Island Dwarfism in Human Genes

Using ancient and modern samples from the AADR v66 dataset, the author computes standardized height polygenic scores (PGS) and compares small/medium island populations (Sicily, Sardinia, Crete, Orkney, Gotland, etc.) to mainland samples, controlling for ancestry, date, and genomic coverage. The analysis asks whether islands show lower genetic propensity for height — a genetic analogue to the island rule known from nonhuman mammals. — If robust, a genetic island effect on human height reframes debates about environment versus ancestry in human stature and shows how evolutionary ecology can leave signals in modern/ancient polygenic scores with implications for anthropology and population policy narratives.