Quote:
Originally Posted by Nerwen
Hobbits may be part of the human race, but they're not exactly *standard* humans- I would have said a slower biological clock is just one of the differences. Certainly a healthy lifestyle would help- but it wouldn't, in itself, extend adolescence past the age of thirty.
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I'm not sure however that that's the case. I have always thought (with partial support from CRT, although he doesn't "know" the correct answer), that the Shire-Hobbit coming of age at 33 had nothing to do with physical maturity, but rather the university professor's droll observation that no sensible society would consider young people in their tweens to be "adults."
Heck, even for us 21, or 18, are not really tied to physical (sexual) maturity, which hits at about 13-14 years, but rather represent the minimum age at which we think kids might have a lick of sense.
Bilbo and Frodo just before they set out each at the age of 50 were described as "middle-aged bachelors."
Note that despite the long lifespan of the Dunedain, they matured no more slowly than ordinary men: they came of age at 21 (that was when Elrond revealed "Estel's" true identity to him and gave him the Sword and the Ring.)