The Study
Effects of ancestry, agriculture, and lactase persistence on the stature of prehistoric Europeans
This study looked at bones and DNA from ancient people to see if certain genes were linked to how tall they were. It found a connection, but it can't prove the genes made them taller—maybe they ate better, or were healthier, and that’s why they were taller.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Scientists looked at bones and genes from people who lived thousands of years ago to see how tall they were and why.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1A 0.24 SD difference is about 1.5 inches — noticeable but not huge; the fact that ancient genes still predict height today is surprising and useful.
- 2People with the lactase persistence gene were 0.24 standard deviations taller back then; modern height genes still predicted ancient height up to 10%; Neolithic farmers were only a little shorter than Mesolithic hunters.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
bioRxiv
Year
2025
Authors
Samantha L. Cox, Kaeli Kaymak-Loveless, Carson Shin, Timka Alihodžić, K. W. Alt, N. Atanassova, Dider Binder, Morana Čaušević-Bully, Alexander Chohadzhiev, Stefan Chokhadzhiev, Henri Duday, B. Gaydarska, Anahit Khudaverdyan, Rafael Micó Pérez, N. Nicklisch, M. Novak, Camila Oliart Caravatti, Hélène Réveillas, Maïté Rivollat, Stéphane Rottier, Domagoj Tončinić, Steve Zaüner, I. Mathieson
Related Content
Claims (6)
Genetic markers used to predict height in modern Europeans and East Asians can account for up to 10% of differences in femur length among ancient western Eurasian populations, indicating that these genetic predictors retain some predictive power over thousands of years.
People who started farming in western Eurasia during the Neolithic period were only slightly shorter than the hunter-gatherers who came before them, showing that switching to agriculture did not lead to a consistent reduction in human height.
Ancient people in western Eurasia with more western hunter-gatherer ancestry were taller or shorter than those with more early farmer ancestry, and this difference in height is linked to their genetic background.
In ancient human populations, people with the genetic ability to digest milk as adults tended to be taller, but this link between milk digestion and height does not exist in modern humans.
In ancient western Eurasian populations, people with a specific genetic variant for digesting milk were, on average, taller than those without it; this height difference is not seen in modern populations.
When humans began eating grain-based diets about 10,000 years ago, average height and brain volume decreased.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.