# What's the biggest human skeleton ever found? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540 "2015-04-01T20:37:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/1 "2015-04-01T20:37:48Z")
What is the biggest legitimate human skeleton ever verified? I know there have been plenty of hoaxes involving gigantic human remains; there are some ridiculous Youtube videos showing the “evidence” for biblical giants, etc. But I am referring to actual skeletal evidence backed up by medical / anthropological experts. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/2 "2015-04-02T02:05:59Z")
My vote would be for [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert\_Wadlow]Robert Wadlow’s\*, tallest verified human in history. At the time of his death he was 8 feet 11.1 inches tall, or 2.72 meters in height. Granted his skeleton wasn’t “found” in the sense you probably mean it, but I doubt there has been a larger set of human bones in history. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/3 "2015-04-02T02:22:33Z")
[Not Verified but I found this](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_of_Castelnau) ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/4 "2015-04-02T05:03:32Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > [Not Verified but I found this](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_of_Castelnau) I’m very skeptical of that one, especially since hoaxes involving giants were fairly common during that era. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/5 "2015-04-02T05:13:49Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > [Not Verified but I found this](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_of_Castelnau) Just out of curiosity, why would you offer up something that you explicitly state is “not verified” when the question is about “legitimate” skeletons? ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/6 "2015-04-02T07:30:09Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Just out of curiosity, why would you offer up something that you explicitly state is “not verified” when the question is about “legitimate” skeletons? Because someone else might know more about it? For discussion that can help them rule it in or out? Food for thought? Because we’re not being charged by the post? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/7 "2015-04-02T13:20:31Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > [Not Verified but I found this](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_of_Castelnau) It’s unlikely that this is legit due to the sheer size. People like Robert Wadlow (tallest ever verified), [John Rogan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rogan) (second tallest ever verified), and [Sultan Kosen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_K%C3%B6sen) (current tallest man) suffer from significant mobility problems and typically health problems due to their height. Wadlow required leg braces to walk, Rogan was unable to stand or walk, and Kosen uses crutches. This is typical of people close to or, like the three mentioned, over eight feet in height. The human skeleton and muscles don’t scale up well to those heights. Human proportions are the result of evolution on a creature of a particular size, and even though human giants tend to have heavier bones than their smaller relatives their body structures don’t increase in size/robustness _enough_. In other words, those bones being twice the thickness of normal human bones isn’t enough - if they’re twice as long they need to be _more_ than twice as thick to support the weight of a double-sized human. Even if such a person existed he would most likely be a bed-ridden invalid. On top of that, people over 8 feet tall have two rather distressing traits in common: they suffer from pituitary disorders that means without modern medical science to treat the underlying problem they are usually still growing at the time of their death, and they tend to die VERY young (Wadlow at 22, for example). As the human body grows past 8 feet it becomes harder and harder to remain alive, and as it approaches 9 feet things really fall apart. Basically, it seems like being tall kills them, and if that is the case then a human being simply can’t be 10 or 15 feet tall - much over 8 feet is fatal, such that no one has ever reached 9 (although Wadlow came close). I don’t think those bones have ever been examined by a modern forensic expert because the claim is so damn unlikely, and dates from a time when hoaxes were common. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/8 "2015-04-02T15:50:14Z")
I do know that the largest healthy human (not a “medical giant” due to an overactive pituitary gland) was this fellow : > **[Angus MacAskill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_MacAskill)** > > Angus MacAskill (1825 – 8 August 1863) was a Scottish-born Canadian giant. In its 1981 edition the Guinness Book of World Records stated he was the strongest man, the tallest non-pathological giant and the largest true giant in recorded history at 7 feet 9 inches (2.36 m), he also had the largest chest measurements of any non-obese man at 80 inches (203 cm). MacAskill was said to have accomplished feats of lifting a 2,800 lb (1,270 kg) ship's anchor to his chest and holding over 250 pounds (113 k... He was 7’ 9". I was just thinking that occasionally people might come across skeletons or partial remains that indicate that an outsize individual such as the late Mr. MacAskill existed. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/9 "2015-04-02T20:55:31Z")
A related question, regarding our ancient hominid relatives – I always had the impression that most neanderthals were supposed to be short and stocky. Has an outsized neanderthal ever been found? ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/10 "2015-04-02T21:30:04Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > I do know that the largest healthy human (not a “medical giant” due to an overactive pituitary gland) was this fellow : > [Angus MacAskill - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_MacAskill) > He was 7’ 9". In the Wikipedia article quoted, it says “MacAskill was well known for feats of strength such as lifting a ship’s anchor weighing 2,800 pounds (1,300 kg) to chest height…”. I don’t believe this is at all humanly possible. The current [deadlift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadlift) world record is just over 1000 pounds and that only comes up to the mid-thigh. The clean is the lift that comes up to the chest, but I can’t find any records for that. The world record clean and _jerk_ is under 600lbs though. I know Andre the giant would lift 2000lb weights for show sometimes, but that was just a foot or so off the floor. Almost 3000lbs to chest height sounds laughably absurd for a human even today, let alone one who lived before steroids and elastic suits. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/11 "2015-04-02T21:52:07Z")
