Investigating infant feeding strategies at Roman Bainesse through Bayesian modelling of incremental dentine isotopic data

Abstract

We present the first study employing Bayesian modelling of isotopic measurements on dentine increments (five human upper first molars) to address Romano‐British infant feeding practices at Bainesse (UK). The stable carbon and nitrogen isotope results modelled to 6‐month intervals with novel OsteoBioR software revealed some common patterns, with weaning not starting before the age of 6 months and higher animal protein consumption after the age of seven. The latter possibly indicated a ‘survival’ threshold, evidenced by historical sources and osteological data, hence marking a rise in social status of children. The important role of Bainesse as commercial hub in relation to the fort of Cataractonium does not exclude a priori the possibility that medical treatises and Roman culture were known at the site. However, our results also showed significant intra‐individual differences with weaning cessation taking place between 2 and 5 years, suggesting that these were followed only partially and other aspects influenced family decisions on infant feeding practices in Bainesse.

Presenting the Compendium Isotoporum Medii Aevi, a Multi-Isotope Database for Medieval Europe

“…We implemented an R-based toolkit to access online data records using a Shiny app interface ( https://isomemoapp.com/ ) 80 , 81 . In addition, the app includes interactive dashboards for data modeling employing previously published Bayesian and non-Bayesian methods 59 – 61 , 82 , 83 . Further details on modeling methods employed in examples below are given in Supplementary Information File S4 and S5 .…”

Amalthea: A Database of Isotopic Measurements on Archaeological and Forensic Tooth Dentine Increments

“…In addition, sample typology and position affects the incremental age assignation, due to different formation periods, and imprecise tooth determinations in either sampling or publication can be another potential constraint. This limits to an extent the research potential although recent modelling developments allow for a larger inter-comparability of dietary histories obtained from isotopic results obtained through different sectioning methods [4].…”

“…Given that each tooth can be set in a formation period interval, the combination of different teeth such as the three permanent molars potentially allow the reconstruction of dietary inputs from birth to early adulthood. Some limitations still exist as concerning the age assignation of increments and alignment of different teeth, but new modelling techniques are being employed to address such issues [4,11]. Our dataset can be used to carry out meta-analyses that compare children feeding practices across time and space and within varied cultural contexts.…”

“…A relatively recent development has been the measurement of stable isotopes on tooth sections allowing for a high-temporal reconstruction of human diets within the formation period of different teeth [3]. This makes this technique particularly relevant for the study of past childhood diets and nutrition, allowing for the reconstruction of infant feeding practices and the timing of breastfeeding and weaning [4]. Malnutrition and metabolic imbalances are known to impact stable isotope values and their study has also been the subject of previous archaeological research [5].…”

Presenting the Compendium Isotoporum Medii Aevi (CIMA) and Bayesian Case Studies

“…This includes, among others, Bayesian spatio-temporal modelling of isotopic data, the tracking of human or animal spatial mobility, and dietary reconstruction (Fernandes et al 2014;Cubas et al 2020;Wilkin et al 2020;Cocozza et al 2021;Wang et al 2021). We present here illustrative case studies to present the research potential offered by Pandora & IsoMemo modelling capabilities on CIMA data.…”