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"modern Greeks and Turks have still not regained the average height of their distant ancestors..." Given that "Turks" proper are a Central Asian people and not
by jqm 11y ago
"modern Greeks and Turks have still not regained the average height of their distant ancestors..."
Given that "Turks" proper are a Central Asian people and not the original inhabitants of Turkey I have to wonder exactly what ancestors he is referring to.
Another point... maybe the skeletons before agriculture were taller, could be, but I'm guessing there are many more skeletons available from the agricultural period, so if the goal is maximum net skeletons, the agricultural period takes the prize (can't support a lot of people hunting gathering). There are probably plenty of tall skeletons from this period as well. Rulers who had the malnourished masses doing their work for them. But a malnourished skeleton still has more mass than a skeleton that just plain isn't there because the lifestyle never would have brought it into existence.
I've never been a fan of Jared Diamond. I think his analysis is too one dimensional and neglects myriads of factors in his quest for "the reason". I realize he is very popular and he does raise some somewhat interesting points at times. He just gives them too much credit for causing everything. Frankly, this piece sounds like it was written by a guy who wants to have a life a little bit freer than it is right now.