The Great Divergence and Convergence of Stature in Eurasia: Trends and Economic Correlates over the Last Eight Millennia

Human stature is a well-established anthropometric indicator of health, life expectancy and well-being. It is influenced by factors such as nutrition, disease environment, and social conditions, making it a valuable measure for studying (differences in) long-term development of societies. In this paper, we examine how changes in population density, political institutions, and military technologies have historically affected stature development in Asia over the past eight millennia, drawing on the largest dataset of skeletal evidence from across Eurasia. We focus on the decline in Asian stature, especially in China and Japan, over the last two millennia and assess how it compares to European trends. Our findings show that ever increasing population density has a strong negative impact on stature. We also find that in contrast to offensive military technology, defensive military technology and judicial framework led to larger stature, especially for women, while elite-focused institutions were more positively related to male stature. Moreover, epidemic shocks were often followed by increasing stature, likely due to better access to resources after the release of population pressure.