Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T16:55:07.514Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

HEIGHT AS AN INDICATOR OF ECONOMIC STATUS IN THE POLISH TERRITORIES UNDER RUSSIAN RULE AT THE TURN OF THE 19TH TO 20TH CENTURY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2013

ZBIGNIEW CZAPLA  and
GRAŻYNA LICZBIŃSKA
ZBIGNIEW CZAPLA*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Biology, Institute of Anthropology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
GRAŻYNA LICZBIŃSKA
Affiliation:
Faculty of Biology, Institute of Anthropology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
*
1Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Height is regarded as one of the indicators of environmental stress at population level, being an excellent barometer of standard of living. The aim of this study was to describe diversity in height among populations living in different regions of the Kingdom of Poland in terms of the economic factors in the second half of the 19th and early 20th century. This study examines the height of adult inhabitants from five guberniyas (provinces) of the Kingdom of Poland (Łomża, Warsaw, Radom, Kalisz and Płock) collected in the years 1897–1914 (N=732 men, N=569 women). Differences in average height of male and female inhabitants across the five guberniyas were examined using ANOVA and the Fisher's LSD (Least Significant Difference) test of multiple comparisons. Statistically significant differences in the height between the guberniyas were observed. Diversity in the economic development in the studied guberniyas of the Kingdom of Poland translated into differences in the height of their inhabitants. Moreover, an increase in mean height over time was noted.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 46 , Issue 5 , September 2014 , pp. 686 - 697
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baten, J. & Blum, M. (2012) An anthropometric history of the world, 1810–1980: did migration and globalization influence country trends? Journal of Anthropological Sciences 90, 1–4.Google Scholar
Bielicki, T. (1986) Physical growth as a measure of the economic well-being of populations: the twentieth century. In Falkner, F. & Tanner, J. M. (eds) Human Growth. Plenum Press, New York, pp. 283–305.Google Scholar
Bielicki, T. & Hulanicka, B. (1998) Secular trend in stature and menarcheal age. In Bodzsar, E. & Susanne, C. (eds) Secular Growth Changes in Europe. Eötvös University Press, Budapest, pp. 261–279.Google Scholar
Bielicki, T., Szczotka, H., Górny, S. & Charzewski, J. (1981) Rozwarstwienie społeczne współczesnej ludności Polski: analiza wysokości ciała poborowych urodzonych w 1957 r. Przegląd Antropologiczny 47(2), 237–261.Google Scholar
Bielicki, T. & Welon, Z. (1982) Growth data as an indicator of social inequalities: the case of Poland. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 25, 153–167.Google Scholar
Bochenek, A. (1904) Główniejsze cechy charakterystyki antropologicznej ludności włościańskiej okolic Kutna i Łęczycy. Materyały antropologiczno-archeologiczne i etnograficzne 7, 101–113.Google Scholar
Bochenek, A. (1906) Materiały do charakterystyki antropologicznej ludności Królestwa Polskiego – Główniejsze cechy charakterystyki antropologicznej ludności włościańskiej powiatu mławskiego, guberni płockiej. Materyały antropologiczno-archeologiczne i etnograficzne 8, 69–75.Google Scholar
Bodenhorn, H. (2010a) Height and body mass index values of nineteenth-century New York legislators. Economics and Human Biology 8, 121–126.Google Scholar
Bodenhorn, H. (2010b) Height, weight and body mass index values of mid-19th century New York legislative officers. Economics and Human Biology 8(2), 291–293.Google Scholar
