact that Jeff Meldrum over at Ohio U is openminded and I'd go with that. There's just too much of a chance of your precious bones disappearing without a trace, otherwise. Err on the side of caution, you know.

[sebastian]

I think that Jeff Meldrum is in Idaho State University, not Ohio.

[vilnoori]

Oh, ok, I stand corrected. I meant him. Why did I think Ohio? I must be a Canadian.

[Deleted]

I know this is difficult to answer, because at this point it is mostly speculation,

but

Do you think that Sasquatches bury their dead? or
pull logs/forest debris over the body on top of the ground.

I am sure some of the researchers have theories.

[vilnoori]

The forests are vast, and scavengers efficient. How often do you see dead cougar bodies or bear bodies just lying around? The only dead wildlife we commonly get to see is roadkill which happens to have expired in a very dangerous place on our own stomping grounds.

I think sasquatch are too smart and alert to end up as roadkill--plus if they are nocturnal, which there is a lot of evidence for, human activity (traffic and hunters) are much less of a threat then.

Sensible sasquatch would take refuge in caves, and caves have commonly been the richest source of hominid fossils in the past. This is because caves have deep holes in which things can fall and not get out of, and also because things which live and sleep in caves sometimes die there either in their sleep or having retreated there in pain to die quietly, often deep inside where there is safety and quiet.

Other sources of hominid bones has been alluvial plains near water where they have been inundated by floodwaters and the mud, or near active volcanoes where there are sudden flows of lava and wet ash (lahars.)

What is the significance of sasquatch possibly burying their dead? Not all humans do. Some take the bodies up into trees for the birds to clean the bones. Some boil and eat the meat off the bones then bury the bones in the floor of their home. A lot of cultures bury the dead but attach no significance to that fact except that it gets rid of a stinky, disease-causing and scavenger attracting object. Lots of cultures burn the body, including ours.

[Deleted]

Well, I should go look at this sighting spot and see if I find anything. It was a very dry summer but there are lots of bears and wolves around.
Somebody said there are caves in that area but I don't know exactly where they are and they would be on private property and too far from the spot.
Could be that one lucky chance in a million I stumble across something. Better take my dog and somebody with a good nose for smell................