Disney's Live Action Snow White (perhaps without the seven dwarfs)

This whole thing has really made me ponder something.

I always assumed the dwarfs were like fantasy dwarfs. Of the Norse myth or Tolkien (who derived his dwarfs from Norse myth) variety. They were miners. That's pretty fantasy/mythology dwarf stuff.

But were they actually just humans with dwarfism?

Maybe just make them gnomes and call it a day.