Budnik, A. & Liczbińska, G. (2013) Biological and cultural causes of seasonality of deaths in historical populations from Poland. Collegium Antropologicum (in press).Google Scholar
Carson, S. A. (2005) The biological standard of living in 19th century Mexico and in the American West. Economics and Human Biology 3, 405–419.Google Scholar
Carson, S. A. (2009) Racial differences in body mass indices of men imprisoned in 19th century Texas. Economics and Human Biology 7, 121–127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carson, S. A. (2010) Wealth, inequality, and insolation effects across the 19th century white US stature distribution. Homo – Journal of Comparative Human Biology 61, 467–478.Google Scholar
Carson, S. A. (2011) Height of female Americans in the 19th century and the antebellum puzzle. Economics and Human Biology 9, 157–164.Google Scholar
Cegielski, T. & Kądziela, Ł. (1990) Rozbiory Polski 1772–1793–1795. PWN, Warsaw.Google Scholar
Chwalba, A. (2000) Historia Polski. 1795–1918. Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków.Google Scholar
Dobroński, A. (1979) Potencjał militarno-gospodarczy Królestwa Polskiego w latach 1907–1914. Wydawnictwo UW, Warsaw.Google Scholar
Fenna, D. (2004) Jednostki miar. Świat Książki, Warsaw.Google Scholar
Gupta, N. D., Deding, M. & Lausten, M. (2013) The effect of low birth weight and behavioral outcomes in the medium-run. Economics and Human Biology 11, 42–55.Google Scholar
Hulanicka, B., Brajczewski, C., Jedlińska, W., Sławińska, T. & Waliszko, A. (1990) Duże miasto – małe miasto – wieś. Różnice w rozwoju fizycznym dzieci w Polsce. Zakład Antropologii PAN, Wrocław.Google Scholar
Kaczyńska, E. (1974) Społeczeństwo i gospodarka północno-wschodnich ziem Królestwa Polskiego w okresie rozwoju kapitalizmu. Wydawnictwo UW, Warszawa.Google Scholar
Kołodziej, H. & Kozieł, S. (2002) Recent trends in stature of 14-year-old boys from Wrocław, Poland. Anthropological Review 65, 57–63.Google Scholar
Komlos, J. (1985) Stature and nutrition in the Habsburg Monarchy: the standard of living and economic development. American Historical Review 90, 1149–1161.Google Scholar
Komlos, J. (1987) The height and weight of West Point Cadets: dietary change in Antebellum America. Journal of Economic History XLVII(4), 897–927.Google Scholar
Komlos, J. (2010) The recent decline in the height of African-American women. Economics and Human Biology 8, 58–66.Google Scholar
Komlos, J. & Baten, J. (2004) Looking backward and looking forward. Social Science History 28 (2), 191–210.Google Scholar
Komlos, J. & Baur, M. (2004) From the tallest to (one of) the fattest the enigmatic fate of the American population in the 20th century. Economics and Human Biology 2, 57–74.Google Scholar
Kopczyński, M. (2005) Trend sekularny i trendy warstwowe we wzroście poborowych z Królestwa Polskiego 1874–1913. Przegląd Historyczny 96(2), 327–338.Google Scholar
Kopczyński, M. (2006) Wielka Transformacja. Oficyna Wydawnicza Mówią Wieki, Warsaw.Google Scholar
Kopczyński, M. (2007) Agrarian reforms, agrarian crisis and the biological standard of living in Poland, 1844–1892. Economics and Human Biology 5, 458–470.Google Scholar
Kopczyński, M. (2011) The physical stature of Jewish men in Poland in the second half of the 19th century. Economics and Human Biology 9, 203–210.Google Scholar
Lancewicz, S. (1911) Charakterystyka antropologiczna ludności Smardzewic. Sprawozdania Towarzystwa Naukowego Warszawskiego 4(9), 142–189.Google Scholar
Lord, R. H. (1973) The Second Partition of Poland. A Study of Diplomatic History. University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Łukasiewicz, J. (1988) Początki cywilizacji przemysłowej na ziemiach polskich. Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Warsaw.Google Scholar
Maciesza, A. (1914) Puszczanie przasnyscy ‘Kurpie’. Przyczynek do charakterystyki antropologicznej Kurpiów. Archiwum Nauk Antropologicznych III. A. 1, 64–69.Google Scholar
