Legends of little people-like Beings, which have been given various names, such as dwarves, elves, and fairies are found worldwide. There are the trolls of the Scandinavian folklore, the kobolds of Germany, the leprechauns in Irish lore, and so on. Globally, the indigenous Peoples over all the Earth recite legends involving "little people". The largest acquaintance of the majority of humanity in these times, with these various "little people", is unfortunately, mainly confined to fantasy literature.

However, historically sightings of various smaller-than-human beings with various unusual features of appearance have been reported unrelentingly throughout the centuries, regardless of whatever dominant culture has existed in the given part of the world. These stories are dismissed by many as mere legend, myth, or fantasy, wildly imaginative stories not to be believed, except by children or exceptionally gullible adults.

However, numerous sightings of various kinds of small people-like Beings are actually reported by surprised individuals throughout the world, even today. The majority of "evidence" of these miniature humanoid beings is in the form of numerous eye-witness testimonies. Many encounters with these entities occur when one of these small Beings approaches a home and requests food or shelter. Reportedly, in cases where the resident refuses to help, these beings seem to have the ability to bring misfortunes upon such greedy or sefish people. There have been other numerous accounts of observations of diminutive human-like beings which were just happened upon by chance, sometimes surprising them, or surprising the observers, or both.

Apparently, unless harrassed, "elves" are said to generally avoid contact with humans. Apparently they consider most humans to be "uncivilized" or ignorant of the workings of Nature. The majority of legends of "elves" throughout the world confine these beings to the deep forest, where they lead a reclusive life, mysterious to humans. The mystery apparently exists because so few people have become involved with befriending these little people and exploring their world-views, cultures, habits, and technologies.

Although the sworn testimonies of those who claim to have encountered "little people" on some occasion or spotted them in the forest, are easy to dismiss as a fantasy or hallucination, there do exist archaeological discoveries which should cause one to think twice. For example, in 1932, a 14-inch tall "mummy" was found by gold prospectors in the Pedro Mountains 60 miles southwest of Casper, Wyoming (USA). This tiny "mummy" was found sitting on a ledge in a small granite cave. Its legs were crossed and arms folded on its lap. It was described as having a flat nose, a low forehead, and a broad, thin-lipped mouth. The mummy was x-rayed and analysed by the Anthropology Department at Harvard University, and was certified as a genuine artifact. It was considered by some in the Anthropology Department to be the remains of a 65-year old man, albeit rather small. A more skeptical Dr. George Gill, speculated that the mummy could have been an infant (?) afflicted with anencephaly, a congenital abnormality which causes tiny adult proportions. Given this view, the question arises as to why was it where it was found, and why was it found in such condition as a mummy? Since its discovery, this diminutive body changed hands several times and through the course of time, unfortunately and mysteriously, the remains disappeared.

Probably it is easier to explain a standard and fixed cultural and archeological rational without the embarassment of the physical presence of such an artifact, which causes questions which cannot, at present, be answered in terms of the standard world-view of the dominant cultures of these times. It is interesting to note that both the Shoshone and Crow natives, who indigenously inhabited the region where the mummy was found, have legends of "little people" in their cultural lore.

A more baffling archeological find occurred in the later 1800s in Britain. Hundreds of tiny flint tools were found in the Pennine hills of east Lancashire, all of them no larger than half an inch long. These tiny tools included scrapers, borers, and crescent shaped knives. The craftsmanship of the tools was extremely fine. In many cases, a magnifying glass was needed to detect evidences of the flaking process which was used to bring these instruments to a sharp point. None of the tiny tools found seemed practical for performing the tasks that our "normal- sized" ones are intended for. Because of this, some speculated that these were ritualistic miniature replicas...but what ritual might that be, and why were these tools so small? Is it possible that these tiny tools were made by similarly small people?

Corresponding with the global legends, of "little people", tiny tools similar to the ones found in Lancashire have been found worldwide, including Devon and Suffolk, in England, also in Egypt, Africa, Australia, France, Italy, and India. These artifacts are little talked about, outside of certain small circles, for some reason...

If one will read the book "Mad Bear: Spirit, Healing, and the Sacred in the Life of a Native American Medicine Man" by Doug Boyd (no relation to the writer), one will encounter the interesting understanding of the indigenous Holy Man, Mad Bear, that a miniature race of beings whom Mad Bear calls ``The Little People'' has evolved side by side with humans. Mad Bear presented the anthropologist author, Doug Boyd, a skull the size of a ping-pong ball to physically prove his thesis.

If you, in your wanderings in Nature happen upon an encounter with some diminutive little people, treat 'em kindly. Then they'll be nice to you...

And when such an event might happen, treat it as an opportunity to discover the beauties of what is beyond the "known".

One final note. The little people are normally invisible to human sight. Many of them have their Being in part in another dimension, or reality, slightly removed from ours. This reality is right next door to ours, in fact, touching ours. So I call them the "Almost Here People". In some locations, there are overlappings of these neighboring realities, which make the Little People readily apparent to the normal human visual faculty. If such a location is in your vicinity, it is highly recommended that you spend some time there. Because in these places, not only will you see the Little People, but you may well encounter many of the other supposedly mythological creatures as well.

RN Boyd