# How long do Hobbit live? (Hobbit's life span)



## Turin (Nov 10, 2003)

Why do hobbits live longer than most men in Middle Earth? Some hobbits live past 100 easily, and others live to atleast be in their 90's (correct me if I'm wrong), but most men in Middle Earth only live to be around 80 (ex: Rohirim). What gives hobbits a longer life span?


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## Celebthôl (Nov 10, 2003)

Lack of stress i guess. . . no battles, no defending lands etc. . .


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## Turin (Nov 10, 2003)

It could be the southfarthing weed that they smoke. They probably don't die of many things besides natural causes.


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## Eledhwen (Nov 10, 2003)

Perhaps it's their carefree early life. Would we live longer if the age of adulthood was raised to 33 and any harmless childish behaviour before then was excused?


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## kohaku (Nov 11, 2003)

Seems to me that many present-day men (and women, actually) really don't mature until their 30's, but of course 18 to 21 is considered the transition to adulthood. And of course, such a stress-free lifestyle would probably be the main cause of the hobbits' longer life span.


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## Turin (Nov 11, 2003)

I wouldn't mind going to live with the hobbits for a while at least.


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## BlackCaptain (Nov 11, 2003)

Maybe...

Since they don't have as big bodies, their body parts aren't as big.
Hence, they wouldnt need to pump as much blood to parts of the body.
Hence, they wouldnt have as much work to do and as much strain on the body?

Oh well...good question


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## kohaku (Nov 12, 2003)

But what about elves? They are taller than most men, but have unending lives.
And in the animal kingdom, there is a trend for larger animals to have longer lifespans than smaller ones. Compare: a rabbit (5-10yrs), a horse (around 30), and an elephant (at least 70). Although, within a species there may be some merit to the idea that smaller individuals would live longer than larger ones. I'm still betting that stress, or the lack thereof, is the major factor.


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## Turin (Nov 12, 2003)

Elves are just. . . well elves. They are made immortal.


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## Inderjit S (Nov 12, 2003)

'Elves' weren't taller then most Men, the Ñoldor in general were taller then most Men, though they were taller then most Elves. Both the Ñoldor and the Númenóreans averaged some 7 feet. (The Elves from whom the Ñoldor were said to be descended were noted for their height.)

The Númenóreans were descended, in the main, from the Hadorian tribes, who were taller then most men. Of course most of the survivors of the Downfall, the 'Faithful' were Bëorian, since most of the Bëorians resided in the West of Númenor, where most of the Faithful resided, until they removed to Romenna due to Ar-Pharazôn's encroachments.

The Bëorians were somewhat shorter then the Hadorians. (Erendis, a descendant of Bëor was said to be shorter then most Númenórean women.) As the Third Age continued, the Númenorean life-span and height waned. They then averaged some 6"4 and this height was generally referred to as being 'man-high'. Galadriel and Celeborn were both 'man-high', Galadriel is noted as being tall for a Ñoldorin woman, and Celeborn as being tall for a Teleri. Whether the Númenórean height waned due to them intermingling with the Northmen after the re-claiming of the kingship by Eldacar Vinitharya is not known, though is probable that this was a reason, eventually, as well as them being away from their home land. Of course I'm just making generalisations here in regards to height, some Ñoldor may have been shorter then some Men and vice versa and some Northmen may have been taller then some Númenóreans, for example Éomer is said to be very tall.

Hobbits of course lived longer then non-Númenórean Men. the Númenóreans generally didn't have 'stress free' lives, but they still, for a time, died at a old age. (This was more often in Arnor then Gondor.) The Númenórean life-span of 200-300 years was said to be the original length of life for Men, before Eru shortened it, and they came to him sooner. For some reasons Hobbits were let off a bit more then other Men, since they lived long compared to other Men. This could be due to the simple nature of Hobbits, we certainly get no evidence of them having gods of any sort. 

