So what were the villains? Were they humans?
I was beginning to think they would be revealed to be aliens when Patrick Wilson discovered those Crop Circle looking things.
Also the way they made that shriek. Totally sounded like alien race
shareThe Native American in the bar tells them they are troglodytes. Cave dwelling cannibals that evolved into something barely human.
He tells them this when they are planning their rescue mission, and that's why he refuses to go and tells them they don't stand a chance.
They are human. Just distorted and evil. They insert bone whistles into their trachea's to make the terrible shriek. They are without language.
When the professor uses the term "troglodytes" he means caveman. That would be common parlance at the time. He's comparing them to ancient humans that never moved along.
The Anasazi in the southwest of the US went through a bad spell when they moved into cliffs for self defense. This is when they had a long dry spell and couldn't grow corn anymore. Technically, they had developed after a long wet spell and the climate went back to normal. They built the cliff dwellings to defend against other tribes that would raid, kill, and eat them.
I've never made a significant study of it, but you can look it up. It's out there. I'm just writing from memory.