Humans
The most variable and widespread of the major races of Arda, humans have moved into every terrain and climate in Arda.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Typical adult Human males are approximately 5’9” tall with females averaging 5 inches shorter, and have two arms and two legs. They are warm-blooded omnivores with internal skeletons. Both hands have four fingers and one opposable thumb, which allows them to grip and use tools. Their arms are jointed at the shoulder, elbow and wrist. Their legs are similar, being jointed at the hip, knee and ankle. Humans walk upright.
The physical characteristics of humans are as varied as the world's climes. From the dark-skinned tribesmen of the southern continents to the pale and barbaric raiders of the northern lands, humans possess a wide variety of skin colors, body types, and facial features. Human skin color varies over a wide range, including pale white and pink, tan, pale yellow, red, brown and black. This color does not change as the Human matures. Generally speaking, humans' skin color assumes a darker hue the closer to the equator they live. At the same time, bone structure, hair color and texture, eye color, and a host of facial and bodily phenotypic characteristics vary immensely from one locale to another. Most Humans have hair covering the top and back of the head, and males also have hair on their chins and throats. Hair color varies from white and yellow to red, brown and black, gradually changing to gray as the Human ages. Cheekbones may be high or broad, noses aquiline or flat, and lips full or thin; eyes range wildly in hue, some deep set in their sockets, and others with full epicanthic folds. Human females have only one pair of mammaries which they use to nurse their young. Appearance is hardly random, of course, and familial, tribal, or national commonalities often allow the knowledgeable to identify a human's place of origin on sight, or at least to hazard a good guess. Humans' origins are also indicated through their traditional styles of bodily decoration, not only in the clothing or jewelry worn, but also in elaborate hairstyles, piercing, tattooing, and even scarification.
The physical characteristics of humans are as varied as the world's climes. From the dark-skinned tribesmen of the southern continents to the pale and barbaric raiders of the northern lands, humans possess a wide variety of skin colors, body types, and facial features. Human skin color varies over a wide range, including pale white and pink, tan, pale yellow, red, brown and black. This color does not change as the Human matures. Generally speaking, humans' skin color assumes a darker hue the closer to the equator they live. At the same time, bone structure, hair color and texture, eye color, and a host of facial and bodily phenotypic characteristics vary immensely from one locale to another. Most Humans have hair covering the top and back of the head, and males also have hair on their chins and throats. Hair color varies from white and yellow to red, brown and black, gradually changing to gray as the Human ages. Cheekbones may be high or broad, noses aquiline or flat, and lips full or thin; eyes range wildly in hue, some deep set in their sockets, and others with full epicanthic folds. Human females have only one pair of mammaries which they use to nurse their young. Appearance is hardly random, of course, and familial, tribal, or national commonalities often allow the knowledgeable to identify a human's place of origin on sight, or at least to hazard a good guess. Humans' origins are also indicated through their traditional styles of bodily decoration, not only in the clothing or jewelry worn, but also in elaborate hairstyles, piercing, tattooing, and even scarification.
Genetics and Reproduction
Humans are viviparous, and heterosexual. Which is to say they bring forth live young that develop inside the body of the parent, and they have two distinct genders. Human reproduction normally begins with copulation, followed by nine months of pregnancy before childbirth. Many years of parental care are required before a human child becomes independent, typically between twelve and eighteen or more. Pregnancy can be avoided with the use of contraceptives.
Growth Rate & Stages
Humans have an average lifespan of 91 years though some have been known to live as long as 110. Their life stages are as follows:
Childhood 1-14 years
Young Adult 15-19 years
Mature 20-34 years
Middle Aged 35-52 years
Old 53-69 years
Venerable 70+ years
Ecology and Habitats
Humans seem to be best adapted for tropical plains. That said they are known to inhabit and thrive in every environment and temperature zone. It is most likely because of this adaptability that humans are as wide-spread and as varied as they are. Humans tend to dominate the environment they are in, leveling land bringing water where there’s none, draining water when there’s too much. Humans don’t so much adapt to the land as adapt the land to suit them.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
As previously mentioned, humans have spread into every region and terrain with the exception of the depths of the oceans. They can be found in burning deserts and arctic wastes, in high mountains and placid shores. Humans tend to adapt the land to suit them, cutting down forests to make way for planting, and leveling hillsides for the same.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Humans have color vision, sensing the spectrum between infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths. They have good depth and motion perception. Their hearing covers a range from 16 to 27,000 cycles per second, with good separation and direction-sensing qualities. Their skin is touch-sensitive. Their senses of taste and smell are not as highly developed as their sight.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Naming traditions are as varied as humans themselves. Each ethnicity has its own naming traditions. As a general rule, humans have two names, a given name, usually given at birth or shortly thereafter. The other name can be a family name, a patrilineal/matrilineal indicator, a name of origin, a name indicating an occupation, or a nickname. The second name is used to differentiate between two humans with the same given name. Of course, with humans there are always exceptions, with some cultures just using a single name, and others using three or more names. Sometimes the traditions vary within cultures. For example, in the New Kingdoms, most commoners have two names, a common name, and a name either indicating an occupation or place of origin, whilst among the nobility children will have two or three given names followed by a family name.
