Subsistence practices and human sexual dimorphism of stature

Hypotheses recently advanced by Brace & Ryan (1980) and Frayer (1980) suggest links between changes in human sexual dimorphism and changes in technology and subsistence practices. In this paper we test these hypotheses using a sample of extant human groups. Results indicate that extant agriculturalists exhibit a greater degree of sexual dimorphism in stature than extant hunter-gatherers. Moreover, the data analysed in this paper do not indicate that a more equal division of labor is associated with a decrease in human height sexual dimorphism.