Eyeshine

hum, her DNA project, Justin Smeja and the Sierra Kills. We have avoided the melodrama like the plague and have fielded well over 500 emails and questions on the subject.

Why have we avoided the subject? We have information that Melba started this project with a specific agenda: to prove that an unknown primate (possibly extra-terrestrial no less) mated with a modern human and then was released into North America to populate it. Melba’s press release yesterday, and Ivan Bourtsev’s leaked information on Friday, confirmed these suspicions.

The addition of this blurb at the end of the press release… “Government at all levels must recognize them as an indigenous people and immediately protect their human and Constitutional rights” is very weird.

Why go to political activism in a press release that contains virtually no information? Those researchers who are political active, tend to be unstable and unreliable. Todd Standing has gone certifiable trying to petition for Sasquatch protection in Canada.


A. DISCUSSION
So let us discuss the Ketchum/DNA situation.

1. Could Ketchum have a real sample of Bigfoot DNA? Possibly. Could Sykes have a sample? Also, very possible. Sasquatch do exist and there are many sane and dedicated field researchers attempting to collect samples.

2. Is Melba capable of interpreting the 3.2 billion base pairs and understanding the complexity of human development and genome? Without tremendous resources it is unlikely that Ketchum could. Could Sykes’ team at Oxford interpret it? Possibly. The human genome has had almost two decades of research and is jut now being understood.

3. Were any of the samples taken from living or dead Sasquatch with 100% certainty? Without contamination? Nothing indicates this to be so.


B. OUR TRANSLATION OF THE PRESS RELEASE.
Here is our attempt to translate the DNA diagnostics press release.

1. “Hominine” means that the DNA has 46 chromosomes just like each of us modern humans and not like the other great apes who have 48 chromosomes.
2. The DNA has modern human mtdna but does not mention which haplotype.
3. It references a genetic mixing 15,000 years ago with a very ancient hominid, but not how this date was calculated.

FB/FB spoke yesterday by phone to the Robin Lynne who is the listed contact on press release. Robin confirmed the leaked information by Bourtsev is 100% accurate, but she would not comment any further on publication dates and genetic specificity. Here are the only answers that are even remotely interesting.

1. The DNA indicates “hominini” which means the DNA has 46 chromosomes? Correct? Robin: “Bourtsev’s leak information is accurate.” So, yes, the Ketchum study shows 46 chromosomes.

2. Is Melba’s theory that Sasquatch came from a hybridization event with an unknown and very ancient hominid male(s) 15,000 years ago and then filled the forests of North America from Alaska to Florida? Robin: “Yes”

3. How many samples of the 106 submitted contained Sasquatch DNA? Robin’s answer was hard to follow but we took it there were: “Five good samples, from three separate Sasquatch individuals”. Robin indicated “there was at least one male and one female”.

4. The ancient hominid was more archaic than Neanderthal and the Denisovans which means that it is genetically less similar than either of those genomes? Robin’s answer? “Yes.”
So we can infer that this means that Chimpanzees are 94 to 99% similar depending on how one counts the genes, whereas Denisovan and Neanderthal are 99.8% similar to modern humans. This hominid maybe 99.5% similar to modern humans.


C. SO, IS MELBA’S THEORY POSSIBLE? (much less plausible)?
Remember she is attempting to describe not only their genome but the creation of Sasquatch as well. A tall order indeed.

Since the FB/FB founders have written on this exact subject we feel we are minimally qualified to render an opinion.

So, is Melba’s theory possible? Our answer is a definitive: No.

Ketchum’s theory is about as plausible as the Replacement Theory (RSOH) of Human development which holds modern humans exited Africa 60,000 to 125,00 years ago and magically transformed into every known race, ie. Scandinavians, North Koreans and Australian Aboriginals.

