Editing Early modern human (section)

===Body skeleton structure===
The body skeletons of even the earliest and most robustly built modern humans were less robust than those of Neanderthals (and from what little we know from Denisovans), having essentially modern proportions. Particularly regarding the long bones of the limbs, the distal bones (the [[Radius (bone)|radius]]/[[ulna]] and [[tibia]]/[[fibula]]) are nearly the same size or slightly shorter than the proximal bones (the [[humerus]] and [[femur]]). In ancient people, particularly Neanderthals, the distal bones were shorter, usually thought to be an adaptation to cold climate.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Steegmann|first=A. Theodore|author2=Cerny, Frank J.|author3= Holliday, Trenton W.|title=Neandertal cold adaptation: Physiological and energetic factors|journal=American Journal of Human Biology|year=2002|volume=14|issue=5|pages=566–583|doi=10.1002/ajhb.10070|pmid=12203812|s2cid=2437566}}</ref> The same adaptation is found in some modern people living in the polar regions.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Stock|first=J.T.|title=Hunter-gatherer postcranial robusticity relative to patterns of mobility, climatic adaptation, and selection for tissue economy|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|date=October 2006|volume=131|issue=2|pages=194–204|doi=10.1002/ajpa.20398|pmid=16596600}}</ref>

[[Human height|Height]] ranges overlap between Neanderthals and AMH, with Neanderthal averages cited as {{cvt|164|to|168|cm|0}} and {{cvt|152|to|156|cm|0}} for males and females, respectively, which is largely identical to pre-industrial average heights for AMH.{{refn|group=note|"Based on 45 long bones from maximally 14 males and 7 females, Neanderthals' height averages between 164 and 168 (males) resp. 152 to 156 cm (females). This height is indeed 12–14 cm lower than the height of post-WWII Europeans, but compared to Europeans some 20,000 or 100 years ago, it is practically identical or even slightly higher."<ref name="Helmuth1998">{{Cite journal|author=Helmuth H |title=Body height, body mass and surface area of the Neanderthals |journal=Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie |volume=82 |issue=1 |pages=1–12 |year=1998 |doi=10.1127/zma/82/1998/1 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |pmid=9850627 }}</ref>}} [[List of average human height worldwide|Contemporary national averages]] range between {{cvt|158|to|184|cm|0}} in males and {{cvt|147|to|172|cm|0}} in females. Neanderthal ranges approximate the contemporary height distribution measured among [[Malay people]], for one.{{refn|group=note|Malay, 20–24 (N{{=}} m:749 f:893, Median{{=}} m:{{Height|cm=166}} f:{{Height|cm=155}}, SD{{=}} m:{{Height|cm=6.46}} f:{{Height|cm=6.04}})<ref>{{cite journal|url= http://www.e-mjm.org/2000/v55n1/Body_Weight.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224180141/http://www.e-mjm.org/2000/v55n1/Body_Weight.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-24 |url-status=live |title=Distribution of Body Weight, Height and Body Mass Index in a National Sample of Malaysian Adults |pmid=11072496 |volume=55 |issue=1 |date=March 2000 |journal=Med. J. Malaysia |pages=108–128 |vauthors=Lim TO, Ding LM, Zaki M, etal}}</ref>}}