The effect of living conditions on the stature of men and women: the case of south-eastern France (18th, 19th and 20th centuries)
In this paper we analyse the impact of different living conditions on the length of the femur, as a proxy for stature, of three Mediterranean samples with known historical contexts, and assess sex differentials in femur length changes. The first collection analysed is composed of 18th century plague...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Société d'Anthropologie de Paris
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris |
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| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/12214 |
| _version_ | 1797402330821296128 |
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| author | Luana Batista-Goulart Isabelle Séguy Stefan Tzortzis Gérald Quatrehomme |
| author_facet | Luana Batista-Goulart Isabelle Séguy Stefan Tzortzis Gérald Quatrehomme |
| author_sort | Luana Batista-Goulart |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper we analyse the impact of different living conditions on the length of the femur, as a proxy for stature, of three Mediterranean samples with known historical contexts, and assess sex differentials in femur length changes. The first collection analysed is composed of 18th century plague victims who had suffered several previous starvation episodes. The second collection, from the 19th century, lived through comparatively better times. The third is from the 20th century, when living conditions were better than during the two previous centuries. We compared the femur lengths of females and males between the three collections using Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon statistical tests. The median value of male femur lengths increased over time, as expected. However, the median values of the female sample decreased in the 19th century, while the differences between the 18th and the 20th centuries samples were not statistically significant. The samples from the 18th and 20th centuries are reliable sources, but for the 19th century collection, we have assumed a possible bias in the socio-economic representativeness of the female sample. While different trends in sexual dimorphism in stature have been observed in other studies, the non-significant difference between female femur length from the 18th and the 20th centuries is unexpected, given improvements in living conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:23:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-64f92cdd12ab4814b2d277c1411b5025 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1777-5469 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:23:35Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Société d'Anthropologie de Paris |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris |
| spelling | doaj.art-64f92cdd12ab4814b2d277c1411b50252023-12-06T16:23:06ZengSociété d'Anthropologie de ParisBulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris1777-54692023-10-013510.4000/bmsap.12214The effect of living conditions on the stature of men and women: the case of south-eastern France (18th, 19th and 20th centuries)Luana Batista-GoulartIsabelle SéguyStefan TzortzisGérald QuatrehommeIn this paper we analyse the impact of different living conditions on the length of the femur, as a proxy for stature, of three Mediterranean samples with known historical contexts, and assess sex differentials in femur length changes. The first collection analysed is composed of 18th century plague victims who had suffered several previous starvation episodes. The second collection, from the 19th century, lived through comparatively better times. The third is from the 20th century, when living conditions were better than during the two previous centuries. We compared the femur lengths of females and males between the three collections using Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon statistical tests. The median value of male femur lengths increased over time, as expected. However, the median values of the female sample decreased in the 19th century, while the differences between the 18th and the 20th centuries samples were not statistically significant. The samples from the 18th and 20th centuries are reliable sources, but for the 19th century collection, we have assumed a possible bias in the socio-economic representativeness of the female sample. While different trends in sexual dimorphism in stature have been observed in other studies, the non-significant difference between female femur length from the 18th and the 20th centuries is unexpected, given improvements in living conditions.http://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/12214bioarchaeologystatureliving conditionsgender inequalitiessecular trends |
| spellingShingle | Luana Batista-Goulart Isabelle Séguy Stefan Tzortzis Gérald Quatrehomme The effect of living conditions on the stature of men and women: the case of south-eastern France (18th, 19th and 20th centuries) Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris bioarchaeology stature living conditions gender inequalities secular trends |
| title | The effect of living conditions on the stature of men and women: the case of south-eastern France (18th, 19th and 20th centuries) |
| title_full | The effect of living conditions on the stature of men and women: the case of south-eastern France (18th, 19th and 20th centuries) |
| title_fullStr | The effect of living conditions on the stature of men and women: the case of south-eastern France (18th, 19th and 20th centuries) |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effect of living conditions on the stature of men and women: the case of south-eastern France (18th, 19th and 20th centuries) |
| title_short | The effect of living conditions on the stature of men and women: the case of south-eastern France (18th, 19th and 20th centuries) |
| title_sort | effect of living conditions on the stature of men and women the case of south eastern france 18th 19th and 20th centuries |
| topic | bioarchaeology stature living conditions gender inequalities secular trends |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/12214 |
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