As the first humans trundled out of Africa 200,000 years ago, a giant ape known as Gigantopithecus roamed southeast Asia. Today, the descendants of both species endure-us and Bigfoot. This is the story told by most cryptozoologists. But is the story accurate? Or have both archaeologists and cryptozoologists ignored vital evidence in their quests to prove their theories?

This book presents evidence that suggests they have, and that our view of human and Bigfoot origins has been skewed to support the unproven theory of evolution. Only by reexamining the evidence for human evolution, in the light cast by forgotten evidence, can we understand the true nature of Bigfoot.

These hairy, bipedal creatures can come in every shape and size imaginable, from giants to pygmies, and apelike to humanoid. The name "Bigfoot" applies to one variant of the species, whose large feet and giant stature inspired the nickname. Conversely, the umbrella term "hairy hominid," a label saddled to neither one physical attribute nor B-movie overtones, describes the species better while encompassing the full range of variations among the creatures. Hominid refers to any species of humanlike, bipedal (walking on two feet) creature. The term has come to stand for any biped presumed to be an ancestor of humans, though I will use the word in its more general sense. The hominid genre includes Australopithecus, Homo erectus, and the Neanderthals. Hairy hominid, then, denotes a hairy, humanlike biped.

UFOs, hairy dwarves, glowing-eyed monsters, mysterious footprints-these phenomena and others play a role in the hairy hominid mystery. Cryptozoologists prefer to ignore the bizarre sightings, sweeping them into a dark corner where the so-called "lunatic fringe" hides. On most email discussion groups devoted to hairy hominids, any mention of UFOs or other strangeness triggers a furor of criticism that silences the issue. "Bigfoot is a giant ape, nothing more," the critics charge. Yet the evidence-ancient and modern, archaeological and folkloric-belies their assertions. The irony is that proponents of the "big, dumb ape" theory employ the same tactics as the debunkers who refute the existence of hairy hominids: if evidence contradicts your theory, ridicule it until it goes away.