New research suggests that cultural influences have dramatically affected height differences between men and women in Europe for centuries.
Traditionally, scientists have attributed Human height differences due to genetics. Even today DNA is seen as the main driver that a person from one region is taller than another. We know that 697 genetic variants are related to heightbut on the other hand this genetic determinism has for years underestimated the role of culture and environment in physical development. Until now. New research suggests that cultural influences have dramatically affected height differences between men and women in Europe for centuries.
The study. It has been published in the journal Nature Human Behavior and comes from a team of scientists from the University of Pennsylvania and several German institutions, who carried out an exhaustive analysis of the skeletal remains of 1,535 men and women who lived in Europe in the early Neolithic, between 6,000 and 4,000 BC.
The goal? Compare the heights of people living in the North Central, South Central, Balkan, and Mediterranean regions of the continent during those times. To do this, they used ancient DNA, stable isotope analysis (to indicate diet), paleopathology (to indicate health status) and skeletal measurements. With this, the authors were able to calculate the relative impact of genetic factors, but also environmental, cultural and dietary factors on the development of height in each individual.
The results. Broadly speaking, the Research indicates that even then those who lived in northern Europe (such as Germany) They were taller than the Mediterranean peopleas is currently the case. However, the study reveals something more intriguing: the height difference between men and women was much greater in the north than in the south. On average, Northern men’s femurs were 14% longer than theirs, while among Mediterranean people the difference was barely 5%.
Because? It must be taken into account that despite geographical differences, all the inhabitants of Central Europe lived in a very similar way, sharing the same technology and survival methods. However, in different regions there were inevitably cultural variations, enough to influence the status of men and women. The researchers found that both sexes experienced high lifestyle-related environmental stress, but that women did not reach the same height as men despite their genetics.
And they suggest that this indicates some kind of cultural preference in which men were given more time to recover of stress than women, who were expected to work longer hours. In fact, they emphasize the existence of a cultural bias that favored male well-being, potentially prioritizing their access to resources. Although it is not proven, everything indicates that boys were fed better than girls.