Since people were a lot shorter in ancient times, will the people thousands of years from now be way tall?

Question

I know that people were way shorter in ancient times, so does that mean that in the year 4000 or something, all the girls will be like, 6'5" and the guys will be around 7'?

Answer 1

Much of the height was due to diet. When babies get a balanced diet and enough calories they grow to their maximum stature.

Oddly, there's evidence that Homo Erectus was taller then us. See "The Wisdom of the Bones" and "Nariokotome Boy." In the 19th century the Cro-Magnon culture discovery (Now EMH) showed the human remains that were taller then the Europeans of the day.

There are some limitations to height. Those that are extremely tall have significant medical issues and tend to die early. It's much like sizing up a mouse to the size of the cow. To make it work significant physical changes are required and likely won't work

Answer 2

Average height within a population is generally a function of diet and health.  The better you eat and the healthier you are while you are growing up, the taller you will be, within your genetically encoded limits.  It is not a matter of evolution so much as environment.  Consider the Vietnamese who emigrated to the US in the 1970's.  Their children born and raised here are generally taller than their parents, while the people back in Vietnam do not show the same trans-generational growth.  The same thing was true during the 19th and early 20th Century influx of poor Europeans; their children were usually taller.  Today, the diet of Europeans has caught up and they and Euro-Americans are about the same height.  If genetic "improvements" are added to the mix in the future, with selection for height, it is possible that populations will grow taller on average.

Answer 3

Well, No. People were short back then becuase its like the 'survival of the fittest' competition. And if they weren't short they wouldn't survive.

Answer 4

I'll let everyone  know when I get there.

Answer 5

Yes, everyone is supposed to get taller and taller. The first people on earth were really huge, then they started to shrink, and after a certain point, they started to grow again.

Answer 6

The idea that all people before the 20th century were short is a false one.

  Stone age Hunter gatherers were often tall because of the protein in their diet. Neolithic farmers became shorter due to a more cereal-based diet but they were still mainly in the normal modern range-5ft-5ft4 for women, 5ft3-5.7 for men.

During the bronze age they were perhaps an inch taller on average than the neolithic farmers but at this period it is not that unusual to find the remains of  6ft men.

  Celtic people were said to be tall, and Vikings &Germanic people were also tall.

   People got shorter in medieval times because of overcrowding in town and cities &subsequent malnutrition.

Answer 7

First, it's not true that ALL people were shorter. People's heights have always varied.

The reason AVERAGE heights were shorter was due to malnurishment -- of the women during pregnancy, and the babies and children.

Oh, "way tall" -- a bit taller than now. I thought you meant like 20 feet or something (there are physical limits, but that's not what you meant).

There's genetic variation, beyond the nutritional reasons for height.

So, we'll never all be the same height -- due to genetic variation.

I doubt the averages will ever be as tall as you suggest.