Malina, R. M., Peňa Reyes, M. E., Tan, Swee Kheng, Buschang, P. H., Little, B. B. & Koziel, S. (2004) Secular change in height, sitting height and leg length in rural Oaxaca, southern Mexico: 1968–2000. Annals of Human Biology 31(6), 615–633.Google Scholar
Mora, T. (2013) The association between adolescent height and student school satisfaction: recent evidence from Catalonia. Economics and Human Biology 11(2), 197–200.Google Scholar
Nicholas, S. & Steckel, R. H. (1991) Heights and living standards of English workers during the early years of industrialization, 1770–1815. Journal of Economic History 51(4), 937–957.Google Scholar
Nowak, O. (2011) Wysokość i masa ciała młodych mężczyzn w okresie przemian historycznych i społeczno-gospodarczych drugiej połowy XIX i początku XX wieku na ziemiach polskich. Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, Poznań.Google Scholar
Nowak, O. & Piontek, J. (2008) The secular trend in body height in the rural population of Podbereżce (Ukraine), in the 19th and 20th centuries. Anthropologie XLVI/I, 95–99.Google Scholar
Nowak, O., Piontek, J. & Zadarko-Domaradzka, M. (2011) Intergenerational changes in the biological dynamics of populations from southern Poland in the 20th century. Journal of Human Ecology 33(1), 11–15.Google Scholar
Olechnowicz, W. (1897) Charakterystyka antropologiczna ludności powiatu opatowskiego guberni radomskiej. Materyały antropologiczno-archeologiczne i etnograficzne 2, 1–31.Google Scholar
Rutkowski, L. (1906) Charakterystyka antropologiczna ludności okolic Płońska i sąsiednich powiatów guberni płockiej. Materyały antropologiczno-archeologiczne i etnograficzne 8, 3–68.Google Scholar
Rutkowski, L. (1914) Ludność podłużnogłowa powiatu Płońskiego w porównaniu z ludnością krótko i średniogłową. Materyały antropologiczno-archeologiczne i etnograficzne 13, 64–93.Google Scholar
Sanna, E. (2002) Secular trend in Italy. Antropo 3, 23–49.Google Scholar
STATISTICA (2011) STATISTICA Version 10. StatSoft, Inc. URL: www.statsoft.com.Google Scholar
Steckel, R. H. (1979) Slave height profiles from coastwise manifests. Explorations in Economic History 16(4), 363–380.Google Scholar
Steckel, R. H. (1992) Stature and living standards in the United States. In Gallman, R. E. & Wallis, J. J. (eds) American Economic Growth and Standards of Living Before the Civil War. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 265–310.Google Scholar
Steckel, R. H. (1995) Stature and the standard of living. Journal of Economic Literature 33, 1903–1940.Google Scholar
Steckel, R. H. (2008) Biological measures of the standard of living. Journal of Economic Perspectives 22(1), 129–152.Google Scholar
Susanne, C., Bodzsar, E., Bielicki, T., Hauspie, R., Hulanicka, B., Lepage, Y., Rebato, E. & Vercauteren, M. (2001) Changements seculaires de la croissance et du developpement en Europe. Antropo 1, 71–90.Google Scholar
Talko-Hryncewicz, J. (1914) Przyczynek do antropologii ludności Królestwa Polskiego. Materyały antropologiczno-archeologiczne i etnograficzne 13, 3–63.Google Scholar
Tanner, J. M. (1978) Foetus into Man: Physical Growth from Conception to Maturity. Open Books, London.Google Scholar
Tanner, J. M. (1981) A History of the Study of Human Growth. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Wurm, H. (1985) Hypotheses and causes of body height progressions since mid 19th century – a scientific historical review. I: Discussion of causes since the end of the 19th century to mid 20th century, including references on body height development in the 19th century. Gegenbaurs Morphologisches Jahrbuch 131(5), 589–610.Google Scholar
Zakrzewski, A. (1891) Wzrost w Królestwie Polskim. Przyczynek do charakterystyki fizycznej Polaków. Drukarnia Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, Kraków.Google Scholar