Saturday, November 19, 2011

(Stone) Giants Among Men

Many of us are familiar with the Nazca lines of Peru or the chalk giants of England, but lesser known--and closer to home--is the Penokee Figure of Graham County, Kansas.

Resting atop a hill above the Solomon River Valley, the Penokee Man (or Indian as he is sometimes referred) is comprised of more than 100 stones ranging from 6 inches to more than a foot wide. The figure's entire dimensions exceed 57 feet in length and over 30 feet wide.

No one knows exactly who built it or how old it is precisely. An 1879 examination by a Harvard paleontologist likened it to other giant stone figures found throughout the northern plains regions, including human-like figures and the famous medicine wheels.