Longevity myths are claims to extreme longevity that are of dubious reliability, or even subsequently disproven. This article concerns the history of the mythology of longevity, as well as an explanation of the longevity myth phenomenon.

Longevity myths come in several varieties, with each type of myth deriving from different motivations for age exaggeration:

• The Fountain of Youth myth is based upon the desire of some to live a very long time by taking potions or finding a secret to longevity.
• The village elder myth is often based upon a pre-literate societal respect for aging, patriarchy, etc. that leads to age exaggeration of the oldest male (sometimes female) in the village.
• The Shangri-La myth is the idea that a certain remote mountain village may contain an entire village or long-lived people (such as Vilcabamba or Abkhazia).
• The Nationalist myth is the fueling of age exaggeration by nationalist pride (such as Stalin promoting longevity in Soviet Georgia, because he was from there).

There are of course other types of myths and reasons for age exaggeration. Some are personal; that is, a person claims to be a great age to attract attention to oneself and/or to obtain money. An example of such is the P.T. Barnum myth of longevity, with Joice Heth promoted by P.T. Barnum as a 161-year-old woman in the 1800s, who turned out to be 80. The Fountain of Youth by Lucas Cranach the Elder The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters. ... Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the novel, Lost Horizon, written by British writer James Hilton in 1933. ... Last refuge of the Inca Empire, Vilcabamba was founded by Manco Inca in 1539 and fell to the Spaniards in 1572, signalling the end of Inca resistance to Spanish rule. ... Official languages Abkhaz, Russian Political status De Facto Independent Capital Sukhumi Capitals coordinates 43°01′N 41°02′E President¹ Sergei Bagapsh Prime Minister¹ Alexander Ankvab ¹ De-facto government Chairman of the Supreme Council² Temur Mzhavia Chairman of Cabinet of Ministers² Irakli Alasania ² Pro-Georgian Government in exile Independence... (Russian, in full: Ио́сиф Виссарио́нович Ста́лин [Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin]; December 18 [O.S. December 6] 1878[1] – March 5, 1953) was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s to his death in 1953 and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922-1953... Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891), American showman who is best remembered for his entertaining hoaxes and for founding the circus that eventually became Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. ... Joice Heth (c. ...

Patriarchal longevity

Longevity myths have been around for as long as humanity. The earliest longevity myths were probably the patriarchal/matriarchal myths. These tended to be formed in an effort to link humans to the gods or God. In some cases, the ages of the past were exaggerated to extend a pseudo-genealogy further back into the past. Such extreme exaggerations were used in Sumeria; ages claimed corresponded to calendar cycles and special dates. A later and reduced form was used in Japan, which inflated ages of emperors in an attempt to date Japanese history to 660BC (see Emperor Jimmu Tenno, Kanototori for more). The Patriarchs of the Bible do "connect man to God" (see Luke 3:23-3:38), and the extreme ages claimed are highest toward the beginning (see Genesis chapters 3-11). These ages represent a reverence for genealogy and ancestry, and high age often correlates to high status in this respect. In addition, a cosmology of "sin"—that man was once potentially immortal, but became mortal through four "falls" of man and thus had his life shortened in four successive stages (from potentially everlasting in the Garden of Eden to less than 1,000 afterward; then to less than 500 after the Flood; then to 250; then to 120) and that equated early death with sin (and thus long life with respect) all mean that early biblical ages have allegorical, not mere literal, meaning. Image:Http://www. ... Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar, native ki-en-gir) formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. ... Emperor Jimmu (神武天皇; Jimmu Tennō; given name: Kamuyamato Iwarebiko) was the mythical founder of Japan and is regarded as a direct descendant of the Shinto deity Amaterasu. ... The Patriarchs, known as the Avot in Hebrew, are Abraham, his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. ... Genealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ... The Fall of Man by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden The Garden of Eden (from Hebrew Gan Ä’den, גַּן עֵדֶן) is described by the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man - Adam - and woman - Eve - lived after they were created by God. ... The Deluge by Gustave Doré. The story of a Great Flood sent by God or the gods to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution is a widespread theme in myths. ...

