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Giant or Mastodon?

Posted by PLOSBiology on 07 May 2009 at 22:24 GMT

Author: Marcus Peacock
Position: EPA Deputy Administrator
Institution: US EPA
E-mail: peacock.marcus@epa.gov
Submitted Date: May 14, 2008
Published Date: May 20, 2008
This comment was originally posted as a “Reader Response” on the publication date indicated above. All Reader Responses are now available as comments.

A few years ago science historian Adrienne Mayor theorized that the 'Giants' that appear in Greek mythology were, in fact, based on the misinterpreted bones of mastodons and mammoths. It was an understandable mistake since the Greeks were predisposed to see the bones as that of a human, no matter how fantastic, rather than that of an extinct elephant.

I cannot say whether Dr. Needleman has conjured up a Giant but I can say he has certainly jumped the gun. The initial charges here are certainly serious and disturbing. That is why on April 10, 2008 I asked the EPA Inspector General's office to investigate this matter. Dr. Needleman’s article, written in March, naturally does not mention this.

My understanding is that the investigators will have something to report soon. I look forward to that. I prefer reading nonfiction.

Competing interests declared: I am the Deputy Administrator of the US EPA.