13-15 years old wasn’t actually the norm back then either. In fact, it is documented that it used to be far more common for teens to reach physical maturity at a later age, making a 13 year old still a child. Also, while the average life expectancy was not so high, many of the deaths were in early childhood, which pulls down the average. And the best way to prevent deaths from childbirth, other than modern medicine, is to make sure children don’t have babies.
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