Pygmy populations, scientists have speculated, may owe their abbreviated stature to natural selection pressures that allowed them to better adapt to dense tropical forests where heat is oppressive and food is scarce. ... Over many generations, pygmies have interbred with neighboring Bantu populations.

Why are pygmies short in height?

Traditional explanations attribute pygmies' small stature to minimizing caloric requirements and walking in dense forests. ... For example, many human populations live in dense forests and experience regular food shortages, and yet these populations have larger body sizes.

How tall is the average pygmy?

Researchers have traditionally defined pygmies as populations with an average adult male height of no more than 155 centimeters, or about 5 feet, 1 inch.