Raising girls and boys in early China

Stable isotope data reveal sex differences in weaning and childhood diets during the eastern Zhou era

Dados Bibliográficos

ID8314034
AutoresMelanie J Miller (0000-0002-7189-1109, Department of Anatomy University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand, autor correspondente), Yu Dong (0000-0003-0901-3177, Institute of Cultural Heritage Shandong University Qingdao China, autor correspondente), Kate Pechenkina (0000-0001-8117-2442, Department of Anthropology Queens College New York City New York USA), Wenquan Fan (Research Division of Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology Zhengzhou China), E Halcrow (0000-0001-6038-7997, Department of Anatomy University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand)
Ano2020
Volume172
Fascículo4
Páginas567-585
Data de publicação2020-08-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.24033
PMID32141612
OpenAlexW3010169675
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas20
Referências citadas127

Objectives Using stable isotope analysis of incremental dentin segments, we reconstruct breastfeeding, weaning, and childhood dietary patterns of Eastern Zhou period (771–221 BC) individuals from the Central Plains of China. Previous isotopic research on the Eastern Zhou demonstrated dietary difference between male and female diets in adulthood via bone collagen analysis. To understand the development of gendered dietary patterns we must examine the early life period. We aim to identify the timing of the weaning process, whether childhood diets were the same as adulthood diets, and if there were differences between the diets of boys and girls during childhood. Materials and Methods We present incremental dentin and bone collagen δ 13 C and δ 15 N isotope data from 23 individuals from two Eastern Zhou archaeological sites (Xiyasi 西亚斯and Changxinyuan 畅馨苑). Results Weaning was completed between ages 2.5 and 4 years. Females were weaned slightly earlier than males. Early childhood diets show significant incorporation of C 3 foods, such as wheat and soybean, for almost all children, while later adulthood diets indicate greater incorporation of C 4 foods (millets), particularly for males. Discussion Childhood diets included greater amounts of C 3 foods than expected, suggesting that grains such as wheat may have been adopted in these communities as foods for children. Nevertheless, dietary differentiation between females and males began in childhood, with boys eating more millets (C 4 foods) than girls. The findings suggest that feeding children was a significant aspect of socialization and cultural gendering of individuals in ancient China

Animal science · Biology · Breastfeeding · China · Geography · Weaning · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Demography · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Medicine · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies · Pediatrics