An association between adult lifespan and stature in preindustrial Lithuanian populations: Analysis of skeletons

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test the null hypothesis that no relationship between maximal living stature and adult lifespan had existed in prehistoric and historic Lithuanian populations. The sample analyzed consisted of 1713 skeletons of adult individuals who died between the 2nd century CE and the beginning of the 19th century CE, collected from 118 archaeological sites located in the current territory of Lithuania. A cumulative logit model was applied to model ordinal age-related changes in the auricular surface and the pubic symphysis (measures of lifespan) as a function of maximal length of femur (an indicator of maximal living stature), sex, burial site and its chronology as a proxy for the place of residence and period. The lack of strong association between adult lifespan and femur length was observed for males and females, various periods and places of residence. However, the results failed to reject convincingly the hypothesis that no relationship between these two variables had existed in preindustrial Lithuanian populations. In addition to concerns regarding sampling and measurement errors, heterogeneous frailty in early life and resulting selective mortality may partly explain the results obtained.