Elves aren't "immortal" they exist so long as Arda exists and that is not indefinite, their bodies can "fade" too.

*sources* _Appendix; LoTR_, _Aldarion and Erendis, Disaster of the Gladden Fields; U.T_, _Myths Transformed, Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth; HoME 10_, _Published Silmarillion_, _Of Dwarves and Men; HoME 12_, _Quendi and Eldar; HoME 11_


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## Turin (Nov 12, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Inderjit S _
> *
> Elves aren't "immortal" they exist so long as Arda exists and that is not indefinite, their bodies can "fade" too.
> 
> [/I] *



That is 'understood' among us here at TTF, thats why I didn't go into detail.


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## Mouth of Sauron (Dec 2, 2003)

> Perhaps it's their carefree early life. Would we live longer if the age of adulthood was raised to 33 and any harmless childish behaviour before then was excused?



Yes, I think we would live longer. Growing up is stressful enough without having to do it before you've actually grown up (see quote below).



> Seems to me that many present-day men (and women, actually) really don't mature until their 30's



That's so true. Speaking as someone who has not yet come of age (I will be 33 next August), I resent the fact that I've had to work for a living for the past four years, when all I really wanted to do was play video games and post on message boards all day. And I still don't even know what I want to be when I grow up. Waaah!!!


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## Mouth of Sauron (Dec 2, 2003)

> in the animal kingdom, there is a trend for larger animals to have longer lifespans than smaller ones. Compare: a rabbit (5-10yrs), a horse (around 30), and an elephant (at least 70).



You spelled oliphaunt wrong.  But of course you're right about the other stuff. I think it has to do with larger animals generally having a slower metabolic rate than smaller ones.

However, here's one possible theory for the long life of Hobbits. I was reading this article that compared the lifespans and metabolic rates of shrews and bats.



> Both are small mammals, and the two species are closely related—yet their lifespans differ by as much as 30 years.



One possible reason?



> One factor that might distinguish bats from shrews is that bats have several significant ways of conserving energy, the most important of which is hibernation.... bats hibernate for six months, slowing their metabolic rate dramatically. Their heart rates drop from more than 250 beats per minute to 20. Even outside of the hibernation season, bats slip into a state called "daily torpor." When bats hang upside down and roost, they allow their body temperatures to drop to ambient temperature. They're not expending energy on keeping their bodies warm.



Well, maybe I'm just grasping at straws, because Hobbits don't hibernate and they don't hang upside down to roost, but it just seems to me that if expending more energy shortens your lifespan, but conserving it lengthens it, then we may have our answer.

Hobbits spend a great deal of time sitting. They sit and talk, they sit and eat, they sit and drink beer, they sit and smoke. They rarely have adventures, and they eat at least six meals a day. All this sitting and eating and beer-drinking has two effects; it makes them rotund, which makes them even less likely to exert themselves, which ensures that they will spend even more time sitting; and it helps them to slow down their metabolic rate and conserve energy.

So forget all that stuff about "proper" diet and regular excercise being the key to living a long and healthy life! Obviously, we should all eat more and exert ourselves less.


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## Niniel (Dec 2, 2003)

It seems to all come down to how much work your heart has to do; small animals have a higher heart rate, so their hearts wear out quicker, but if they hibernate more than half of their lives they don't use their hearts as much, so they die later. But on the other hand waking from hibernation is very stressful for the heart; when a bat is sleeping and it's beginning to wake up, its heartbeat is + 300 per minute (I have handled some bats that were just waking up and it feels like they're going to explode).
But I don't think this has anything to do with the life span of hobbits; can't it be that they were related to Númemoreans? They were related to Men, but it doesn't say what race of Men (or does it?) so maybe they are related to Númenoreans.


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## Turin (Dec 2, 2003)

If the answer is that they are less active then they would have a pretty boring long life, I wouldn't want to live that long if all I did was sit around all day.