Village elders

Probably the second earliest form of longevity myths, the village elder myth is a reduction from the patriarchal myth. It is generally assumed that persons today cannot attain the ages of the ancients, but still one's village elder should be honored. This myth originally centered around a tribal chieftain, but in places where local power was distributed, elderly women began to be substituted. In this devolution, the village elder represented a source of pride, oral tradition, and a person to commemorate. Still based on a time of no written records, the ages claimed tended to be limited by one's ability to believe them. Most claims of this type have been less than 200 years old, with ages of 140, 150, and 160 seemingly representing the cusp of believability for the peasant masses. These myths continue even today, in places such as Bangladesh. it comes from tribal times and it was passed down by mouth ...

The Fountain of Youth

The more recent Fountain of Youth myth seems to have come from a different angle. Many people in Europe feared death (especially after the ravages of the Black Death that began in the 1340s) and sought ways to extend their own life span. Unlike the previous myths, which were rooted in patriarchal, ancient, and communal beliefs, the fountain of youth myth is anchored in the individual, medieval, and Renaissance. The idea that humans could change their environment (such as alchemy), while not always successful, became popular during the 1400s and 1500s. Consequently, Spanish conquistadors, already searching for fabulous cities of gold, added the idea of finding the "Fountain of Youth". Ponce de León explored Florida in 1513, looking for this. Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411). ... In the traditional view, the Renaissance is understood as an historical age that was preceded by the Middle Ages and followed by the Reformation. ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ... Conquistador (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who achieved the Conquista (this Spanish term is generally accepted by historians), i. ... Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León (c. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,794 sq. ...

This myth is connected to longevity in the idea of example-ism. People need an example of success to believe a mineral water, snake oil, or potion carries beneficial (magical) properties, bestowing extra-ordinary longevity. To satiate this need, charlatans would often search for a very old person, claiming to have found an example of success. The idea continues today, in reduced form, but was still very prevalent in the 1970s, when claims of extreme longevity from the Caucasus led to Dannon Yogurt endorsements. In many places, mineral water is often colloquially used to mean carbonated water (which is usually carbonated mineral water, as opposed to tap water). ... Clark Stanleys Snake Oil Liniment. ... Look up Charlatan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary This page describes the term charlatan. ... The Entholinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map The Caucasus, a region bordering Asia Minor, is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea which includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. ... Groupe Danone SA is an international food products company with its central headquarters in France, specializing in dairy products, especially famous for its yoghurt. ... Yoghurt Yoghurt or yogurt, less commonly yoghourt or yogourt, is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. ...

Shangri-La

An extension and adaptation of the Fountain of Youth myth is the idea that a particular place, rather than a substance, carries what is needed to attain extreme age. It is not enough to take a potion from a bottle in Merry Olde England; a person seeking extreme longevity instead needs to move to "Shangri-La." This myth differs from the Fountain of Youth in that it focuses on an entire village or mountain region (see Caucasus, Vilcabamba, Hunza valley). Thus, the Caucasus did not merely claim to have a 168-year-old, but to have hundreds of people aged 120+. Instead of one village elder, the entire village is a "village of centenarians." In some cases, apparent age heaping showed how unreliable the age claims were: in places like the Hunza Valley, the oldest ages reported often ended in 0 or 5 (140, 135, 130, 125, 120), indicating the age was a guess, not a real measurement. The term Merry England, or in more jocular, half-timbered spelling Merrie England, refers to a semi-mythological, idyllic, and pastoral way of life that the inhabitants of England allegedly enjoyed at some poorly-defined point between the Middle Ages and the onset of the Industrial Revolution. ... Last refuge of the Inca Empire, Vilcabamba was founded by Manco Inca in 1539 and fell to the Spaniards in 1572, signalling the end of Inca resistance to Spanish rule. ... This page is about the town of Hunza in northern areas of Pakistan. ...

