The height of most adults falls within about 12 inches – between 5ft and 6ft.  Individuals shorter than 5ft and those taller than 6ft tend to be considered outliers and are therefore more unusual.  Because of this, extremes of height are more useful for identifying an individual.

Height is generally calculated from the lengths of the long bones and in particular those of the lower limbs (femur – thigh bone and tibia – shin bone).  It is logical that if you have longer limb bones, then you will be taller and if you have shorter limb bones you will be shorter.

Accurate adult height can be calculated from the femur and the tibia to within 2 inches but other bones can be used if these are not available and includes, for example, the bones of the upper limb.

Native American skeletons discovered on Santa Catalina Island in California, USA exceeded 8ft in height and would by today’s standards be considered giants.  Conversely, adult human skeletons found in caves on the South Pacific island of Flores were only around 3 ft 4ins in height – Homo floresiensis are were referred to as ‘hobbit like’.