How strong and tall were Native Americans when the first Europeans came to America?

Question

How strong and tall were Native Americans when the first Europeans came to America, or anywhere near that time period? Compare them to a modern day person if you can or give examples of their strength.

Answer 1

I watched some History Channel program on this subject. The Native Americans from the northeast section of North America were possibly mixed blood from the Scandinavians. This group would be taller than the Native Americans you would see in South America.

Answer 2

Wait wait wait. No one has a good source for this. The Native Americans were a vast number of people, in different tribes, in different environments. When Europeans first came here, they encountered agricultural people who got plenty of protein from the ocean, bays and rivers.

By the time the Euros got far enough to encounter the Great Plains, they found people who had to walk for miles to find the migratory buffalo, and then figure out a way to make them run into a trap. (And no, the native people did not have horses before contact with Europeans.) Anyway, these guys probably got most of their nourishment from buffalo meat, which probably made them pretty tall. For a reference, check out info on height of Paleolithic man, who also lived on animals in migratory herds.

Anyway, the point is that there is no such thing as The Native Americans. They were and are a diverse group of people. Changes in height and strength have more to do with diet and lifestyle than anything else.

Answer 3

Don't know measurements, but I've read that the Native Americans in the Northeast were taller and of better health than the European peasants at the time. In the Southwest, however, most of the Pueblo people were of a shorter stature. Don't know if this is true of all the tribes of the SW though.

Answer 4

Strong Native American

Answer 5

European men of the time averaged about 5'6" and women typically stood about 5'. The soldiers were a good deal stronger than they looked. It was common for a foot soldier to carry a backback weighing 40-50 lbs. plus his weapons on marches of 20 miles a day. Sailors were very often strong enough to haul their own weight on their backs climbing a rope without using their feet (hand over hand).
Native Americans had fantastic endurance and were extremely stocial. As far as size goes I think they were about the same size, although the Eskimo (Inuit) have been round and fat for some time due to their high fat diet (lots of whale blubber). As far as strength goes, they were strong enough to be formidable opponents.

Answer 6

The Iroquois were healthy and tended to have minor wars with smaller tribes and win. I assume they were at least 5 foot tall and stronger than any soldiers today (and quick). I believe there are paintings of Squanto and Pocahontas. You might look them up.

Answer 7

1