North America has Bigfoot, the Himalayas boast the Yeti, and the Almas is said to roam the mountains of the former Soviet Union. In the late 1960s, a Soviet historian named Boris Porshnev became intrigued by stories of a giant ape-like creature in Central Asia. His fascination led him to propose a bold idea: that these sightings were not of a mythical beast but of Neanderthals, survivors from the last ice age.
Porshnev, born in 1905, focused much of his career on mainstream history, studying events like popular uprisings in France and the Thirty Years’ War. Yet he also developed a keen interest in cryptozoology, particularly the mysterious Almas.
For centuries, people living in Central and East Asia, including Mongolia and parts of China, have reported sightings of the Almas. This creature is typically described as tall, hairy, and human-like, moving stealthily through the mountains at night.
One story from the 1980s recounts how two Kazakh hunters encountered a “wild man” in the Altai Mountains over forty years prior. They captured a “hairy, furious creature” and kept it tied to their tent. After a night of desperate cries, the hunters felt sympathy and set it free the next morning.
Most Almas sightings were shared by locals, not scientists, which sparked curiosity among authorities. Were these tales mere folklore? Or was there something more to explore?
In the 1950s, Porshnev received permission from the Soviet Academy of Sciences to investigate the Almas. He led an expedition to Tajikistan in 1958, accompanied by folklore experts, geologists, and botanists. They gathered numerous reports, eventually compiling a hefty 400-page document suggesting that the Almas might indeed exist in the mountains of Central Asia.
However, the report remained hidden for decades, until it was discovered by the Centre for Fortean Cryptozoology, which later translated it into English, thanks to Porshnev’s grandson.
After his expedition, Porshnev theorized that the Almas were living Neanderthals. He elaborated on this idea in his 1974 book, L’Homme de Néanderthal est toujours vivant, co-written with renowned cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans.
Heuvelmans acknowledged their differing views on the creature’s identity; he saw the Himalayan snowman as an anthropoid ape, while Porshnev believed it to be a surviving human species.
Today, scientists have a much clearer understanding of Neanderthals. Once thought to be primitive and brutish, they are now recognized as intelligent and culturally advanced beings, perhaps more similar to us than previously believed.
While there is no solid evidence that Neanderthals still inhabit the wilds of Eurasia, it’s fascinating how different cultures globally—united by vast distances and diverse histories—share legends of towering, ape-like creatures. Whether it’s Bigfoot, the Yeti, or the Almas, these stories raise a curious question: why do humans feel such a deep connection to the idea of these elusive beings?
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