Ancient Reports
The historian Herodotus wrote that Egyptian pharaoh Psammetichus I (Psamtik) sought to discover the origin of language, and prove Egypt was the oldest people on Earth by conducting an experiment with two children. Allegedly, he gave two newborn babies to a shepherd, with the instructions that no one should speak to them, but that the shepherd should feed and care for them while listening to determine their first words. The hypothesis was that the first word would be uttered in the root language of all people. When both of the children cried “becos” with outstretched arms, the shepherd concluded that the word was Phrygian because that was the sound of the Phrygian word for bread. Thus, they concluded that the Phrygians were an older people than the Egyptians.
Raised by Pumas
Vicente Caucau (1948) – Chilean boy found in a savage state at age 12, allegedly raised by pumas.
Other Alleged Cases
The Lobo Wolf Girl of Devil's River (1845) – A figure in Texas folklore, was captured in 1846, but escaped. She was last spotted at age 17 in 1852.
Sources
- Herodotus. "The History of Herodotus". George Rawlinson (translator). Retrieved November 29, 2009.
- Vicente Pizarro, Los ultimos dias de Vicente Cau Cau, el nino lobo chileno, The Clinic, 2 de enero de 2010 (in Spanish
- Bertillion, L. D. (1937). Dobie, J. Frank (ed.). "The Lobo Girl of Devil's River". Straight Texas. Texas Folklore Society. XIII: 79–85. ISBN 9780874831153.