Introduction by Steve Moon and Brian Woods
One of the unifying themes of Bigfoot research is the belief that these creatures exist world-wide, in one form or another, particularly in the northern hemisphere. Legends, oral tradition, and written accounts of large hairy hominid creatures provide plenty of support for that belief. In spite of this, the scientific community has not focused a lot of time and energy on relict hominid research. There have been a few scientists, primarily anthropologists, who have concentrated on finding answers to the Bigfoot enigma, but only since the second half of the 20th century. Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum at Idaho State University and a handful of other scientists have conducted the lion’s share of scientific research into relict hominids on this continent, both in the United States and in Canada.
On the other side of the globe a similar story has played out, with Russian investigators conducting scientific research apace with the U.S. and Canada. The science of relict hominid research can be traced back as far as the discovery and publication of “Bigfoot” prints in northern California, which caught global attention in the 1950s. In relative terms, the science of Hominology is in its infancy. A few of the prominent early Russian hominid researchers are still active today, conducting research in both the physical and theoretical realms. One of their primary aims has been to elevate the discipline of hominid research to a more prominent position within the scientific community.
Dmitri Bayanov was born in Moscow, Russia, in 1932. His involvement with the Relict Hominid Research Seminar and Moscow's Darwin Museum began in the early 1960's, and he later went on to become a founding board member of the International Society of Cryptozoology. A central tenant to Bayanov's work has become his efforts to define and characterize the study of hominology, a term and concept that he has championed for decades. Bayanov is the author of several books, including "In the Footsteps of the Russian Snowman", "America's Bigfoot: Fact, Not Fiction", and "The Making of Hominology: A Science Whose Time Has Come."
The Lowlands Bigfoot Research Group is pleased to feature "Hominology: Definition, History, and Application", as written by Dmitri Bayanov and associates. The document attempts to bring much-needed acknowledgment and regard to the "existence of hominoid beings, officially uncatalogued, unclassified, and unrecognized by biological science".
-Special thanks to Richard Soule and Dmitri Bayanov for applicable permissions and contributions.