The newer theory of human development is Multi-regional origin of Modern Humans (MOMH). It theorizes modern human genes mixed with well established and successful populations of Neanderthals, Denisovans, Heidelbergensis, the Red Deer Cave people and others to create the diversity in races we now see. What has not been explained is how these ancient people became so widely dispersed and diverged through Europe and Asia prior to a modern dispersal 180k and 70k years ago.

Apparently Melba’s theory latches onto one or both the Replacement and Multi-regional theories. She is theorizing that modern humans met an ancient hominid shortly before or after entering America 15,000 years ago. These Native Americans then bred with an unknown hominid to create the Sasquatch which spread rapidly and now occupies the deep forests of America. Robin did not specify where these archaic human admixture occurred.

Q: Is Ketchum’s hybridization theory even remotely plausible to explain the Sasquatch phenomenon?
A: No, Sasquatch did not come from us, especially not in the last 15,000 years.

Q: Is it possible that humanity descended from Sasquatch a very long time ago.
A: Yes. All evidence supports appears to support this.

Q: Could the DNA Melba has collected still be real?
A: Yes.

Q: Is possible for an archaic human (like a Sasquatch) and a modern human to mate as Ketchum theorizes?
A: Yes, all homo is the same clade with 46 chromosomes. But her theory begs so many questions. Where is that progenitor Ketchum theorizes. Where are the females? Were they conquered?


D. WHAT ARE THE PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATIONS FOR SASQUATCH? (There really are only two.) Can either fit with the known genetic, tool and fossils records and accepted biological principles set forth by the great minds of Biology?

We need to start with understanding what we (The Sasquatch research community) knows about Sasquatch.

- Sasquatch are human shaped, with archaic features similar to homo erectus, brow ridge and cranial keel, arms, hands and feet.
- Sasquatch operate at a tremendous advantage to modern humans making them very difficult to record, film, much less catch or kill. They can run, climb, swim and are very clever.
- The sighting and video record shows that Sasquatch occupy the entirety of the deep forests of North America, this can not be said for the very limited number of Eurasian sightings of hominids.
- Sasquatch likely exist and conquer territory in monogamous single family groups.

What do we know about modern humans.

- We have very peculiar and complex adaptations, the hooded nose, subcutaneous fat layer, backward slope to face, long spine, migrated big toe. All of these are shared with Sasquatch and not with any of the other great apes.
- Our oldest modern human DNA is found in the Asian X chromosome and archaic auDNA and is 2.4 million years old. This suggests that all human ancestors were in North East China at that time.
- Humans show signs of Neoteny and social adaptation.
- The Neanderthals had substantially more brain genes (duf1220) than most modern humans, this supports the idea that we are getting dumber not smarter (Crabtree 2012)
- There appears to be a blank slate between 12 to 5.6 and 2.4 million years ago in our genetic record. (depends on which method is used)
- Modern humans have zero copies of retroviruses that ravaged all African Apes (and primates) 2 to 8 million years ago. Our genomes were without question not in Africa at that time, just like the Orang, Gibbon and Siamang.

Remember that Ernst Mayr theorized that a new species can only be created when it adapts in complete isolation in a specific niche and when the barrier breaks down it is incapable of breeding with the previous clades. (in this case, orangs, gorilla and chimps)

Considering these known conditions and the constraints of modern biology.

There are only TWO reasonable scenarios to explain Sasquatch/human existence.

“An American creation for Homo.” A Miocene ape entered North America either 8, 12 or even 24 million years ago during one of the three substantial land bridge events. Then adapted to successive winters, swimming and crossing the millions of lakes, rivers and streams hunting game and deer with its hands. This explains why all humans are bipedal, can swim, have a long spine, and share the morphology and social characteristics of the red apes rather than the African apes (Schwartz and Grehan 2010)
Then 2.4 million years ago the new 46 chromosome Sasquatch (homo) entered Asia as homo erectus and spread everywhere because it could survive winters and cross any river. It expanded throughout Eurasia as individual family groups eventually reaching Africa and becoming socially adapted through the well known and testable process of self-domestication. Recently modern genes have swept throughout the world transforming us into a social modern creature known as homo sapiens. We classify this as the “Smarter Ape theory” We give this a 95% to 98% chance of being correct.

