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Height in eighteenth-century Chilean men: Evidence from military records, 1730-1800s. 2018

Manuel Llorca-Jaña, and Juan Navarrete-Montalvo, and Federico Droller, and Roberto Araya-Valenzuela
Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile. Electronic address: manuel.llorca@usach.cl.

This article provides the first height estimates for the adult population for any period of Chilean history. Based on military records, it gives an analysis of the average heights of male soldiers in the last eight decades of the colonial period, c.1730-1800s. The average height of Chilean men was around 167 centimetres, making them on average taller than men from Mexico, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Venezuela, but of a similar height to men from Sweden. However, Chilean men were clearly shorter than men in neighbouring Argentina, the USA and the UK. Chilean height remained stable during the 1740-1770s, but it declined by some 2-3 centimetres between the 1780 s and the 1800s, in line with a fall in real wages due to increasing food prices and population growth.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008889 Military Personnel Persons including soldiers involved with the armed forces. Air Force Personnel,Armed Forces Personnel,Army Personnel,Coast Guard,Marines,Navy Personnel,Sailors,Soldiers,Submariners,Military,Force Personnel, Air,Personnel, Air Force,Personnel, Armed Forces,Personnel, Army,Personnel, Military,Personnel, Navy,Sailor,Soldier,Submariner
D001827 Body Height The distance from the sole to the crown of the head with body standing on a flat surface and fully extended. Body Heights,Height, Body,Heights, Body
D002677 Chile A country in southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru.
D003132 Commerce The interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale, between different countries or between populations within the same country. It includes trade (the buying, selling, or exchanging of commodities, whether wholesale or retail) and business (the purchase and sale of goods to make a profit). (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, p411, p2005 & p283) Business,Commercial Sector,Prices,Sales,Vendors,Businesses,Commerces,Commercial Sectors,Price,Sale,Sector, Commercial,Sectors, Commercial,Vendor
D005502 Food Substances taken in by the body to provide nourishment. Foods
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D012456 Salaries and Fringe Benefits The remuneration paid or benefits granted to an employee. Fringe Benefits,Wages,Paternity Benefits,Pay Equity,Salaries,Benefit, Fringe,Benefit, Paternity,Benefits, Fringe,Benefits, Paternity,Equities, Pay,Equity, Pay,Fringe Benefit,Paternity Benefit,Pay Equities,Salary,Wage
D049671 History, 18th Century Time period from 1701 through 1800 of the common era. 18th Century History,18th Cent. History (Medicine),18th Cent. History of Medicine,18th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 18th Century,History of Medicine, 18th Cent.,History, Eighteenth Century,Medical History, 18th Cent.,Medicine, 18th Cent.,18th Century Histories,Cent. History, 18th (Medicine),Cent. Medicine, 18th,Century Histories, 18th,Century Histories, Eighteenth,Century History, 18th,Century History, Eighteenth,Eighteenth Century Histories,Eighteenth Century History,Histories, 18th Century,Histories, Eighteenth Century,History, 18th Cent. (Medicine)

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