Why the Tall Should Rule the World

You have only to look around you to see that humans fall into two biological groups: tall and short. They probably diverged early in the evolution of Homo sapiens in response to local conditions. Descendants of Mexicans and East Asians are generally shorter than the U.S. average. Still shorter are African Pygmies and the Jarawa of the Andaman Islands of India. Isolated for millennia, Pygmies and Jarawa most resemble our primate ancestors, whose fossil remains are much shorter than we are. Globally, the ancestral kin of the tall are still concentrated in east central Africa (Dinka, Maasai, Tutsi) and northwestern Europe (Dutch, Germans, Scandinavians).

Sure, we see lots of people of intermediate height. This is only natural, as tall and short people interbred in their migrations around the world. More of us are genetically mixed than pure. Though traits like hair type, skin color, and intelligence vary within each group, height stands out at first glance. While it’s evident that tall people have evolved well beyond their shorter distant cousins, there’s debate on how best to avoid heightism to give short people a chance.

Stuff and nonsense? Of course (except the presence of bias). But so are arguments for the existence of biological race. There are far more differences within each modern “race” than differences between races. Race exists, yes, but as a social construct and not a biological fact. Within the wide range of human variation, it’s we the people who decide which variations count.

Image: Brazil, March 2023, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Rodrigo Pacheco. Photo by Ricardo Stuckert.