“An Asian creation for Homo” Homo Erectus developed in Asia or Micronesia, becoming cold adapted, learning to swim, and then migrated to America where it prospered as specified above. Sasquatch is a remnant of that population that migrated to North America possibly 2.4 million years ago and then filled the forests and growing larger and smarter competing with the mega fauna and the Bergman’s rule. This would be the “Asian Origin theory” We give this a 2 to 5% chance of being correct.


E. SO, ASSUME SASQUATCH DNA IS FOUND. WHAT MIGHT IT LOOK LIKE?

If the Ketchum or Sykes DNA is real, we think it will show seven characteristics.

1. Sasquatch DNA will show a level of genetic complexity that might be difficult to understand. Similar to comparing a domesticated dog to a wild wolf.

2. It would likely be very ancient diverging from us 1.5 to 2.5 million years ago. This may be confusing because the genetic clocks may be inaccurate.

3. It would show a greater number of brain genes (duf1220) than modern humans 270+ and possibly Neanderthal 350+.

4. It would contain all of the archaic genes found by the Hammer lab et al in 2005. An X chromosome would be similar to the ancient Asian X also 2.4 mya.

5. Since only a small subset of the Sasquatch population migrated over to Asia 2.4 million there may be genes that are not seen in our modern genome. Neanderthal was likely a differently domesticated version of our great progenitor.

6. It would have 46 chromosomes, contain unique genes for our thumb (HACNS1), the genes that are unique to the
human face, Nsn, Prn, AlrL, Sbn and ZygL and many others. These genes would have common and ancient ancestry.

7. The Sasquatch genome would not contain unneeded section such as the 510 gene sections for penile vibrissae found in chimpanzee (McLean 2011) or retro-viral markers found in the African apes (Eichler 2005)


F. WE ASK MELBA. “If your Sasquatch DNA genomes are real”…

1. How many duf1220 genes are contained in these novel sequences? Does it contain 350 copies as seen in Neanderthal or more? Can you list all of the human markers and variants? Why not produce an open source database similar to the Otzi man DB?

2. Why would you ever attempt to explain the genome with 3.2 billion base pairs and 75,000 unique human genes? Do you realize the dangers of having a theory THEN conducting a study?

3. What made you feel it so important to not only attempt to procure Sasquatch DNA but attempt to interpret it? Why discredit the hard work of men and women in the field as well as yourself through faulty assumptions?


G. CONCLUSIONS
The goal of FB/FB is to collect and curate information regarding Sasquatch into one place then make a reasonable and rational conclusion after accumulating that information. This study seems to be doing the opposite, gathering information then try to get it to fit a previously concocted conclusion. The one conversation we had with Melba in May 2011 she said “I know EXACTLY what they are.”

At FB/FB, we have attempted to discern using morphology from the sighting and clear video record (like the stabilized PG film http://tinyurl.com/ctpcptp)
We have a fully functional bullshit meter after years of sifting through all the inter-dimensional, extra-terrestrial, psychic-sasquatch, true believers, comediennes and hoaxers who are hell bent on proving or disproving that Sasquatch exist.

Since we have no recent contact with Melba, nor been privy to her study, any conclusion is speculation at this point.

All data is open to interpretation and that is why FB/FB has continued to have respectful skeptics as well as researchers post and comment on the many videos of Sasquatch, their trackways and sounds we post on Facebook and Youtube.


Sincerely,
Jack D. Barnes, Jeff L. Andersen
and the Administrators of
www.facebook.com/findbigfoot

Jack and Jeff are Authors of
“YOU ARE SASQUATCH,
How humanity descended from a Smarter Ape”