4 replies to this topic

[Detective Mystery 2013]

There's a common historical misconception that men and women in the past were very short. There were periods when they were, but there were times when they weren't. People were taller before the spread of agriculture, and men were taller during some of the Dark Ages. Even Napoleon was taller than the stories made him out to be. He was around 5'6, which was not short at the time. An auxologist claimed that the men, who stormed the Bastille, were the height and weight of modern girls of twelve. That's hard to believe! If that was true, French women were "midgets". It's more likely that men and women were 5'6 and 5'2, respectively, until the modern era. They then began to increase in height in the relatively wealthy countries until the averages rose to 5'10 and 5'6 in certain countries. These heights were average in hunter-gatherer times BTW. In your opinion, will the average heights continue to climb, or will there be a peak?

[Simbi Laveau]

I actually think ,in some places ,it was a nutritional thing.
Classically ,we were shorter ,but foods were scarce ,we lacked balance.
Rickets and scurvy took a toll . People didn't grow as tall in places were food was not abundant.
I think the place this is most apparent ,is China .

I believe they've done studies on it. Don't ask me for a link ,because I heard it in acupuncture school initially .


The Chinese were much shorter ,as a race,pre industrial revolution .
You didn't see guys like Yao Ming ,back in the day .Women were much shorter then ,compared to now .

[Detective Mystery 2013]

Simbi Laveau, on 18 February 2013 - 07:13 AM, said:

I actually think ,in some places ,it was a nutritional thing.
Classically ,we were shorter ,but foods were scarce ,we lacked balance.
Rickets and scurvy took a toll . People didn't grow as tall in places were food was not abundant.
I think the place this is most apparent ,is China .

I believe they've done studies on it. Don't ask me for a link ,because I heard it in acupuncture school initially .


The Chinese were much shorter ,as a race,pre industrial revolution .
You didn't see guys like Yao Ming ,back in the day .Women were much shorter then ,compared to now .

North Korea is a dramatic example too. The people are much shorter and thinner. The average size is much different in South Korea, so that goes to show how important nutrition's role is when it comes to the average height of individuals in specific areas. Auxology is a field dedicated to the study of this, as well as how income impacts height.

[Bavarian Raven]

Quote

I actually think ,in some places ,it was a nutritional thing

This. During the Roman era, I think the average roman male was around the 5 foot mark. But the germanic tribes (who had a far healthier diet) were in the mid five foot range, with close to modern heights (and sometimes taller) not exactly rare. Heck, greenland norse between the years 1000 and 1200 AD were some of the healthiest (and taller then average) people in Europe. It all depends on local diet and nutrition (with of course genes coming into play).

[Detective Mystery 2013]

Bavarian Raven, on 20 February 2013 - 04:30 AM, said:

This. During the Roman era, I think the average roman male was around the 5 foot mark. But the germanic tribes (who had a far healthier diet) were in the mid five foot range, with close to modern heights (and sometimes taller) not exactly rare. Heck, greenland norse between the years 1000 and 1200 AD were some of the healthiest (and taller then average) people in Europe. It all depends on local diet and nutrition (with of course genes coming into play).

Some Northern Europeans were seen as giants. The men and women were around modern heights, though. They just had more protein in their diets. The Romans had a more Mediterranean diet. If the diets were reversed, there likely would have been historical accounts of tiny men and tiny women with blonde hair and blue eyes. Rome would have conquered the known world much faster than it did too. ;-) Diet, as well as genes, always have been the main factors in determining most populations' heights. These two factors transcend ethnicity in almost all cases.