Hermanussen Michael, Scheffler Christiane
Aschauhof 3, 24340 Altenhof, Germany.
University of Potsdam, Human Biology, Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469 Potsdam, Germany.
Anthropol Anz. 2016 Nov 1;73(4):265-274. doi: 10.1127/anthranz/2016/0698.
There is a common perception that tall stature results in social dominance. Evidence in meerkats suggests that social dominance itself may be a strong stimulus for growth. Relative size serves as the signal for individuals to induce . We construct a thought experiment to explore the potential consequences of the question: is stature a social signal also in humans? We hypothesize that (1) upward trends in height in the lower social strata are perceived as social challenges yielding similar though attenuated upward trends in the dominant strata, and that (2) democratization, but also periods of political turmoil that facilitate upward mobility of the lower strata, are accompanied by upward trends in height. We reanalyzed large sets of height data of European conscripts born between 1856-1860 and 1976-1980; and annual data of German military conscripts, born between 1965 and 1985, with information on height and school education. Taller stature is associated with higher socioeconomic status. Historic populations show larger height differences between social strata that tend to diminish in the more recent populations. German height data suggest that both democratization, and periods of political turmoil facilitating upward mobility of the lower social strata are accompanied by a general upward height spiral that captures the whole population. We consider stature as a signal. Nutrition, health, general living conditions and care giving are essential prerequisites for growth, yet not to maximize stature, but to allow for its function as a lifelong social signal. Considering stature as a social signal provides an elegant explanation of the rapid height adjustments observed in migrants, of the hitherto unexplained clustering of body height in modern and historic cohorts of military conscripts, and of the parallelism between changes in political conditions, and secular trends in adult human height since the 19 century.
人们普遍认为身材高大意味着社会主导地位。狐獴的证据表明，社会主导地位本身可能是生长的强烈刺激因素。相对体型是个体引发……的信号。我们构建了一个思想实验来探讨这个问题的潜在后果：身高在人类中也是一种社会信号吗？我们假设：（1）社会底层身高的上升趋势被视为社会挑战，在主导阶层中会产生类似但减弱的上升趋势；（2）民主化以及促进社会底层向上流动的政治动荡时期，都伴随着身高的上升趋势。我们重新分析了1856 - 1860年至1976 - 1980年出生的欧洲应征入伍者的大量身高数据；以及1965年至1985年出生的德国应征入伍者的年度数据，这些数据包含身高和学校教育信息。较高的身材与较高的社会经济地位相关。历史人口显示社会阶层之间的身高差异更大，而在最近的人口中这种差异往往会减小。德国的身高数据表明，民主化以及促进社会底层向上流动的政治动荡时期，都伴随着一种普遍的身高上升螺旋，涵盖了整个人口。我们将身高视为一种信号。营养、健康、总体生活条件和照料是生长的基本先决条件，但不是为了使身高最大化，而是为了使其能够发挥终身社会信号的作用。将身高视为一种社会信号，为移民中观察到的快速身高调整、军事应征者现代和历史队列中迄今无法解释的身高聚集现象，以及自19世纪以来政治状况变化与成年人身高长期趋势之间的平行关系，提供了一个简洁的解释。
