Review: Dr. Jeff Meldrum Presents at Utah Valley University
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on November 17th, 2011
A review of Dr. Jeff Meldrum’s presentation last Friday, November 11, 2011 at Utah Valley University.
Photo by Gilbert Cisneros
Sasquatch: legend meets science
The room was overflowing with people sitting in the aisles as students, professors and community members gathered to listen to Jeff Meldrum discuss the possibilities of Sasquatch being more than a myth. The lecture sponsored by the Humanities department was held Friday, Nov. 11, and received much curiosity on campus.
“There is the traditional legend of Sasquatch, but is there evidence behind the lore?” Meldrum said as he began his presentation. Meldrum is a physical anthropologist and currently teaches at Idaho State University. He dedicated a large portion of his life to studying the history, folklore and evidences surrounding “big foot.” Along with traveling to Russia and parts of China, Meldrum has tracked the Sasquatch figure around the U.S. as well.
Meldrum walked the audience through the history of different interpretations of Sasquatch, or “the wild man,” beginning with Enkidu and Gilgamesh and going into the myth of Grendel and Beowulf. He laughed about the different movies and depictions of the Sasquatch figure.
Meldrum also discussed the ancestry and evolution of monkeys and how that potentially ties in with Sasquatch by showing several different slides.
“There have been several different humanoid species at a time in history,” Meldrum said. “There is evidence that Neanderthals coexisted with the human species, and there have been six different humanoid species in the last 20,000 years.”
With such a varying range of evolved human and ape-like species throughout history, Meldrum made the connection that it is very possible that the Sasquatch figure could be one of these variations coexisting with the human race today. However, Meldrum pointed that through studies, it still remains hard to determine if the Sasquatch is more of an ape or man.
Source: UVUReview
By Faith Heaton – Staff Writer
Read the entire article here.
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
I have to go with the idea that Bigfoot are more ape than man. If they were men the starting line-ups of the NFL and NBA would look a LOT different.
> there have been six different humanoid species in the last 20,000 years
should be “hominid,” not “humanoid.” Probably the reporter misunderstood.
Does this guy do anything besides talk about Bigfoot? It seems like he wouldn’t have much time in between speaking gigs. I’m kind of tired of hearing about him, frankly.