They could have put modern Olympic stars to shame by running at speeds of 28mph and jumping up to 8ft 4in, according to anthropologist Peter McAllister.
They could also throw as far as 360 ft and run 40 miles a day.
“As a class we are the sorriest cohort of masculine homo sapiens to ever walk the planet,” Australian Mr McAllister said.
He analysed fossilised footprints in Australia, initiation rites in Rwanda and the feats of
ancient Greek rowers and Roman soldiers and has put his fi ndings in a book, Manthropology.
“We are so inactive these days. These people were much more robust than we were.”
He added: “Even the level of training that we do, our elite athletes don’t come close to replicating that.
“We wouldn’t want to go back to the brutality of those days but there are some things we would do well to profit from.”