The people of the Indus Valley Civilization were among the tallest in the world, with an average height of 175.8 cm (5 ft 9 in) for males and 166.1 cm (5 ft 51⁄2 in) for females. [1] The people of Ancient Egypt stood around 167.9 cm (5 ft 6 in) for males and 157.5 cm (5 ft 2 in) for females.
In the prehistoric populations, the maximum height for men was 165 to 170 cm, while women topped out at 160 cm. Today, by comparison, men in England have an average height of around 175 cm, while for women it is about 162 cm.
According to the findings in the Royal Society Open Science journal, early humans ranged from the broad, gorilla-like paranthropus to the thinner australopithecus afarensis. The hominins from four million year ago weighed 25kg on average and stood just over 4ft tall.
10,000 years ago: European males – 162.5cm (5 ft 4 inches). A dramatic reduction in the size of humans occurred at this time. Many scientists think that this reduction was influenced by global climatic change and the adoption of agriculture.
Nevertheless, over this whole period they found that the mean height (of their sample of 150 skeletons) was 157.5cm (or 5ft 2in) for women and 167.9cm (or 5ft 6in) for men, quite like today.
Late Upper Palaeolithic males (8000-6600 BC) were of medium stature and robusticity (mean height 166 cm, estimated average body weight 62 kg).
The average height of Vikings as found by researchers and scholars, varied depending on a number of factors, including their age and gender. Typically, the average male Viking would usually be between 5 foot 7 and 5 foot 9, while the average female would be between 5 foot 1 and 5 foot 3.
Standing at around six foot tall, the Gravettian men of Europe were by far the tallest humans of the prehistoric era. The Ice Age giants were known for hunting woolly mammoths and have even been linked to the demise of the famous species.
Hominins from four million years ago weighed a rough average of 25kg and stood at 125-130cm. As physicality morphs over deep time, increasingly converging on larger body sizes, the scientists observe three key “pulses” of significant change.
Certain ancient human populations were quite tall, even surpassing the average height of the tallest of modern countries.
Broadly speaking, evolution simply means the gradual change in the genetics of a population over time. From that standpoint, human beings are constantly evolving and will continue to do so long as we continue to successfully reproduce.
The only realistic scenario for the evolution of two species out of ours would probably be if we expanded beyond our home planet and then lost contact with the settlers. If both populations survived long enough – much more than 100,000 years – we might see divergence and maybe two species of humans.
While cavemen didn't have the strength of an Olympic weightlifter, as they could lift larger loads comparatively, cavemen had greater overall strength and endurance because of their lifestyle”.
Nevertheless, over this whole period they found that the mean height (of their sample of 150 skeletons) was 157.5cm (or 5ft 2in) for women and 167.9cm (or 5ft 6in) for men, quite like today.
Early Humans Became Tall and Thin 1.5 Million Years Ago to Survive Outside the Forest. For most of hominid evolution, our ancestors got heavier as they got taller. However, about 1.5 million years ago, humans had a growth spurt, suddenly becoming tall and lanky. This was likely a response to changes in human behavior.
A Cambridge University study, 'From athletes to couch potatoes: humans through 6,000 years of farming' concludes that when hunter gatherers transitioned to settled agricultural societies, humans lower limb strength and overall mobility decreased (and this decrease was even more pronounced in women).
The residents of the Moroccan site weren't quite the Homo sapiens of today; their skulls were less rounded and more elongated than ours, perhaps signaling differences between our brains and theirs. However, their teeth closely resemble those in the mouths of modern humans—and their faces looked just like ours.
Humans looked essentially the same as they do today 10,000 years ago, with minor differences in height and build due to differences in diet and lifestyle.
Male and female stature in ancient Greece in the last 10,000 years ranged from 159.7 to 170.6 cm and from 153.1 to 160.4 cm, respectively.
Scientists attribute this to a diet that is rich in milk and meat. The Dutch have grown so quickly in a short period of time that most of the growth is attributed to their changing environment. They are one of the world's largest producers and consumers of cheese and milk.
God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands. A land of giants, the Netherlands is the loftiest nation on Earth: the average height of a Dutch man is 182.5cm; a Dutch woman 168.7cm. By comparison their American counterparts measure 177.1cm and 163.5cm respectively.
Years of toiling in a difficult environment gave Vikings both the muscle and endurance they needed to survive. Vikings were trained from an early age to fight and wield weapons. They were also told stories about the gods and Valhalla which helped to strengthen their cognition too.
"Thorkell the Tall". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Jun. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thorkell-the-Tall.