The Creation Collectanea

CLAIM:   In 1879, a 9'8" human skeleton was uncovered from a stone burial mound in Brewersville, Indiana. (Hovind, 2003 , 51:49) RESPONSE:  No physical evidence supports the claim that a nearly ten-foot-tall human skeleton was ever uncovered from a burial mound in Brewersville, Indiana. The earliest mention of this skeleton I could find appears in an anonymous column in the North Vernon Plain Dealer , a local newspaper from North Vernon, Indiana, dated May 22, 1879. (Kell, 2018) The article describes the supposed discovery of a "giant chief" skeleton, measuring at eight feet tall (not ten), dressed in elaborate garments made of mica and "embalmed in charcoal". These descriptions match others commonly reported in numerous sensationalist "giant remains" newspaper articles sparked by the Cardiff Giant hoax of 1869, which had fueled public fascination with tales of prehistoric giants across the United States. (Colavito, 2025) However, these articles w...

  CLAIM:  The length of recorded human history is too short for evolutionary timescales. Why did writing and civilization emerge at the same time only in the last few thousand years if humans had been around for hundreds of thousands of years earlier? Did it really take them that long to figure out how to invent writing? This large gap of time is clearly a discrepancy for evolution. (Batten, 2019 ) (Baugh, 1999 , p.120) (Ferrel, 2006 , p.152-156) (Humphreys, 2005 ) (Ham, 2008 , p. 44-46) (Hovind, 2003 , 1:45:29) RESPONSE:  Similar to the young-Earth argument regarding the origin of agriculture , there is no reason to expect the development of writing to occur immediately upon the emergence of anatomically modern humans. The archaeological record clearly demonstrates a prolonged developmental foundation spanning cognitive, cultural, technological, and ecological dimensions that gradually paved the way for behaviorally modern practices like agriculture, civilization, and wr...

  Note: This response is an edited analysis taken from a paper published by the author responding to claims made by a poster created by late young-Earth creationist Joe Taylor. The paper in its entirety can be found  here . CLAIM:  In the late 1950s a 47” femur was discovered in Egypt. (Hovind, 2003 , 54:45) RESPONSE:  The claim that a nearly 50" human femur was discovered in the Middle East is a claim that originates with the late young-Earth creationist Joe Taylor before it was picked up by fellow young-Earth creationist Kent Hovind in his creation seminars. Both men give a conflicting history of the find, with Hovind claiming that it was found in Egypt, and Taylor alternatively claiming at different times that it was discovered in Turkey, Egypt, and Syria. (Edmonds, 2023, p.2) Taylor also gave conflicting dates for the discovery, without clarifying whether it was found in the 1950s or 1960s. (White, 2015a; 2015b) Regardless, the only information Taylor ever provid...

  Note: This response is an edited analysis taken from a paper published by the author responding to claims made by a poster created by late young-Earth creationist Joe Taylor. The paper in its entirety can be found here . CLAIM:  The Biblical Goliath was about 9ft. tall. (Hovind, 2003 , 49:58) RESPONSE:  The idea that Goliath was upwards of nine or ten feet tall comes from some biblical translations (notably the Masoretic Text, particularly 1 Samuel 17:4, which described him as being "six cubits and a span", or 9 feet 9 inches). (Armstrong, 2021) However, the earliest known manuscript, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Septuagint, give his height as "four cubits and a span", which is about 6 feet 9 inches. The "shorter" height, which would go on to be cited as the accurate figure by the 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus, is generally agreed upon as the original, with the later greater height being the result of scribal exaggeration. (Armstrong, 2021; Hays...

  Note: This response is taken from a paper published by the author responding to claims made by a poster created by late young-Earth creationist Joe Taylor. The paper in its entirety can be found here . CLAIM:  The Roman Emperor “Maximus” (sic., Maximinus) was 8’6”. ( Hovind , 2003, 51:40) RESPONSE:  As part of an overarching case defending the claim that the Bible makes reference to an extinct race of gigantic humans, Kent Hovind claims that the Roman emperor "Maximus" (whose real name was Maximinus Thrax) was over eight and a half feet tall. While Maximinus Thrax was a real historical figure and was the emperor of Rome from 235-238 CE, he likely was not over eight feet tall.  This claimed height comes from the controversial Historia Augusta , which is estimated to have been written in the fifth century CE (a few hundred years after the death of Thrax), and cites a fictitious source for the height. (Langenfeld, 2017) Thrax's great height and size most likely origin...

CLAIM:  The Toba Catastrophe human bottleneck 70,000 years ago when humanity was reduced to just a few thousand individuals is likely a misinterpretation of the 8-person bottleneck that occurred during the Flood. (Hovind, 2003 , 1:11:22) RESPONSE:  The Toba super-eruption, which occurred approximately 74,000 years ago in present-day Sumatra, Indonesia, is recognized as one of the most catastrophic volcanic events in Earth's history. This eruption expelled vast amounts of volcanic ash and gases into the atmosphere, leading to a global climatic downturn and extensive environmental changes. Geological and genetic evidence suggests that the Toba event had profound consequences for early human populations, potentially resulting in a genetic bottleneck where the number of surviving humans dwindled to between 3,000 and 10,000 individuals. Hovind suggests that it was more likely that the bottleneck was 8 individuals only 4,400 years ago, but doesn't offer any argument to substantiate ...