Posted on 09/19/2005 3:32:59 PM PDT by blam
September 19, 2005
Notebook: Archeology
Medieval ancestors measured up to our height standards
By Norman Hammond, Archaeology Correspondent
OUR ANCESTORS were as tall as we are, contrary to popular belief. Over the past five millennia the average height of men in Britain has remained stable at about 170cm (5ft 7in), and that of women at 160cm (5ft 3in). We may be surprised at how small the armour worn by the Black Prince or King Henry V was, but such giants on the battlefield were not physically large and were towered over by contemporaries of all classes.
The enduring myth that people in the past were much shorter than we are today contains a small element of truth, writes Sebastian Payne, chief scientist at English Heritage, in British Archaeology. There have been small changes, and average height has increased by an inch or so over the past 50 years, he says, attributing the increase to better health and nutrition.
The myth seems to stem from such things as low doorways on some medieval houses, and the small suits of clothes and armour in museums. But Dr Payne says that there are plenty of tall doors, and we simply dont register normally sized outfits. Recruits in 18th and 19th-century military records were considerably below todays average heights, he says, but adds: Recruits are often from poorer families whose average height is less, and were often not fully grown.
In the abandoned medieval village of Wharram Percy in Yorkshire, the churchyard has yielded hundreds of skeletons for analysis. There ten-year-olds were around 8in shorter than children today: by the time they were fully grown they were nearly as tall as modern adults.
A study by Charlotte Roberts and Margaret Cox, drawing together evidence of stature from skeletons across the country, shows that adult heights in both sexes have remained constant since the Neolithic era.
British Archaeology No 84: 51
Well, I think it's best to stay away from a sentence that has "queen" & "Elton" in it.
Which sword? Are you currently wielding a sword?
It's possible that those surviving to adulthood, and therefore reaching their "full height," were the best-nourished and therefore tallest of the population. This would be consistent with the much shorter height on pre-adolescents, compared to today: they were malnourished, they didn't grow very tall, then they died young.
Height is very much a function of nutrition. Japan, for example, has been having to re-size many things in their society for the people born in the 80's and later. Even as children, they were so much taller than earlier generations that they needed bigger school desks, among other adjustments.
Or Elton and the term "Bottoms up!".
ping
That too!
Let's hear it for The Prince of Darkness.
What you don't realize about that photo is that, just off to the photographer's left, they've just taken a whole beef sirloin off the barbecue.
I've read that the height requirement for a Roman legionarie was 5'10".
I supposed the guy wearing the armor for ceremonial kind of stooped over for ceremony and stood tall for war.
That would be a Japanese blade?
5'8" is a fine height for a man! I'm 5'8", and so is my idol, Maxwell Smart.
Yeah, my little brother is 6'2" and my oldest son is also 6'2".
I think I was weaned too early.
"If you have a dead ten year old and a dead adult, how can you claim the ten year old will become a "normal" size?"
Excellent point.
Darwin wrote about the mercenaries in the civil war from Europe whose uniforms had to be shortened from the stock used by the regular forces; what has GB to do with the modern world?
Suppose I should have explained better. Full suits of armor that were actually used during Medieval times has long since rusted or been destroyed in battle. Most Ceremonial armor is very heavily decorated,after all it is a show piece, and would not last 2 seconds in an actual battle(very thin metal because of the decorations.
These ceremonial suits were never actually fitted for anyone, but instead were made to make the Lord of the manor look good. A good comparison would be someone with lots of money who flaunts it by putting expensive furniture in their home for the purpose of "Showing off".
You are correct.
It sure seems like the average guy in America is taller than 5'7". Although 5'7" is half a foot taller than me.
Overly short? Damn, I'm no where near 6'. You probably think I'm handicapped or something equally silly.
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