Nationalist longevity

The next extension of the Shangri-La idea is the "nationalist" longevity myth. Why seek some exotic locale when longevity occurs right here at home? The idea of the nationalist longevity myth was rooted in the rise of nationalism in the 20th century. As people's ideas became focused on their "one nation" versus another, extreme age claims became a source of pride. In the U.S., in the 1970 census, 106,000 people claimed to be 100 years old or older (some 130+) as the U.S. sought to counter Soviet claims that the Soviet communist "lifestyle" resulted in extreme longevity. The Soviets merely borrowed the localist traditions of the Caucasus and adapted them to a Marxist ideology. The U.S. did not go as far, but to stem the tide, even publications such as Time Magazine in 1967 featured Sylvester Magee, "126," and Charlie Smith, "125." Both of these claims may have been put forth by publicity-seeking individuals, but the national media chose to elevate these unsubstantiated claims in the context of ideology (not surprisingly, they were a counterfoil to the USSR claim that Shirali Mislimov was in his 160s). Longevity myths lost their vogue in the late 1970s, as both US and USSR experts came forward to debunk both sides. However, with the Cold War not over in Cuba, local nationalism fuels unverified claims today such that the "world's oldest man" is Benito Martinez. Outside the context of Marxist ideology, we see claims such as Du Pinhua of China (a claim used to counter Japan's Kamato Hongo as the world's oldest person). (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... The Cold War (Russian: Холодная война , Kholodna-ya voina) was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their alliance partners. ... Benito Martinez Claimed to be the worlds oldest living person by himself and the government of Cuba. ... Marxism is the philosophy, social theory and political practice based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century German socialist philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary. ... Du Pinhua of China is a claimant to the worlds oldest person title. ...

Religious/spiritual myths

Aside from the previously mentioned patriarchal myths, religious myths are ideas that if one follows a certain philosophy or practice, a person can live to an extreme age (some Taoists claimed to have lived to over 200 years; these were related to practice, not genealogy). The Swami Bua claims to be a different age each time he is interviewed, but generally claims birth around 1889. Offering no evidence, the message seems to be that meditation leads to extreme longevity. While scientific evidence does show some benefit from meditation, spiritualism, and faith, measurable longevity tends to fall within scientific proof (i.e. age 109, 110 in Iowa); there is no evidence that religion, philosophy, practice, meditation, etc. has extended the human life span. Taoism (sometimes written as Daoism) is the English name for: (a) a philosophical school based on the texts the Dao De Jing (ascribed to Laozi) and the Zhuangzi. ...

Other longevity myths

Other longevity myths include racist and familial. Some people believe that a certain race (theirs) tends to live longer than others, despite no scientific evidence. On the smallest scale, many families tend to believe that their own family members live a very long time, and the further back in the past they go, the easier it is to insert a family member aged 108, 111, 120, etc in, usually despite no evidence.

Many people in the 1950s falsely claimed to be Confederate veterans, in a myth of Southern longevity. Walter Williams claimed to be 117 in 1959; in 1973 a woman claimed to be a Confederate widow at 117. Research in 1959 indicated that Walter Williams was really 105, not 117, years old. Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: With God As Our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (popular) The Bonnie Blue Flag (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama February 4, 1861–May 29, 1861 Richmond, Virginia May 29, 1861–April 9, 1865 Danville, Virginia April 3–April 10, 1865 Largest city New Orleans...

Current status

As the Guinness Book of World Records stated in numerous editions from the 1960s to 1980s, "No single subject is more obscured by vanity, deceit, falsehood, and deliberate fraud than the extremes of human longevity." At the time, Guinness had never acknowledged anyone as having reached the age of 114, but verifiable records have become more common. The first three people to be acknowledged by Guinness as reaching 114 have all had their claims disputed. The first two people Guinness accepted as reaching 113, both of whom were male, have now been discredited. (It has since been determined that some 90% of persons who have reached the age of 113 have been female.) The Guinness Book of Records (or in recent editions Guinness World Records, and in previous US editions Guinness Book of World Records) is a book published annually, containing an internationally recognized collection of superlatives: both in terms of human achievement and the extrema of the natural world. ...