> [@gytalf2000](#): > > Has an outsized neanderthal ever been found? I don’t think so. Several web sites say that Amud 1 is the tallest Neanderthal skeleton found at approximately 180 cm (5’10"). The average height for a Neanderthal was around 5’4" to 5’5". ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/12 "2015-04-02T22:31:09Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > In the Wikipedia article quoted, it says “MacAskill was well known for feats of strength such as lifting a ship’s anchor weighing 2,800 pounds (1,300 kg) to chest height…”. > > I don’t believe this is at all humanly possible. The current [deadlift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadlift) world record is just over 1000 pounds and that only comes up to the mid-thigh. The clean is the lift that comes up to the chest, but I can’t find any records for that. The world record clean and _jerk_ is under 600lbs though. > > I know Andre the giant would lift 2000lb weights for show sometimes, but that was just a foot or so off the floor. Almost 3000lbs to chest height sounds laughably absurd for a human even today, let alone one who lived before steroids and elastic suits. Angus was quite a bit larger than Andre. Also, men did a LOT more heavy physical labor back then, and from a much earlier age. More labor=more chance to develop strength. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/13 "2015-04-02T23:05:35Z")
Angus was an outlier for height, that’s for sure. He might have also possessed the “doubled-muscle” variant of the myostatin gene which results in greater than normal muscle growth, which would also account for the stockiness of his physique. Contemporary accounts and measurements indicate unusually heavy chest and limbs which were heavily muscled, not composed of fat tissue. If so, he would also be unusually strong in addition to unusually tall. The gene is best known from the Belgium Blue cattle breed, where it is sufficiently fixed in the bloodlines to make it a signature trait of the breed. It _has_ been detected in human beings, along with dogs and other animals. Individuals with the trait do show markedly greater strength than normal members of the species. I doubt such a thing could be confirmed for someone who lived as long ago as Angus but it might be an explanation for his feats of strength. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/14 "2015-04-02T23:46:24Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Just out of curiosity, why would you offer up something that you explicitly state is “not verified” when the question is about “legitimate” skeletons? You are right. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/15 "2015-04-04T00:29:22Z")
According to the then head curator, the [Mutter Museum](http://muttermuseum.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/) has the biggest human skeleton on display. Apparently, a museum in Britain has one who stands taller, but the one here in Philly has longer leg bones even if he does stand crooked. I can’t find the giant on the MM site. From memory- A doctor was offered the bones on a no questions asked basis. He tried to restore and mount them. Later verdicts were that he had given the bones too much symmetry and health and that the person had been bed ridden most of his life. ETA “Another notable skeleton is that of the Mütter American Giant. At 7’6” tall, this is the tallest skeleton on exhibit in North America." ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/16 "2015-04-04T01:39:25Z")
But Robert Wadlow did not have the longest femur on record. Anothet giant did (also from the Guiness.) ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/17 "2015-04-04T07:38:44Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Angus was an outlier for height, that’s for sure. > > He might have also possessed the “doubled-muscle” variant of the myostatin gene which results in greater than normal muscle growth, which would also account for the stockiness of his physique. Contemporary accounts and measurements indicate unusually heavy chest and limbs which were heavily muscled, not composed of fat tissue. If so, he would also be unusually strong in addition to unusually tall. > > The gene is best known from the Belgium Blue cattle breed, where it is sufficiently fixed in the bloodlines to make it a signature trait of the breed. It _has_ been detected in human beings, along with dogs and other animals. Individuals with the trait do show markedly greater strength than normal members of the species. > > I doubt such a thing could be confirmed for someone who lived as long ago as Angus but it might be an explanation for his feats of strength. Excellent post, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/18 "2015-04-04T07:54:19Z")
Non-congenital giants are among the rarest medical conditions known, according to one tv show. Don’t think it must be great to have a son born thar way. They featured a six year old American boy who stood two heads above his classmates and was more than twice as wide. It was one of the saddest sights I ever saw. The doctor said he will be at least 6’7" and weigh at least 270 pounds by the time he’s 18. That may not be impressive in this age of seven footers but he’ll probably be larger and stronger than Yao Ming. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/19 "2015-04-04T10:27:00Z")
[Gigantopithecus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantopithecus) - not human, of course, but of the same family. Note that there is not enough evidence to be certain of exactly how they looked, other than that they were very large indeed. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-biggest-human-skeleton-ever-found/716540/20 "2015-04-04T13:08:40Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Non-congenital giants are among the rarest medical conditions known, according to one tv show. Don’t think it must be great to have a son born thar way. They featured a six year old American boy who stood two heads above his classmates and was more than twice as wide. It was one of the saddest sights I ever saw. The doctor said he will be at least 6’7" and weigh at least 270 pounds by the time he’s 18. That may not be impressive in this age of seven footers but he’ll probably be larger and stronger than Yao Ming. My next door neighbor, a small woman, gave birth to the state record baby (obviously he was a C-section). He’s about 6’8" and 300 pounds, but he’s so religious that he ended up playing football, not for a Division I college, but a small Christian college. LOL