ANT210H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Cardiff Giant
Document Summary
October 1869, found by stub newell while digging a well. George hull, a relative of newell"s confession to fraud: december 1869; he was an atheist who had argued with a baptist minister about the validity of biblical tales. Admissions fees to see it: about ,000 (todays $) A group bought interest in giant for ,000. Barnum offered over million for 3 months use of giant: barnum made duplicate. Newell bragged to family about the hoax. Scientists examined the giant: gypsum, not fossil, tool marks visible, weather rate showed the rock had weathered for about 370 days. That goliath died with a stone slingshot. Why so was hoax so successful? (despite scientific opinion) Religious beliefs at time (christian biblical story of goliath: wanted to believe it was real. No sense that earth had long prehistoric past.
