Re: puzzle of the negrito: isolated archaic populations
Larry Caldwell (larryc@teleport.com)
Fri, 13 Dec 1996 16:02:25 -0800
In article <E2BCAq.8FM@liverpool.ac.uk>, dbarnes@liv.ac.uk (Dan Barnes) wrote:
> In article <584qot$p0j@news.sdd.hp.com>, geroldf@sdd.hp.com says...
> >andaman islands, and possibly india as well. Average height for men
> >ranged from around 4 1/2 feet to just under 5, leading to the name
> need. From these results it is not suprising that a people who have spent a long
> time living exclusively in rain forests would develop a decrease in height. It
> would seem that if Ruff's analysis is valid that it is an example of parallel
> evolution - with two groups of people adapting to similar environmental
This whole discussion is based on the proposition that height is determined
by genetics. This is not true. The average caucasian height was 5'4" only
a century ago, and has varied up and down with diet for centuries. It
takes at least two generations of changed diet to express fully, probably
because of maternal influences.
Put them on a beefsteak and bean diet for two generations and then measure
their height. Until then, you have no data whatever.
-- Larry
|