[Age at menarche and age at marriage in earlier centuries].

Abstract

Data from parish registers have been used to estimate the menarcheal age during the 17th and 18th centuries in a village population which lies in a part of the northern lower reaches of the Harz mountains. The results, obtained by using a formula developed by the author, agree with information obtained from authors of the 17th and 18th centuries. Data from the literature on the age of menarche and marriage from the classical period up to the present time are being reviewed and evaluated. The basic observation is that the longterm fluctuations of menarcheal age run concurrently with changes in the food resources available during the respective time spans.