TEXTO:

Archaeologists in eastern China have found 5,000- year-old skeletons of people experts say would have been unusually tall and strong. According to the measurements of bones in the graves at the site in Shandong province, a number of the people would have measured at 1 8m or taller, with one man estimated to have been 1 9m Although not particularly unusual by 21st-century Western standards, it is thought their height would have seen them tower over many of their contemporaries.

Locals in Shandong see their height as a defining characteristic. A study conducted in 2015 found the average height of 18 men to be 1.753m, compared to the country’s national average of 1.72m. Confucius, who was bom in what is now the Shandong province, was reportedly 1.9m tall.

The people living in the region 5,000 years ago are believed to have had relatively comfortable lives; the rows of houses that have been excavated suggested their living quarters had separate bedrooms and kitchens. Taller men were found buried in larger graves, which could be due to them having a higher status and having access to better food.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS. Dispoonivel em: www.independent oo uk>News> Sdence>Archaelogy>. Acesso em: 24 jurt. 2017. Adaptado.

The researchers believe that the people living in the Shandong province 5,000 years ago