why were people supposedly shorter back then?

DangerDan · 10-19-2006, 08:10 PM

I was reading the Spartans vs. MT thread and read something that said the average height was 6'1" back then and made me think of this.

I've always been told that people were shorter a while ago and that were getting taller. My U.S. history teacher told us that the average height during the 1700's was 5'5".

Why is that? Who is right? What would make people taller and shorter like that?

J.Robinson · 10-19-2006, 08:17 PM

at a guess prob nutrition, also height varies across cultures..everyone knows the vikings were big men

Neo_Cloud_99 · 10-19-2006, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DangerDan

I was reading the Spartans vs. MT thread and read something that said the average height was 6'1" back then and made me think of this.

I've always been told that people were shorter a while ago and that were getting taller. My U.S. history teacher told us that the average height during the 1700's was 5'5".

Why is that? Who is right? What would make people taller and shorter like that?

They had 500ft penises though.

(_)_)lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll lllllllllllD

timmy47 · 10-19-2006, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DangerDan

I was reading the Spartans vs. MT thread and read something that said the average height was 6'1" back then and made me think of this.

I've always been told that people were shorter a while ago and that were getting taller. My U.S. history teacher told us that the average height during the 1700's was 5'5".

Why is that? Who is right? What would make people taller and shorter like that?

i read its because of hormones in meat and other alterations to our food. altough im seeing alot of small people these days. i dont know whats up with that.

DangerDan · 10-19-2006, 08:27 PM

It could be diet. This is gonna sound racist or something, but Mexicans are usually short, and from what I've heard, its the ones from South Mexico that are the shortest. Do they have bad diets?

treborly77 · 10-19-2006, 08:28 PM

Its because they never use to workout back then, weightlifting stunts your growth. j/k

treborly77 · 10-19-2006, 08:29 PM

Ya, look at china.

DangerDan · 10-19-2006, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by treborly77

Ya, look at china.

doesn't their diet consist of mainly rice and fish? isn't that decent?

treborly77 · 10-19-2006, 08:40 PM

maybe its just evolution. The people who needed height gained it and retained it in their gene pool. Then again you cant really base it on average unless you take the average of every person on earth in that time period. i also heard that the closer to the equator you were the darker your skin.

Maverick77 · 10-19-2006, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DangerDan

I was reading the Spartans vs. MT thread and read something that said the average height was 6'1" back then and made me think of this.

I've always been told that people were shorter a while ago and that were getting taller. My U.S. history teacher told us that the average height during the 1700's was 5'5".

Why is that? Who is right? What would make people taller and shorter like that?

Some of the people in that thread are spewing completely ridiculous crap. Back an Ancient Greek the average height was closer to 5 feet actually. How do people know? The size of hallways, arcs, beds and rooms.

Over time the human race has gotten taller for a variety of reasons. Obviously nutrition, vaccinations causing people to live longer than 30, and natural selection. How many guys do you know that are 5 feet that get a lot of girls? I used this in the other thread but Black Beard the Pirate was considered a giant in his time (1716) and he was only 6-2... It’s historically and scientifically recorded.

treborly77 · 10-19-2006, 08:49 PM

[QUOTE=Maverick77]Back an Ancient Greek the average height was closer to 5 feet actually. How do people know? The size of hallways, arcs, beds and rooms.

Those were hobbits......duh

Brasmonky · 10-19-2006, 08:51 PM

Its evolution

plus1more · 10-19-2006, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DangerDan

It could be diet. This is gonna sound racist or something, but Mexicans are usually short, and from what I've heard, its the ones from South Mexico that are the shortest. Do they have bad diets?

yes they do ,
all the ones i know do alot of excersice while working like 10 hour days and they are still fat, which means that their diet must be horrible

Brer Ben · 10-19-2006, 08:57 PM

since we are so much more technologically advanced than our 1700's ancestors, more people live which mean people have more of a selection of mates to choose from. and who is a man/woman going to choose more likely for a mate: someone who is 5'5", or someone who is 6'2"? although since most men don't like to marry a woman who is taller than them, the woman do the "choosing". that is why (IMO) women tend to be a little to a lot shorter than men these days.

