The
Times (the one in London, though
that's really redundant), in the 'Court & Social' section on
September 19, 2005, shows us once again that the advance of
knowledge is often proving that 'everything you know is wrong'.
Medieval
ancestors measured up to our height standards
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). ...
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.
The newspaper's article references the September/October 2005 issue
of
British Archaeology, which isn't yet on the 'net, and the
article therein by Sebastian Payne about the study by Charlotte
Roberts and Margaret Cox, 'Questioning the midget theory of
history'.