It’s not really an adequate comparison. I work in orthopedics and rehabilitation, and modern people do indeed acquire specific chronic orthopedic ailments based on their occupation.
Most of these injuries are acquired from jobs where you repeat specific motions all day. It doesn’t really mean you’ve done hard labour, more that you’ve over used specific muscle groups and joints.
Btw I do agree with your general rebuttal, that any work back then was much more labour intensive. I just don’t know if that particular anthropological fact lends much weight to your argument.
You’d probably get better information examining the average age of the working male. From anecdotal experience, hard labour is a young mans game. I work in oil country, and I don’t ever have any old rough necks as patients. At least not one’s whole are still working.
It’s not really an adequate comparison. I work in orthopedics and rehabilitation, and modern people do indeed acquire specific chronic orthopedic ailments based on their occupation.
Most of these injuries are acquired from jobs where you repeat specific motions all day. It doesn’t really mean you’ve done hard labour, more that you’ve over used specific muscle groups and joints.
Btw I do agree with your general rebuttal, that any work back then was much more labour intensive. I just don’t know if that particular anthropological fact lends much weight to your argument.
You’d probably get better information examining the average age of the working male. From anecdotal experience, hard labour is a young mans game. I work in oil country, and I don’t ever have any old rough necks as patients. At least not one’s whole are still working.