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Bone stable isotope evidence for infant feeding in Mediaeval England

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

S.A. Mays ,
M.P. Richards  and
B.T. Fuller
S.A. Mays
Affiliation:
Ancient Monuments Laboratory, English Heritage Centre for Archaeology, Fort Cumberland, Portsmouth PO4 9LD, England. simon.mays@english-heritage.org.uk
M.P. Richards
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, England
B.T. Fuller
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, England
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Extract

This paper is a first study of duration of breastfeeding using bone stable isotopes in infants in a British palaeopopulation, from the deserted Mediaeval village of Wharram Percy, England. Nitrogen stable isotope analysis suggests cessation of breastfeeding between 1 and 2 years of age. Comparison with Mediaeval documentary sources suggests that recommendations of physicians regarding infant feeding may have influenced common practice in this period.

Keywords

δ15NbreastfeedingweaningMediaevalWharram Percy
Type
News & Notes
Information
Antiquity , Volume 76 , Issue 293 , September 2002 , pp. 654 - 656
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2002

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