An Inventory of Secular Changes in Human Growth in Indonesia

Abstract

This chapter explores the available sources on secular changes in human growth for Indonesia. It discusses the availability of data on heights of conscripts and slaves. The richest source of published information on human heights in Indonesia concern children. The data for 1949 provide proof of sensitivity of human growth to changes in environmental circumstances. During the years 1942-1945 Indonesia was occupied by Japan and during the following years 1945-1949 a war of independence between Indonesian nationalists and Dutch troops prevented economic recovery. The comparison of the heights of Indonesian children in the 1930s with the heights of European children in the nineteenth century indicates that the Indonesians were behind in physical growth. The only readily available sources on the heights of Indonesian adults appear to be anthropological and medical publications.