In China, skeletons of 5000-year-old "giants"

The average height of the modern Chinese is about 172 centimeters. Thus, the discovery of skeletons of much larger men who lived 5000 years ago, undoubtedly, causes surprise of many scientists.

What scientists have found

Archaeologists have discovered the skeletons of these "giants" in Shandong province in eastern China. They found graves with bones of relatively large people: one of the men had a height of 1.9 meters, and several others - 1.8 meters.

"These calculations are based only on the structure of bones. In life, the growth of these people would certainly be more than 1.9 meters, "said Fan Hui, who is the head of the School of History and Culture at Shandong University.

High status

The tombs in which these tall people were found turned out to be much larger than those in which their lower compatriots were buried. This may be due to the higher status of the "giants", as well as their right to receive better food. Probably, they towered over many other people in this region.

Nevertheless, archaeologists also found that some bodies suffered obvious damage in the area of the head and bones of the legs. In addition, in six large tombs, objects from ceramics and jade were also found. Perhaps, this damage was caused shortly after the burial, and it was caused by the power struggle among the high-ranking people of that time.

Growth of the Chinese

It is interesting that the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551-479 BC) was also a native of Shandong province. According to the information, he was quite tall - 1.9 meters. In addition, many residents of this province are proud of their growth. In 2015, for example, it was found that the average population growth in this region is 1.75 meters, compared with an average of 1.72 meters across the country.

The bones found by archaeologists belonged to representatives of the late Neolithic civilization (4,500-5,000 years ago) who lived in the lower reaches of the Yellow River.

Excavations in the village of Jiaojia

The site of the excavation is in a village called Jiaojia. Since 2016, 205 graves have been found here, the ruins of 104 houses and 20 sacrificial holes. But these bones are not the only interesting find during excavations. In many houses, colorful ceramics and jade products were discovered, which presumably indicate that the life of the people of that time was comfortable enough.

It is unclear why these people were so high. Perhaps, some role in this played a rich food resources. According to Western standards, an increase of 1.9 meters may not seem so significant. But, of course, in China at that time, these people would have towered above all the others.