Even as of 2005, with recordholder Jeanne Calment having died at the undisputed age of 122, this remains the case: 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jeanne Calment Jeanne Louise Calment (February 21, 1875 – August 4, 1997) has the longest confirmed lifespan (122 years and 164 days) for any human being in history. ...

• Only approximately fifty people in human history have been documented as reaching the age of 114.
• Only about twenty of those people who reached 114 have reached the age of 115.
• Of the eight people regarded by the Guinness Book or significant scholars to have reached 116, three are subject to substantial doubt.
• Calment is the only person absolutely undisputed to have lived to or over 120.

Yet in the face of the ages that can be validated by investigation, we are still confronted with claims that the observed extremes have been far exceeded — longevity myths.

Leaving aside claims in mythology of lives into the thousands of years, and biblical claims for early humans, such as for Methuselah (969 years), there have been reports for centuries that persist today of people decades, even generations, older than have ever been shown authentic. Indeed, the magic "limit" of 120 years is thought by some as being divinely instructed at the time of the Flood (Genesis 6:3), though various later Biblical lifespans exceed this at least up to the time of Moses, who is mentioned as being 120 years old when he died (Deuteronomy 31:2 and 34:7). // The word mythology (Greek: μυθολογία, from μυθος mythos, a story or legend, and λογος logos, an account or speech) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use supernatural events or characters to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ...

A National Geographic article in 1973 treated with respect some claims subsequently disproven, including the notorious Vilcabamba valley in Ecuador, where locals claimed ancestors' baptismal records as their own. That article also reported of very aged people in Hunza, a mountain region of Pakistan, without documentary evidence being cited. The National Geographic Society was founded in the USA on January 27, 1888, by 33 men interested in organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Vilcabamba, Ecuador - The Valley of Longevity. ... This page is about the town of Hunza in northern areas of Pakistan. ...

It is typical that extreme longevity claims come from remote areas where recordkeeping is poor, but generally observed life expectancy is rather lower than in the areas where genuine claims are typically found. The Caribbean nation of Dominica was lately promoting the allegedly 128-year-old Elizabeth Israel (1875??–2003) but has a smaller population and lower life expectancy than Iceland, where the documentation is very good and life expectancy is very high yet the longevity record is 108. World map showing Human Life expectancy Life expectancy is the average number of years remaining for a living being (or the average for a class of living beings) of a given age to live. ... Mione Elizabeth George Israel, known as Elizabeth Israel or Ma Pampo later in life, died October 14, 2003, having in her last years been the focus of one of the most widely publicized longevity myths of recent years. ... 1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Caucasus mountain region of Azerbaijan was the subject of extreme claims for decades, inspired by the desire of Stalin to believe that he would live a very long time, the most extreme claim there being that of Shirali Mislimov (1805??–1973). The Entholinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map The Caucasus, a region bordering Asia Minor, is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea which includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

In Rajasthan, Jaipur, India, Mr. Habib Miyan claims that he was born in 1878, 1872 and 1869. Actually, his age is unknown because he does not have any birth certificate with him. However, according to a state issued pension book that he claims as his (even with a different name, Rahim Khan), it was stated that Rahim Khan was born on May 20, 1878, but independent researchers have not verified Miyan's age. Rajasthan (राजस्थान) is the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. ... Also known as the Pink City, Jaipur has a long, rich and colorful history. ... Habib Miyan Habib Miyan, was born in Rajasthan, Jaipur, India. ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

In 2003, health officials in Chechnya declared that Zabani Khakimova was at least 124 years old, but her age was never authenticated; she died in 2003. In 2004, The Moscow (Russia) Times reported on Pasikhat Dzhukalayeva, also of Chechnya, who claims to have been born in 1881. But, as with Mrs. Khakimova, Mrs. Dzhukalayeva's age has not been authenticated. αĞ Capital Grozny Area - total - % water Ranked 80th - 15,300 km² - negligible Population - Total - Density Ranked 49th - est. ...

