Isotopic assessment of diet and infant feeding practices among Ottoman-period Bedouin from Tell el-Hesi

Bibliographic Data

ID4676296
AuthorsL A Gregoricka (0000-0001-6608-7709, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work University of South Alabama Mobile Alabama USA, corresponding author), Jaime Ullinger (0000-0002-3613-1737, Quinnipiac University), Jaime M Ullinger (Department of Sociology, Criminal Justice, & Anthropology Quinnipiac University Hamden Connecticut USA)
Year2022
Volume32
Issue2
Pages467-478
Publication date2022-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1047-482X • E-ISSN: 1099-1212
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/oa.3081
OpenAlexW4205243365
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited56

Stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes from human bone collagen (n = 20) were used to examine adult diet and infant feeding practices among the Ottoman-period Bedouin at Tell el-Hesi (ca. 1500-1800 CE). Among adults, δ15N values point to a diet dependent on animal protein, fitting with ethnohistoric accounts detailing the reliance of these communities on secondary animal products. Nevertheless, differential access to animal protein was evident between males (δ15N:x̅ = 10.7 ± 0.4‰, 1σ) and females (x̅ = 9.2 ± 0.6‰, 1σ), who consumed proportionally more plant proteins that likely included cereals used to make bread. Carbon isotope values (x̅ = − 17.4 ± 0.4‰, 1σ) were similar between the sexes and suggest a mixed C3-C4diet, indicating that domesticated cultivars likely contributed to food intake alongside animal products and were either obtained through trade with more sedentary groups or grown by Bedouin themselves as part of agropastoral ways of life. Nonadult δ15N values are suggestive of an extended period of supplemental breastfeeding alongside complementary feeding similar to those reported among more nomadic historic Bedouin groups. Higher δ13C values among nonadults (x̅ = − 15.7 ± 1.9‰, 1σ) throughout infancy and young childhood differed statistically from those of adults, possibly indicative of a specialized, prescribed diet for pregnant and nursing mothers as well as for young children that included resources possessing higher δ13C values, perhaps derived from C4cereals or camel's milk

Animal science · Biology · Breastfeeding · Domestication · Infant formula · Isotopes of nitrogen · Nitrogen · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Chemistry · Demography · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Medicine · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Ecology · Pediatrics