Northern European men living during the early Middle Ages were nearly as tall as their modern-day American descendants, a finding that defies conventional wisdom about progress in living standards during the last millennium.
“Men living during the early Middle Ages (the ninth to 11th centuries) were several centimeters taller than men who lived hundreds of years later, on the eve of the Industrial Revolution,” said Richard Steckel, a professor of economics at Ohio State University and the author of a study that looks at changes in average heights during the last millennium.
“Height is an indicator of overall health and economic well-being, and learning that people were so well-off 1,000 to 1,200 years ago was surprising,” he said.
Steckel, Richard H. “A Dreadful Childhood: The Excess Mortality of American Slaves.” Social Science History 10, no. 4 (1986): 427–65. https://doi.org/10.2307/1171026.
The Indomitable Neoliberals FC 