I stumbled upon this topic and haven't had much luck with further research. It is rather an old one though. I hope someone could shed some light. And I don't understand the second article.

http://www.faem.com/natvan/bassou.htm
http://de.geocities.com/anubiscly/Azzo.htm

I can't access the first link...the second is in German...that is one ugly dude though....he's not "elephant-man" ugly...but he's NOT attractive. Is he supposed to be some kind of "missing link"?

Here's some quotes from the first article:

What is Bassou? No one really knows. He displays both ape-like and manlike characteristics. Those who have studied him, however, have been reluctant to accept the suggestion that he is the product of a mating between a human being -- Negro or Berber -- and an anthropoid ape, all three of which Morocco has an abundance.

Yet, Bassou is clearly something special, and not just a deformed human being. With arms so long his fingers hang below his knees when he stands upright; with massive, bony ridges above his eyes and a sharply receding forehead; with jaws, teeth, chin, and cheekbones all showing pronounced ape-like characteristics, he is a true ape-man.

He just looks like an ugly dude to me? Not all that ape really....

Thanks for the play-by-play...couldn't access it from this end...the firewalls and so-called protection software on this system are ridiculous. Did it by chance describe how tall "Bassou" was? maybe it's just a case of Gigantism of some sort.

He looks quite human to me... He stands perfectly upright, and the only strange thing is the small cranial section of the skull when compared to the facial section. the long arms are not that special... I think he is just some poor deformed fellow...

Also, cross-breeding between humans and apes is impossible, and even if it could happen an ape mother could not give birth to a baby due to the size of a human baby, and the baby would not live for long, maybe a few days.

It's a feat of nature humans can give birth...a price for being bipedal.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Just an odd looking fellow that's shunned from society.

No it doesn't say how tall he is. It's kinda a fruity article if you ask me...lol

He does have a small cranial area. I'd say either Cro-Magnon man, or just a deformed person. My bets on he's deformed.

Humans and apes, like said before, can't breed. So its a deformed person.

Fruity...............................

I'd guess that he's just some deformed person whose parents left him out in the wild, and was raised by wolves! No, really, he could have been nurtured by some wild animal, it's been know to happen. Maybe he's the real Tarzan the ape man! But he's come to realize that he's NOT like the ones who raised him, and so lives near humans.

I don't know! I'm just throwing out ideas here. And being excessively silly!

Hrrmzzz.......

I think something is not quite right here. Some quotes fom the article make no sense. Sounds like media sensationalism.



Yet



how did they communicate to keep the sack on?



Seems an absolute statement for someone that has never been studied. I would infer from this statement that the writer has already reached the conclusion they desire.



Now, I can rely on someone with far greater knowledge on this subject to confirm this (Frogfish comes charging over the mountain to save the day)
but
Isn't this genetically impossible? (Humans and Apes)

As for the King Kong legend, it was originally written for film by Edgar Wallace who died in Hollywood on 10th February 1932 of pneumonia while working on King Kong. No African legends here, just an American novelist Darn good one too.



Religious reasons ????????????? WTF??????
Now this is grasping at straws. Never heard of science holding back for religious reasons.



Really different Now this is grasping at straws Talk about taking a situation, removing it from context and twisting it way out of proportion to justify one's own wild theories. Sort of like saying all girls wear pink and all boys wear blue. Stupid comparison.



Oh, how philosophical. Tissue anyone ? :yawn:



Perhaps a definition of myth and reality is in order for this poetic writer.

Very romantic but to suggest that a hybrid is in existance and science refuses to document it because of religion is just silly. More like he was born into a third world country where he has never been a wonder, just a local freak. Funny how his parents get no mention. Maybe because they are both human. I'd say the poor soul certainly has a condition, but one that has either not been documentd as yet, or is particularly rare, perhaps unique. Deformoties can come in all shapes and sizes. Nevertheless, an interesting case. Perhaps with cases like this being exposed by the internet, science will have more exposure to such rarities and study them to provide an explaination.

Yes it is...mechanical isolation at work

Thought so.
Thanks buddy knew you could clear that one up for me promptly

Kinda kills the human hybrid theory doesn't it. Once again though, a fascinating disorder that should inherit so many ape-like charecteristics. Is the possibility of a throwback worth considering?

A mere coincedence...

You shouldn't pick on those poor people and call them apes.

He appears to be a 'pinhead'. There's a birth defect in which the skull tapers to almost a point a t the top, giving it a sloped conical appearance. Such people are often mentally impaired to some degree.

That sounds plausible

Great analysis psyche101!! That cleared things up, thanks!

