There might. But I’ve always thought of elves as a tad taller and thinner, so they’d be more narrow in the hips, ribs, and shoulders if nothing else.
Which, if elves are in fact stronger than humans, would require a different bone composition than humans. Their bones would have to be stronger I believe.
Like I said, I think I’ve thought about this a bit too much.
You know, when I read it I thought elves and fairies to begin with, when everyone else is crying hobbits…
I actually meant to send that to you Michelle…
Well, what other creatures have thin long bone structures but are strong? I know that chimpanzees are surprisingly strong, but I always got the impression their musculature was just different (they are very differently proportioned as well…)
Are there any creatures we know of where the bone composition is different to allow for strength and/or speed? Bird-bones are sometimes hollow, right, or is that myth? (Sorry, biology not really my thing, but I loved my anthropology courses.) But is the composition still essentially the same as the bones of other animals?
Yes, bird bones are hollow, but that also makes them more fragile, which would go against elves being stronger than humans.
I would think that any structural changes that allowed elven bones to be stronger would also make them more likely to have been fossilized, so there’s a contradiction there–if the something about the bones made them stronger, wouldn’t that something also make it more likely that we’d find fossilized bones?
Of course, one could say that any possible burial traditions of elves might have made finding fossilized bones less likely; but there should still have been evidence from prior to the development of those traditions.
Hypothetically of course.
And it often amuses me to multi-link words. Just because. :)
As far as mammals go Order Carnivora contains most of the strongest mammals. Hmmm. leopards are some of the strongest mammals on earth and they’re not particularly bulky, but I don’t think that they have any particular skeletal or bone differences. Nothing comes immediately to mind anyway.
So… You’re saying that elves are actually insects?
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October 31st, 2004 at 12:50 pm
I’m still waiting for scientific evidence of Sleestacks.
October 31st, 2004 at 3:18 pm
I spent a bit of time talking about this with Michael, and trying to come up with a plausible reason why we haven’t come across elf skeletons yet.
My theory hinged upon the composition of elf bones, and how quickly normal bones are fossilized.
I think that perhaps I had too much time on my hands yesterday.
November 1st, 2004 at 11:10 pm
Elf skeletons might look just like human ones. There might be no way to tell the difference.
November 2nd, 2004 at 7:27 am
There might. But I’ve always thought of elves as a tad taller and thinner, so they’d be more narrow in the hips, ribs, and shoulders if nothing else.
Which, if elves are in fact stronger than humans, would require a different bone composition than humans. Their bones would have to be stronger I believe.
Like I said, I think I’ve thought about this a bit too much.
November 2nd, 2004 at 12:16 pm
You know, when I read it I thought elves and fairies to begin with, when everyone else is crying hobbits…
I actually meant to send that to you Michelle…
Well, what other creatures have thin long bone structures but are strong? I know that chimpanzees are surprisingly strong, but I always got the impression their musculature was just different (they are very differently proportioned as well…)
Are there any creatures we know of where the bone composition is different to allow for strength and/or speed? Bird-bones are sometimes hollow, right, or is that myth? (Sorry, biology not really my thing, but I loved my anthropology courses.) But is the composition still essentially the same as the bones of other animals?
November 2nd, 2004 at 12:17 pm
Oh wow, I just caught the serious multilinking going on in your post. Well done!
November 2nd, 2004 at 12:47 pm
Yes, bird bones are hollow, but that also makes them more fragile, which would go against elves being stronger than humans.
I would think that any structural changes that allowed elven bones to be stronger would also make them more likely to have been fossilized, so there’s a contradiction there–if the something about the bones made them stronger, wouldn’t that something also make it more likely that we’d find fossilized bones?
Of course, one could say that any possible burial traditions of elves might have made finding fossilized bones less likely; but there should still have been evidence from prior to the development of those traditions.
Hypothetically of course.
And it often amuses me to multi-link words. Just because. :)
November 2nd, 2004 at 12:52 pm
Oh, here’s something on bird bones.
November 3rd, 2004 at 10:58 am
Do we have an example animal that has structural changes and is stronger than most?
Maybe elves had exoskeletons!! They’re really more like those things from the Dark Crystal!
November 3rd, 2004 at 11:32 am
As far as mammals go Order Carnivora contains most of the strongest mammals. Hmmm. leopards are some of the strongest mammals on earth and they’re not particularly bulky, but I don’t think that they have any particular skeletal or bone differences. Nothing comes immediately to mind anyway.
So… You’re saying that elves are actually insects?