I apologize if this is too broad, I will happily narrow it down to particular civilizations but I'm really interested in any cultural take on this. This question is something that I have a personal interest if you can't tell from my username!
I've read as much as I can track down in English about dwarfs in European society around this time, particularly the phenomenon of court dwarfs and how they lived, but I have found precious little available on dwarfs in other societies except for vague basics and beliefs, things like Aztecs believing that dwarfism indicated some sense of being touched by the divine in the womb, but almost nothing on well, life and how it was lived.
Assuming that someone had achondroplasia, the most common form and one that it's often possible to live with without needing specific medical intervention, what would their life have been like in, well, anywhere that wasn't Europe? Again, this is broad, and I apologize. I'm interested in answers touching on everything from how a person with dwarfism would have supported themselves to whether they would have had a chance at getting married, etc.
I can speak a little to this. I recently read one of Cortes's letters "Segunda carta de relación") from Mexico in 1520 written to the king of Spain about the Aztecs that he encountered. In it he briefly mentions houses where "deformed" people, including dwarves were cared for. Not sure about the quality of life, but it does seem that they were at the very least given a chance and not killed upon birth, although they were seen as different, clearly. Cortes's society certainly colors his perspective so I'd love to hear more.
Here's the excerpt:
"Tenía otra cosa donde tenía muchos hombres y mujeres monstruos, en que había enanas, corcovados, y contrahechos, y otros con deformidades y cada manera de monstruos en su cuarto por sí; también había para éstos, personas dedicadas para tener cargo de ellos."
My rough translation:
"They was another house where there were men and women monsters, in which they had dwarves, hunchbacks, and misshapen people, and other deformations, every type of monster was there. And they also had for them people dedicated to their care [or in charge of them]."
Hope this helps a little!