Modern Height Scores Work on Ancient Bones

A modern height polygenic score derived from present‑day GWAS (Yengo et al.) predicts skeletal stature in ancient European individuals: in a sample of 459 matched genomes and bones the author estimates ≈3.1–3.3 cm of stature per one standard deviation of the score after controlling for sex, date, study and ancestry structure. The relationship survives a genetic relationship matrix (GRM) test, indicating that PGS portability into deep time is empirically testable and non‑trivial. — If modern PGS reliably predict past phenotypes, historians, anthropologists and policy debates about genetic differences gain a quantitative tool — but also a new flashpoint for discussions about the stability, interpretation, and misuse of genetic prediction across populations and eras.