Brazil has made several unsubstantiated claims, starting with Maria do Carmo Geronimo (1871??-2000). On March 3, 2005, the Associated Press reported that Maria Olivia da Silva, who claims to have been born on February 28, 1880, had been recognized by RankBrasil as the oldest-living woman in Brazil. Guinness has been unable to verify her date of birth. RankBrasil, a competitor of Guinness, had previously promoted the claim of Ana Martins da Silva (1880?-2004) and that records were sent to Guinness [1], but the claim was never validated. March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Associated Press logo The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... Maria Olivia da Silva (born February 28, 1880?) is a Brazilian woman who is Brazils oldest living person, 2005, according to RankBrasil. ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

An earlier claim from South America was for Javier Pereira (said to have been determined to be 167 years old by a dentist looking at his teeth) There have likewise been a scattering of extreme claims from Africa, the most recent being Namibia's Anna Visser, who died in January 2004 at an alleged 125 or 126, and Mokoko Temo of South Africa, who was said to be 130 when she voted in the April 2004 election. South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...

The most extreme claim in the 20th century was a wire story announcing in 1933 that China's Li Chung-yun, born in 1680, had died at age 256 (if it were true, he actually would have been 252 or 253).

In prior centuries there have been other claims, one of the best-known being Thomas Parr, introduced to London in 1635 with the claim that he was 152 years old, who promptly died and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Greater English claims include those of the allegedly 169-year-old Henry Jenkins (apparently concocted to support testimony in a court case about events a century before) and the supposedly 207-year-old Thomas Carn (died in 1588 by most reports). Sir Walter Raleigh, amongst others, claimed that the Irish countess, Katherine Fitzgerald, lived to the age of 140 years (and died on falling from a tree as she picked cherries for breakfast). Thomas Parr was an English man who supposedly lived for 152 years, often referred to simply as Old Parr, or Old Tom Parr. He was said to have been born in 1483 near Shrewsbury, possibly at Winnington, and joined the army around 1500. ... } London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England and is the most populous city in the European Union. ... Events February 10 - The Académie française in Paris is expanded to become a national academy for the artistic elite. ... The Abbeys western façade The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ... 1588 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... Katherine FitzGerald, Countess of Desmond, was a noblewoman of the Anglo-Norman FitzGerald dynasty in Ireland and was referred to as the old Countess of Desmond, owing to her longevity. ...

Longevity myths did not come in for serious scrutiny until the work of W.J. Thoms in 1873, and the odd wire correspondent looking for a captivating filler reports extreme undocumented claims to this day: in early 2000 a Nepalese man claimed to have been born in 1832, citing as evidence a card issued in 1988. In December 2003, a Chinese news service claimed incorrectly that Guinness had recognized a woman in Saudi Arabia as being 131. 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calaber). ... This article is about the year 2000. ... 1832 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 2003: January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - → Events December 31, 2003 In Taiwan, President Chen Shui-bian signs a law that allows referendums to be held. ...

Responsible validation of longevity claims involves investigation of records following the claimant from birth to the present, and claims far outside the demonstrated records regularly fail such scrutiny. The United States Social Security Administration has public death records of over 100 people said to have died in their 160s to 190s, but often a quick look at the file immediately finds an obvious error. The United States Social Security Administration (or SSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established by law currently codified as . ...

The work of sorting genuine supercentenarians is a continuous process, and a news story must never be taken for authoritative fact if no validation is cited. A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is someone who has reached the age of 110 years or more, something achieved by only one in a thousand centenarians (0. ...

See also

• William Thoms
• Longevity
• Longevity claims
• Supercentenarian

Some factual claims in this article or section need to be verified. ... Longevity is defined as long life or the length of a persons life (life expectancy). ... Longevity claims are claims to extreme longevity (usually 110 or older) that either cannot be verified or for whom only some evidence is available. ... A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is someone who has reached the age of 110 years or more, something achieved by only one in a thousand centenarians (0. ...

References

• THOMS, William J. The Longevity of Man. Its Facts and Its Fictions. With a prefatory letter to Prof. Owen, C.B., F.R.S. on the limits and frequency of exceptional cases. London: F. Norgate, 1879.
• Validation of Exceptional Longevity
• http://www.demogr.mpg.de/
• http://www.grg.org/