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## Inderjit S (Dec 2, 2003)

No, they were not related to Númemoreans or at least it is highly improbable that they were. Simple logic would argue against it though. 

Hobbits were a 'form' of Men, like the Druedain, or to some extent the Númemoreans. For some reason, Druedain had very short life-spans in comparison to most Men.


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## Kelonus (Dec 2, 2003)

Hobbits are a different race.


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## Turin (Dec 2, 2003)

I don't see your point, please explain it to me.


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## Kelonus (Dec 2, 2003)

Yes, it wasn't to the point sorry. What I mean is, they are different, not human like. There way of living is different and smoking alot doesnt affect them as much humans. I dont no how to say it, but you get the gist, right?


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## Inderjit S (Dec 2, 2003)

Hobbits shared many traits with Men:



> Hobbits on the other hand were in nearly all respects normal Men, but of very short stature. They were called 'halflings'; but this refers to the normal height of men of Númenórean descent and of the Eldar (especially those of Ñoldorin descent), which appears to have been about seven of our feet.Their height at the periods concerned was usually more than three feet for men, though very few ever exceeded three foot six; women seldom exceeded three feet. They were not as numerous or variable as ordinary Men, but evidently more numerous and adaptable to different modes of life and habitat than the Drûgs, and when they are first encountered in the histories already showed divergences in colouring, stature, and build, and in their ways of life and preferences for different types of country to dwell in


 _Of Dwarves and Men; HoME 12_ 



> It is plain indeed that in spite of later estrangement Hobbits are relatives of ours: far nearer to us than Elves, or even than Dwarves. Of old they spoke the languages of Men, after their own fashion, and liked and disliked much the same things as Men did. But what exactly our relationship is can no longer be discovered. The beginning of Hobbits lies far back in the Elder Days that are now lost and forgotten.


 _Prolouge; LoTr_


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## Mouth of Sauron (Dec 4, 2003)

That's interesting. Since Hobbits were apparently not created _as is_ by Iluvatar (if they were I think the Silmarillion would have almost certainly mentioned this) and since they most definitely did not come from Melkor or Sauron's twisting of the creatures of Middle-earth, it would seem that they somehow evolved from Men. 

If so, then this is the only example of evolution in Tolkien that I know of. Although I suppose it could be argued that Ents evolved from trees... I can only dimly recall Treebeard's explanation of the relationship between Ents and trees but I remember him saying that there were trees which were becoming Entish and Ents who were becoming tree-ish, so perhaps this is another example of evolution.

In any case, why they would evolve longer lifespans is beyond me. You're right about the bat theory, it doesn't really explain anything, but I was more than half joking about that. Could it have been that all Men had longer lifespans in earlier times (not just the Numenoreans) and the Hobbits kept this trait while Men themselves did not? 

Does anyone know what the lifespan of Dwarves were? If they lived longer than Men also then maybe Hobbits were the result of interracial breeding between Men & Dwarves... as sickening as that thought may be, it would explain the height difference, too...


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## Lantarion (Dec 4, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Mouth of Sauron_
> Although I suppose it could be argued that Ents evolved from trees... I can only dimly recall Treebeard's explanation of the relationship between Ents and trees but I remember him saying that there were trees which were becoming Entish and Ents who were becoming tree-ish, so perhaps this is another example of evolution.


No, the Ents were Maiar sent into Arda by Yavanna to protect the _olvar_, i.e. trees and growing things. 
And if Ents were turning into Huorns, wouldn't that be _de_volution?


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## Mouth of Sauron (Dec 4, 2003)

Good point! So the Ents were created after all... I had no idea they were Maiar, though - that explains a lot. But then Hobbits are either unique in that they evolved from Men, or they didn't evolve from Men after all, but were also created by Iluvatar (in secret?)


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## Lantarion (Dec 4, 2003)

Yeah Hobbits have evolved from Men.
I remember a quote where the Vales of Anduin were significant pertaining to this question, but I can't remember it.


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