People in Europe continued to interpret large fossils as the bones of giants for many centuries. In Greek and Roman times, oversized fossils were explained as the bones of larger-than-life heroes from mythology. In later centuries, during the Medieval era of kings and castles, these fossils were thought to be bones from saints or characters described in the Bible. (Mammoth tusks were also sometimes mistaken for horns from legendary unicorns.)
REPORTED GIANTS ILLUSTRATED IN A 1664 BOOK BY ATHANASIUS KIRCHER
Most people agreed that giants had once existed. But not everyone accepted this explanation for fossilized bones. During the Renaissance period, some skeptics pointed out that there are animals whose bones are just as large: elephants and whales. Could these enormous mystery bones come from some sort of large animal?