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[GlyphGryph]

So I remember when there were a bunch of arguments about whether or not dwarven women have beards - I also remember there were arguments within those arguments about the functionality of beards in general.

But regardless of any matters of taste, I want to know biological/evolutionary reasons to justify either beards or the lack thereof, regardless of gender. Basically, I'm hoping to learn something.

From what I understand - The primary purpose of beards is similiar to that of a lions mane. It serves both as ornament and as armor. Yes, armor - in evolutionary terms, beards are actually pretty decent armor. Most animals have bites and slashes without a lot of penetrating depth, so killing blows usually need to be landed against the neck else you run a high risk of the other creature getting a chance to fight back.

 Apparently, in Lions at least, those thick manes offer a bit of neck protection, making it extremely difficult for other lions to get a good grip or deal as much damage to such a vulnerable location. The reason only male lions have maness as that lions dont really fight other animals, and only male lions fight other male lions - as such, theres no reason for females to have the manes.

On the decoration front, a healthy, long, and dark mane signifies a healthy lion. In a pride based group, this would naturally lead to accelerated dimorphism.

Of course, having "no reason to have manes" means there would still probably be enough selection pressure from the male side of the equation to give them a smaller one. So why don't they have it? Because the females are hunters - they rely on their swiftness and stealth, not their combat prowess against equal opponents, and thus manes are actually a real hindrance. So they have been selected against. In addition, manes are a huge cause of heat stress in hot climes, where even males have them diminished in size, and in all locations they provide a nice location for parasites to thrive - so there is an overall penalty to being maned (enough that the protection angle alone would likely not be enough to generate them).

As a final note, lions manes are adaptive - if grown to maturity in a much warmer location, their mane will be much smaller and lighter in colour. This is interesting because of its possible ramifications on DF - even ignoring the adaptive parts, it might be best to make tropical dwarves :::gasp::: relatively beardless. Of course, living underground much of the time, dwarves shouldnt be as affected by this as many other races, but something to keep in mind.

Now, lets derive a couple pros and cons from this information

Pros:
Increased Defense
Sign of health, thus more attractive to mates
Can keep you warm in cool climes (though not as much as all around fur)
Makes you appear bigger and more threatening

Cons:
Causes heat stress in warm climes
Provides home for parasites
Makes you appear bigger (and thus makes stealth more difficult)
Slows you down a bit

So thats a bit of info on manes - not neccesarily applicable to beards, but something to keep in mind. Next time, I'll try and go into the evolution of beards in people (as far as I can discover), and then generalize that to discover how it would apply to dwarves. I'm also going to spend some time on the physical cause of beards (testosterone in particular) and talk about hyenas.

If anyone else has corrections, let me know - I've got now idea the accuracy of much of the info I find.

[Rashilul]

I thought beards were mushrooms. The "Reproductive organs" of the dwarves.

[Fieari]

I liked the idea that dwarven beards help filter out dust from mining, meaning it's not only helpful for dwarven men and women alike, but also necessary for dwarven children, possibly also babies.

[Lawec]

The dwarves' source of power comes from their beards.

[Angellus]

I thought beards were mushrooms. The "Reproductive organs" of the dwarves.

That was an anti-climax...


I like that explaination Glyph, I'll be waiting for more info

[Sensei]

I imagine it gets pretty cold underground, sparing magma. And yes, I can imagine tropical dwarves having short-shorn beards. Dunno about naturally short- remember, humans can grow their beards dwarvishly long too. Only it's customary to cut them off. Imagine if you never shaved in your entire life. As for desert dwarves, I can imagine them using it like a mask, to filter out sand and protect against the sun.

A long beard could also be a sign of age (and therefore authority). The only problem is that I can imagine them getting inconveniently long by age 30, tops. And although they might filter out sulphur, I sure wouldn't want a long beard if I were operating a magma pump or forge.

[Tofu]

[deleted]

[shadowclasper]

I know why Dwarves evolved think shaggy beards.

Defense and Health!
Defense: Since ancient times, Dwarves have known how to brew. It is theorized the discovered brewing BEFORE Fire, and that fire was the result of not wanting to wait for the occasional lightning bolt near their cave entrances, or for magma breaks near the back of their caverns. For this reason, bar fights became something that effected the evolution of Dorfus Erectus, the protodwarf. Those with shaggier beards could last longer in bar fights, their long and lustrous beards providing armor against bare fists and if long enough, even protect the family jewels.

Health: There is a lot of dust involved in digging, to avoid things like black lung and similar sicknesses, a dwarven beard and mustache is specially designed to filter the air of such large molecules. Poisonous gasses still prove to be a hinderance, as they are not large enough to become trapped in a dwarf's beard. It should be noted that the dust adds onto the protective qualities of a dwarfish beard, thus, why miners are so incredibly bad ass in fights, even without traditional fighting skills.

[Im_Sparks]

Sorry for using a 4chan meme, buuuut
>Implying beards make you more attractive to mates

[cowofdoom78963]

I always thought it was just based on the diluting of dwarves from mythology by that horrible man Mr.Tolkien.

[Sensei]

No, Tolkein was a great writer. He was so great, everyone just copied him. His own books are still worth reading, even if you're well acquainted with the cliches they established.

[shadowclasper]

Hell, all he did was take norse lore and make it work. Blame the shamans and priests of Norway and other viking lands if you must blame someone.

[Areyar]

Aside from physical benefits, such a prominent feature as is the dwarven beard cannot avoid becoming very important as an indicator of health and also, as the dorf is a sentient creature, culture, wealth and social standing.

Your analysis of evolutionary origins of beard is interesting.
Beards are especially prominent in humans who live in colder climes, this indicates to me that insulation could also be a major factor. Especially windchill can give terrible pain in the jaws/teeth. 
Most noticable afte a fresh shave. >

[Sensei]

Yes, the beard covers an area in which there are a lot of veins close to the surface. Being close to the mouth, it also prevents cuts which are likely to get infected in that area. For the first reason though, one wonders that we do not have significant neck hair.

[Tack]

Yeah... but pella out of LFG doesn't have a beard. And she is cool.

I don't like the Idea of females with beards. Most human females don't grow beards, so why dwarven?