OmniPotentTitan · 10-19-2006, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brer Ben

since we are so much more technologically advanced than our 1700's ancestors, more people live which mean people have more of a selection of mates to choose from. and who is a man/woman going to choose more likely for a mate: someone who is 5'5", or someone who is 6'2"? although since most men don't like to marry a woman who is taller than them, the woman do the "choosing". that is why (IMO) women tend to be a little to a lot shorter than men these days.

that is wrong on so many levels, to make it short ; im just gonna call you retarded k ?

chris5 · 10-19-2006, 11:09 PM

i thought the neandrathols (sp) were the ones who were really tall (like 6'4) and they were too big and needed to much water and food and had overhating problems that they died out and evolved into human's that were on avg around 5'3 and then slowly got taller b/c of nutrition and eating more fruits and vegetables and stuff.

BuildUpNow · 10-19-2006, 11:10 PM

they were actually outside running around playing instead of sittin there asses playing games thats y we were also skinnier back then.

JoeyDaFool · 10-19-2006, 11:19 PM

it's sure that if you do nothing all day gravity won't put much pressure on your bones thus you grow taller

Cobra5.0Jeep · 10-19-2006, 11:19 PM

I am studying Classical Greece this semester and the Spartans would make sure when they got married that the woman nad man were compatible and both tall and strong. When the baby was born if it had a physical problem they would kill it. The Spartans did what Hitler wanted to do, they breed only humans worthy enough to be warriors. They made sure in school kids fought each other all the time.
This movie 300 shows them killing babies that were "defective." its supposed to be very historically acccurate

L_B_M_#2 · 10-19-2006, 11:26 PM

shorter people require less food therefore evolution favored shorter people back when food was limited and the world wasnt organized.

then when large civilizations began and there was surplus of food being short was no longer an advantage so average height increased.

JUST A THEORY so dont call me a retard if im way off ^_^

Popsicle52 · 12-08-2006, 10:59 PM

actually, people were tall in the huntering gathering days (avg male height from old skeletons is 5'9) because they had good diets then (fish, nuts, berries, etc). then when they started farming societies (carbs, wheat, less meat/nuts/berries), they got short. started catching up again as time went on, but stayed shorter than the huntering gathering days (positive growth trend up to the roman times, stayed under 5'9, then dipped again to the middle ages, then positive trend again to about 5'6 or 5'5 in the 1800s-1900s note these are all european stats). we have just caught back up and are arround 5'10.

latspread · 12-08-2006, 11:18 PM

i dont know if i believe that.. when i was in high school it seemed that every year, the incoming freshmen were shorter and smaller then the previous class.. i remember when my whole class were freshmen, we were so much bigger then them when they were freshmen..

FX45 · 12-08-2006, 11:21 PM

I've noticed that my friends that have parents that smoke, are shorter then my friends that have parents that don't smoke. Weird eh?

Spuddy · 12-08-2006, 11:26 PM

a lot of tall people have an x gene mutation. its the most common male gene mutation, and it makes you a little taller than you should have been

John L · 12-08-2006, 11:36 PM

There was no cell tech back then

chris5 · 12-09-2006, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spuddy

a lot of tall people have an x gene mutation. its the most common male gene mutation, and it makes you a little taller than you should have been

ehhh? never head this one. where did you read this?

MMA Superstar 2 · 12-09-2006, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John L

There was no cell tech back then

lol, beat me to it.

Krunk Fu · 12-09-2006, 03:57 PM

evolution

HandOfFate · 12-09-2006, 04:03 PM

Mostly nutrition.

MoGeaYuglay · 12-09-2006, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DangerDan

It could be diet. This is gonna sound racist or something, but Mexicans are usually short, and from what I've heard, its the ones from South Mexico that are the shortest. Do they have bad diets?

That's not racist at all.

If a ethnic/racial group is by average a certain height, that isn't racist at all. Numbers and averages are not "racist". I hate how it's gotten to a point where people have to constantly look over there shoulder so they don't come off as "racist". thanks to our fathers who had to screw things over for us.

/end of tangent.