The thesis here is weak sauce.

yeah, but they didn’t die because of the physical intensity. Sure, it didn’t help, but the average life expectancy was due to famine, war, crime, and disease. Teenagers who grew up and worked on farms and factories during the 20s and 30s did some real hard labor and their generation is living beyond 80.

I do think though a lot of people have to put down the cell phone and go out and do some work because it’s really annoying when you see people tired at the end of the day from a desk job, sitting with his brief case on his lap, falling asleep on the subway, and the construction worker is standing with his bag of tools, and lunch box.

Seriously, we spend most of our formative years getting educated, not doing physically demanding work or hunting. With technology, the physically weaker can not only survive, but thrive. Those born sickly can grow and thrive. Given all that, I can imagine on average we are physically weaker as a species. But I’d be willing to bet the best athletes we have today would kick the crap outta the best of the times the article talks about.

While I agree with most of the comments here that the linked article is basically junk science, it’s certainly possible that a smaller creature could be significantly stronger than a human. See this article which discusses (briefly) the general strength of chimpanzees, due to different muscle structure: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2/can-a-90-lb-chimp-clobber-a -full-grown-man

I find chimps a lot less cute since I read that.

Rocky: the difference is that the Roman legions did it marching while the marathon guy supossedly did it jogging. And most historicians think that what it really did was going from Athens to Sparta to carry a message, then back from Sparta to Athens (153 miles, which he did in three days!!!), and then to Maraton, to tell the Spartan reply, and then from Maraton to Athens to carry the news of the victory. And in the original sources there is no telling of him dying after it.

He was called in Athens “the horse man” because he delivered messages to long distances faster than a horse (he has to rest less) but he would take the money paid to horse-messengers anyway

It is innate in our being.

If the Tutsis exceeded the world records, wouldn’t THAT be the world record?

Weren’t the earliest homininds nearly four foot tall? They can really beat Schwarzenegger at anything?

Anthropology must be one of those “take my word for it” sciences.

http://johnhawks.net/weblog/topics/energetics/modern-man-wimp-mcallist er-2009.html

I looked at a variety of sources for the Roman march, I didn’t find one reference stating 1.5 marathons per day (40 miles). Most sources say something like “During the summer the soldiers had to march 18.4 miles (29.6 km) in five hours.”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_army / The largest distance I could find was a reference to 25 miles, and nothing about 40 miles.

Soldiers still do this stuff when required to. EG:
“After disembarking from ships at San Carlos on East Falkland, on 21 May 1982, Royal Marines and members of the Parachute Regiment yomped (and tabbed) with their equipment across the islands, covering 56 miles in three days carrying 80 pound loads.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loaded_march

Finally, think of the tough nuts who existed at the start of the 20th century. No interweb or microwave meals for them. Could they really run faster than Usain Bolt? It’s simple to check the speeds and athletic records from that time and find that this man is a delusional nut case.

I think this author has a chip on his shoulder about something or other.

What? Cunning beats strength? Why didn’t someone tell me!!