06-12-2002, 11:06 AM
Hearsay warning!<br>
I can't remember exactly where I read this but, for what it's worth, here goes:<br>
Some five to ten years ago there was an excavation of a medieval (ca.1200, I believe) burial ground at Svendborg, Denmark. There was quite a stir when it was discovered that the avarage height of the men was about 180 cm (barely 6"). It was suggested that that was because of diet (Svendborg is a coastal town: Fish-protein). I would think that the short stature of people was maybe something that started in the late middle ages, with urbanisation and restrictions on hunting, etc. I'm reasonably sure that by the renaissance there was a marked difference in height of the different classes, presumably because of diet.<br>
I tend to think of "ancient" peoples as not that different from us, so that might explain some of my bias :-) <p></p><i></i>
I can't remember exactly where I read this but, for what it's worth, here goes:<br>
Some five to ten years ago there was an excavation of a medieval (ca.1200, I believe) burial ground at Svendborg, Denmark. There was quite a stir when it was discovered that the avarage height of the men was about 180 cm (barely 6"). It was suggested that that was because of diet (Svendborg is a coastal town: Fish-protein). I would think that the short stature of people was maybe something that started in the late middle ages, with urbanisation and restrictions on hunting, etc. I'm reasonably sure that by the renaissance there was a marked difference in height of the different classes, presumably because of diet.<br>
I tend to think of "ancient" peoples as not that different from us, so that might explain some of my bias :-) <p></p><i></i>
