Skeletal stature compared to archival stature in mid-eighteenth century American: Ft. William Henry

Fourteen soldiers buried at Ft. William Henry, New York, between 1755 and 1757 are compared for stature to a sample of 2,232 New York Provincial soldiers measured anthropometrically in 1760. The William Henry stature mean of 177.3 cm is significantly higher than that of the Provincials (169.7 cm), and their variation of stature is significantly lower-suggesting that the cemetery population was a select group. A historical explanation is offered for this unexpected finding.