Investigating the weaning process in past populations

Herring, D. Ann; Saunders, Shelley R.; Katzenberg, M. Anne

doi:10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(199804)105:4<425::aid-ajpa3>3.0.co;2-n

Cited by 165 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…They also situate the humans in a higher trophic level than the herbivores (5.5& higher) and within the range of carnivore values. The isotope values for individuals do not appear to differ according to sex or age (see Table 4), not even considering the infant or perinatal individual differences that could be attributed to social practices such as breastfeeding (Fogel et al, 1989;Fuller et al, 2006) or weaning (Herring et al, 1998).…”

Section: Cingle Del Mas Nou Isotope Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotope evidence for the use of marine resources in the Eastern Iberian Mesolithic

Salazar‐García¹,

Aura²,

Olària³

et al. 2014

Journal of Archaeological Science

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a b s t r a c tThere are relatively few coastal Mesolithic sites in the Iberian Mediterranean region, probably due to a number of factors including sea level changes and the disappearance of sites due to agriculture and urbanisation. However, recent excavations have uncovered inland sites that have marine faunal remains (i.e. molluscs and fish) and lithics from the coastal area, which both indicate interactions between the coast and the upland valleys. These inland sites are located at a distance of 30e50 km from today's coastline and are at altitudes higher than 1000 m. We report on additional information on the links between the coast and these inland sites through the use of dietary isotope analysis (carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis) of collagen extracted from human and faunal remains at the sites of Coves de Santa Maira, Penya del Comptador and Cingle del Mas Nou. The results indicate that Mesolithic diet in this region was largely based on C 3 terrestrial resources, but there was measurable evidence of low-level consumption of marine resources at both coastal and inland sites.

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Section: Cingle Del Mas Nou Isotope Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Isotope evidence for the use of marine resources in the Eastern Iberian Mesolithic

Salazar‐García¹,

Aura²,

Olària³

et al. 2014

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…These Neanderthals range in age from Ϸ120,000 BP (Scladina) to Ϸ37,000 cal BP (Vindija), but most of them are Ͻ50,000 cal BP. We have excluded the Engis juvenile Neanderthal (8), as there are a number of physiological effects on juvenile isotopic values, such as breastfeeding and weaning (37)(38)(39), and therefore juvenile data cannot be directly compared with adult values. Following Bocherens et al (9), we have excluded 2 of the Neanderthals from Les Pradelles (Marillac) (12), as they apparently have poor collagen preservation (40).…”

mentioning

confidence: 92%

Isotopic evidence for the diets of European Neanderthals and early modern humans

Richards

Trinkaus

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

315

168

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We report here on the direct isotopic evidence for Neanderthal and early modern human diets in Europe. Isotopic methods indicate the sources of dietary protein over many years of life, and show that Neanderthals had a similar diet through time (Ϸ120,000 to Ϸ37,000 cal BP) and in different regions of Europe. The isotopic evidence indicates that in all cases Neanderthals were top-level carnivores and obtained all, or most, of their dietary protein from large herbivores. In contrast, early modern humans (Ϸ40,000 to Ϸ27,000 cal BP) exhibited a wider range of isotopic values, and a number of individuals had evidence for the consumption of aquatic (marine and freshwater) resources. This pattern includes Oase 1, the oldest directly dated modern human in Europe (Ϸ40,000 cal BP) with the highest nitrogen isotope value of all of the humans studied, likely because of freshwater fish consumption. As Oase 1 was close in time to the last Neanderthals, these data may indicate a significant dietary shift associated with the changing population dynamics of modern human emergence in Europe.Europe ͉ isotopes ͉ collagen ͉ fishing

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“…These practices can have important consequences for subadult health, maternal health, roles of males, females and children in childcare and other work, as well as fertility (Bocquet-Appel and Naji 2006;Maher 1992;Sellen and Mace 1997). Various bioarchaeological studies have investigated breastfeeding and weaning using stable isotopes, as well as patterns of mortality and morbidity (Herring et al 1998;Katzenberg et al 1996;Richards et al 2002;Schurr 1998;Wright and Schwarcz 1998).…”

Section: Bioarchaeological Approaches To Childhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Bioarchaeological Investigation of Childhood and Social Age: Problems and Prospects

Halcrow

Tayles

2008

J Archaeol Method Theory

125

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Recently, the value of the study of children and childhood from archaeological contexts has become more recognized. Childhood is both a biological and a social phenomenon. However, because of specialization in research fields within anthropology, subadults from the archaeological record are usually studied from the biological perspective (bioarchaeology) or, more predominantly, the social perspective (social archaeology), with little research that incorporates both approaches. These polarized approaches to childhood and age highlight the dualistic way in which "biological" and "social" aspects of the body are viewed. Some recent literature criticizes bioarchaeological approaches, and calls for the incorporation of childhood social theory, including social age categories, into subadult health analysis. However, few studies have explicitly addressed the practicalities or theoretical issues that need to be considered when attempting this. This paper critically examines these issues, including terminology used for defining subadulthood and age divisions within it, and approaches to identify "social age" in past populations. The important contribution that bioarchaeology can make to the study of social aspects of childhood is outlined. Recent theoretical approaches for understanding the body offer exciting opportunities to incorporate skeletal remains into research, and develop a more biologically and socially integrated understanding of childhood and age.

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Investigating the weaning process in past populations

Cited by 165 publications

References 39 publications

Isotope evidence for the use of marine resources in the Eastern Iberian Mesolithic

Isotope evidence for the use of marine resources in the Eastern Iberian Mesolithic

Isotopic evidence for the diets of European Neanderthals and early modern humans

The Bioarchaeological Investigation of Childhood and Social Age: Problems and Prospects

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