A multifaceted approach towards interpreting early life experience and infant feeding practices in the ancient Atacama Desert, Northern Chile

Bibliographic Data

ID4694462
AuthorsC L King (0000-0003-2432-0714, Department of Anatomy University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand, corresponding author), Anne Marie E Snoddy (0000-0002-0516-785X, Department of Anatomy University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand), Andrew R Millard (0000-0002-8290-7428, Department of Archaeology Durham University Durham UK), D R Gröcke (0000-0003-2296-7530, Department of Earth Sciences Durham University Durham UK), G Standen (0000-0002-7510-5160, University of Tarapacá), V G Standen (Departamento de Antropología Universidad de Tarapacá Arica Chile), B Arriaza (0000-0001-9921-9253, Departamento de Antropología Universidad de Tarapacá Arica Chile), E Halcrow (0000-0001-6038-7997, Department of Anatomy University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand)
Year2018
Volume28
Issue5
Pages599-612
Publication date2018-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1047-482X • E-ISSN: 1099-1212
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/oa.2671
OpenAlexW2800455675
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited109

Interpreting early life experience in the past is of considerable interest to archaeologists, yet remains fraught with difficulty. Children are sensitive barometers of population health in general. In addition, infant feeding practices, and stresses experienced during infancy and childhood, have important effects on adult health and demographic changes. Understanding how diet and physiological stress interact is therefore of significance, but most bony indicators of stress have non-specific etiologies that cannot be tied to events during childhood. The recent advent of incremental isotopic techniques means we now have the potential to identify periods of stress and dietary change during childhood through changes to stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios during tissue formation. Being able to establish these individual weaning trajectories allows us to consider individuality in past weaning choices, giving the bioarchaeologist a more nuanced picture of the past. Here, we investigate whether combining paleopathological and isotopic data can give insight into the synergy between infant feeding and stress. We present a case study of a 5-year-old child from an early agricultural period archaeological site in the northern Atacama Desert, Chile. We show that, despite physiological stress likely affecting isotopic ratios in this individual, a weaning curve is visible and the interpretation of weaning behaviour is possible. In addition, we suggest that there is isotopic evidence for a micronutrient deficient weaning diet that may be correlated with bony evidence for pathology

Archaeology · Bioarchaeology · Developmental psychology · Early childhood · Environmental health · Geography · Population · Stable isotope ratio · Weaning · δ13C · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Medicine · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Psychology