Life Expectancy in Ancient and Medieval Times

[Jason]

Longevity of popes and artists between the 13th and the 19th century

Longevity has increased steadily through history. Life expectancy at birth was a brief 25 years during the Roman Empire, it reached 33 years by the Middle

academic.oup.com

It was staggeringly low, so if you see movies about those days, they should feature younger people being in crowds.

Does anyone disagree with this article I linked to?

Note: admins please move to another section.

 

[Dismal_Bliss]

Life expectancy is an average. You had a lot more deaths at birth, from giving birth, war, etc, but you still had folks who lived well into their 70's and 80's. So, yes, more people died younger back then, but no, the life-span of a human was similar to what is today, barring unforseen circumstances.

 

[Cory]

I'm sure the increase in health technology has helped people live longer lives for the most part.

 

[Empire]

Infant mortality isn't a myth. When half the people born in a certain period died before age 5, it's going to affect the life expectancy.

Similarly, the life expectancy for peasants (of which there were way more than there were of nobles) were affected by poor diet, famine, war, farming accidents. Those people were lucky to hit 40.