He is just a strange lookin dude

I've found the problem of this guy, its Microcephaly "Microcephaly is a medical condition in which the circumference of the head is smaller than normal because the brain has not developed properly or has stopped growing. Microcephaly can be present at birth or it may develop in the first few years of life. It is most often caused by genetic abnormalities that interfere with the growth of the cerebral cortex during the early months of fetal development." Source

Also, I can think of better reasons than religion against human-ape interbreeding like common sense and aestethics I mean no-one can be THAT lonely

..... ..... ...point.........counterpoint......can't really argure with THAT logic.

Well, what about those lonely sheep farmers of old? Although, there aren't many lonely ape farmers around.......... Or non-lonely ape farmers for that matter!

Negros are a human sub-species? Wait till I tell my dad his mom was sub (below, underneath).
Inbreeding creates various deformaties such as this. He might of been a member of a small tribe. One 'Pinhead' who lived in New Jersey was a member of a communty known as the Ramapough Mountain People. They are a black and Lenape mix that is a little on the close side.

Lapiche

The taxonomy of the different races of Homo Sapiens is a bit messed up, because the distinction between humans can lead to serious troubles and thus it is usually neglected and widely disputed. Plus, as time goes by, the distinction becomes harder and harder to do, because whereas Leopards an Black Panthers don't really mix with each other, humans do it all the time. In my view, there is nothing bad in seeing the different races as different subspecies of Homo Sapiens Sapiens.

Also, "Sub" in this case means that they are a category below species (in this case, Homo Sapiens Sapiens, which is an abstract thing), which is the "sub" of Genus, so its not at all offensive.

He could have a good career in the Circus industry so he wont have to live of insects and what not.

There are two subspecies of humans...Homo sapien sapien (us), and Homo sapien neanderthalis (Neanderthals)

That is what I thought........

Lapiche

Just like I said. Rather fruity article indeed.

Wouldn't mind knowing which piece of human waste said this so the next time I speak with them I know what I'm dealing with..........does mum know what a WASTE OF LABOR-PAINS YOU WERE? Sorry, but I just couldn't let it go....I guess it was deleted for a reason.

Yeah that was the author of the article that made that statement. Again, fruity to the max. It looks like it was written by someone straight outta year one at Berkley.

Well I feel sheepish, lol. I thought it was someone from this forum....oooooppss... . I "skimmed" the article....I can hear my Father now "what have we learned from this".... .

S'okay. Someone did quote the article with a question mark at the end. It'd be an easy mistake to make. I'm sure you're forgiven!

As far as I know, there is an ongoing scientific dispute about the taxonomy of the Nenanderthals since the 1960's: some consider it to be Homo sapiens N., and some as Homo N. (For example, the guys at the National Geographic Society and Archaeology.com favor the latter) Probably the main criteria for considering different beings as members of the same species is the ability to create offsprings that themselves can breed, and this is quite hard to verify if they are extinct.

That would be the defining criterion...being able to produce viable offspring...

Thanks to frogfish and psyche 101, I'm convinced it's a deformed human. The body structure is very human to me, the only thing that become our main attention was his head, rite? well...that's just his face...

Clobhair-cean offers excellent supporting info in post #22 as well.

Hello everyone,

I am Bassou.

In July I finished a Discovery Channel documentary on the "mystery" of my origins and genetics. The show will be aired in October after editing.

Briefly I can share some of the details revealed in the show.

I have an IQ within the 'normal range' and psychometrists say it would almost certainly have been higher if I had benefited from access to better nutrition and formal education in my childhood.

I also have a penis, you will notice that in the photos someone has erased it. I flatter myself they were jealous of my size, but no-one from Discovery measured that!

I am living happily in England, aged 74, with my daughter and her family. She is a qualified chef and has not inherited the characteristics which created social problems for me in my home-village as a child.

If you want to know if I am a modern Human, or a neanderthal, or a caveman, you will have to watch the show.

(this message was translated for me, thank you Jenny).

Sounds cool, I'll look into it

Well I did a google search on Bassou and Discovery Channel and came up with a couple sites mentioning it briefly but I didnt see any mention about it at discovery channels site itself so I'm not sure if it is true or not. I didnt spend too much time googling though =)

But I find this on my way around:

Oliver the Human Chimp - http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=bass...iver%20%20chimp

I saw a thing like this on ripley's believe it or not. It is just a human with a very rare genetic disease. On ripley's they followed this family who gave birth to 3 kids like this, and what their life was like. They lived in idia and they were believed to be hindu monkey gods. It episode 315 if you want to check it out, season 3 ep 15.

so no its not an ape man