Americans' Heads Literally Getting Larger
- 12 years ago
Americans' Heads Literally Getting Larger - as part of the news series by GeoBeats.
On a day to day basis, most of us don't think about how we continue to evolve as species. We have all seen this evolutionary chart and who knows what our species will look like tens of thousands of years later. Gradual changes, however, are being observed even within time periods that span centuries.
Findings from forensic anthropologists at the University of Tennessee are showing that white Americans of European ancestry are getting larger, longer, and slimmer as time goes on.
Examining 1500 skulls dating from the 1800s up to the late 1900s, researchers saw that the average size of a male skull has increased by 200 cubic centimeters. That’s about the size of a tennis ball! In women, the size has increased by about 180 cubic centimeters.
Not certain of exactly why our skulls are growing, researchers speculate that improved diet, less strenuous work and lower mortality rates among infants and mothers may be playing a part.
Another study concluded that Spanish skulls have also increased in size and women's crania in particular grew more than the men's.
What are your thoughts on the growing skull size?
On a day to day basis, most of us don't think about how we continue to evolve as species. We have all seen this evolutionary chart and who knows what our species will look like tens of thousands of years later. Gradual changes, however, are being observed even within time periods that span centuries.
Findings from forensic anthropologists at the University of Tennessee are showing that white Americans of European ancestry are getting larger, longer, and slimmer as time goes on.
Examining 1500 skulls dating from the 1800s up to the late 1900s, researchers saw that the average size of a male skull has increased by 200 cubic centimeters. That’s about the size of a tennis ball! In women, the size has increased by about 180 cubic centimeters.
Not certain of exactly why our skulls are growing, researchers speculate that improved diet, less strenuous work and lower mortality rates among infants and mothers may be playing a part.
Another study concluded that Spanish skulls have also increased in size and women's crania in particular grew more than the men's.
What are your thoughts on the growing skull size?