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@TvH summed it up perfectly.
Older MTB have a more nominal geometry that more tourer than MTB (hence long stem and narrow flat bar with 1.95” tyres).
I would says the old 90’s MTB geometry is similar to an Arkose before they put more emphasise on stability, even weight distribution, less need to stay seated all the time, easier to keep fork straight with wider bar etc.
edscoble
Modern MTBs need to be stable at speed over increasingly rough terrain and be capable to handle at full fork compression under braking. Wide bars and short stems do alleviate this somewhat by giving you more leverage.
Older bikes designed with rigid or short travel forks in mind have trail numbers around 70mm