ABSTRACT
The most important findings of anthropometric history have undoubtedly come from military data, which, due to their scope and representativeness, were among the first sources examined. 1 However, there are gaps in the military record, because wars do not occur regularly, and, of course, until recently few women have served in the armed forces. Consequently, as the field of anthropometric history reaches maturity, historians have turned increasingly to nonmilitary sources such as records from ship manifests, hospitals, schools, newspaper advertisements, prison records, and even election boards. 2 The potential harvest is extremely rich, and each of these sources has its own strengths and methodological obstacles.
