Evolutionary trends of stature in Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic Europe

Long bone lengths of all available European Upper Paleolithic (41 males, 25 females) and Mesolithic (171 males, 118 females) remains have been transfo rmed into stature estimates by means of new regression equations derived fr om Early Holocene skeletal samples using "Fully's anatomical stature" and t he major axis regression technique (Formicola & Franceschi, 1996). Statisti cal analysis of the data, with reference both to time and space parameters, indicates that: (1) Early Upper Paleolithic samples (pre-Glacial Maximum) are very tall; (2) Late Upper Paleolithic groups (post-Glacial Maximum) fro m Western Europe, compared to their ancestors, show a marked decrease in he ight; (3) a further, although not significant, reduction of stature affects Western Mesolithics; (4) no regional differences have been observed during both phases of the Upper Paleolithic; (5) a high level of homogeneity has also been found in the Mesolithic, both in Western and Eastern Europe; (6) the internal homogeneity found during the Mesolithic in Western and Eastern Europe is associated with marked inter-regional variability, with populati ons of the latter region showing systematically significantly greater statu re than their Western contemporaries. Evaluation of possible causes for the great stature of the Early Upper Pale olithic samples points to high nutritional standards as the most important factor. Results obtained on later groups clearly indicate that the Last Gla cial Maximum, rather than the Mesolithic transition, is the critical phase in the negative trend affecting Western European populations. While changes in the quality of the diet, and in particular decreased protein intake, pr ovide a likely explanation for that trend, variations in levels of gene flo w probably also played a role. Reasons for the West-East Mesolithic dichoto my remain unclear and lack of information for the Late Upper Paleolithic of Eastern Europe prevents insight into the remote origins of this phenomenon . Analysis of regional differentiation of stature, particularly well suppor ted by data from Mesolithic sites, points to the absence of today's latitud inal gradients and suggests a relative homogeneity in dietary, cultural and biodemographic patterns for the last hunter-gatherer populations of Wester n Europe. (C) 1999 Academic Press.