Beauty Ideals
Beauty ideals vary from ethnicity to ethnicity, with some valuing fairer skin and others valuing darker complexions. There are a few commonalities, however. Human women tend to value taller men with a v-shaped torso. Human males generally prefer a woman with an hourglass shaped figure. Other than that beauty ideals are as variable as humans themselves.
Gender Ideals
Again, gender ideals vary from culture to culture. Most human cultures however were patriarchal in nature as men on average tended to be bigger and stronger than women. There are also a few that are matriarchal. Of course, the extent of this gender difference can vary from ones where the lower gender are little better than property to cultures where one gender is simply given a slight preeminence over the other. Many of the human cultures are moving towards a more egalitarian view of gender.
Courtship Ideals
Courtship ideals vary from ethnicity to ethnicity and culture to culture. In most, marriages were generally arranged by the parents or in some cases the community elders. However, in many, things are changing and humans are free to choose their own marriage partners. Some still require the approval of parents or elders, while in some it’s nobody’s business but the ones involved.
Relationship Ideals
In most human cultures, marriage is supposed to be a lifelong commitment to a single partner. With divorce being rare and requiring special dispensations and extenuating circumstances. However, with humans there are always exceptions to the rule. In some cultures, divorce is easier to obtain, and couples may end a marriage with little trouble and fanfare. In some human cultures, polygamy as the rule with men taking multiple wives (or more rarely women taking multiple husbands). Sometimes there is a limit to how many spouses an individual can have in others it’s as many as the individual can support.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
The most widespread spoken language of humans is the common tongue of the Mangen ethnicity, which evolved from the trade tongue of the Rameta and Kansa peoples of the Old Kingdoms. However, most of the New Kingdoms have various dialects of common that are spoken. The Frontier Lands largely speak a single common dialect not having had time to develop into different dialects yet. The Manneskor are largely divided into three language families, the Kyst languages spoken by the northernmost peoples, Slettene languages spoken by the largely nomadic plains people, and the Skog spoken by the more sedentary forest dwellers.
As mentioned, the Rameta of the southern Old Kingdoms and the Kansa people of the northern Old Kingdoms have a common language known simply as the trade tongue, it is a creole of the major languages of the Rameta and Kansa people. The Rameta and Kansa each have their own family of dialects with the Rameta being more differentiated then the Kansa.
The Makkal people located along the coast of the Esas Ocean west of the Frontier lands have their own family of languages. Further west live the widespread Jouren people who speak a number of different languages some related, and some not. South and west of the frontier lands is the wild continent of Nichi and the Watu people who speak their own languages. Finally, the many islands of the Esas ocean are home to the Iwi people who speak a variety of dialects from several language families.
As mentioned, the Rameta of the southern Old Kingdoms and the Kansa people of the northern Old Kingdoms have a common language known simply as the trade tongue, it is a creole of the major languages of the Rameta and Kansa people. The Rameta and Kansa each have their own family of dialects with the Rameta being more differentiated then the Kansa.
The Makkal people located along the coast of the Esas Ocean west of the Frontier lands have their own family of languages. Further west live the widespread Jouren people who speak a number of different languages some related, and some not. South and west of the frontier lands is the wild continent of Nichi and the Watu people who speak their own languages. Finally, the many islands of the Esas ocean are home to the Iwi people who speak a variety of dialects from several language families.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Humans have few universal customs or cultural traits, and customs can show greater difference between two human cultures and a nearby culture of another race. This is most likely the result of the supreme adaptability of humans. Humans will often “borrow” customs from other human cultures and even other races. This variability can be maddening to nonhumans. For example while most human cultures agree that killing other sentients is wrong, without exception just about human culture had multiple exceptions to this rule.
History
Humans are a diverse lot and have no single history. To write even a summary of human history is far beyond the scope of this article. That said, the humans of the Frontier lands can trace their history back to the New Kingdoms, who in turn can trace their history back to the Old Kingdoms. The humans of the northern reaches however have always dwealt there, at least their history tells of no other lands.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Human variability, again, makes it impossible to ascribe a single attitude towards other races. In general, most human cultures are fairly egalitarian and get along well with the non-evil races such as elves, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes. Of course, there are always exceptions to this, even within the same culture. With most members of a human community liking elves, while the next community over mostly distrusts them.
Lifespan
91 years
Average Height
Average human height varies largely by ethnicity, on a whole however the average human male stands 5’9” with the average human female slightly shorter at 5’4”.
Average Weight
Since weight is largely a function of height, average human weight varies as much by ethnicity as average human weight. Again, on the whole, the average human male weighs around 175 lbs. and the average human female weighs 140 lbs.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Humans tend to be uniformly colored across their body, except where the sun darkens the exposed skins. Colorations range from pale almost white skin through tan, olive, ruddy to a dark black skin. Certain skin colorations are associated with different ethnicities and more information can be found in the description of the various ethnicities.
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