Infant Feeding Practices in Roman Italy: A Study of Weaning Variation and its Relationship to Physiological Stress During Infancy and Early Childhood

Infant Feeding Practices in Roman Italy: A Study of Weaning Variation and its Relationship to Physiological Stress During Infancy and Early Childhood

Oldershaw, Leigh

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Anthropology

Weaning is a central factor in both infant morbidity and mortality in archaeological populations. While a relationship between weaning and physiological stress has been established in many living populations, the degree to which weaning is associated with infant stress is highly dependent upon living conditions, food availability, and nutritional quality. As such, the impact of weaning on infant health cannot be assumed in archaeological samples. The aim of this research is to use high-resolution longitudinal weaning profiles to explore variation in weaning timing and its impact on physiological stress in one historic complex society, specifically Imperial Roman Italy. Individual weaning timelines for 52 ancient Romans from the Lazio and Marche regions of Italy are reconstructed using Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) based analyses of Sr/Ca and, to a lesser extent, Ba/Ca signal intensity (concentration) ratios within dental enamel. Weaning timelines are compared to the timing of accentuated lines, histologically observable physiological stress markers in enamel. Timing of both weaning and accentuated lines are examined to determine the relationship between weaning behavior and stress in infancy and early childhood. Results indicate that early infant feeding practices were highly variable, with infants being exclusively breastfed, exclusively bottle fed – likely with herbivore milk – and fed with a combination of breastmilk and herbivore milk. Counter to expectations, exclusive breastfeeding was not associated with fewer accentuated lines in enamel when compared to bottle feeding or mixed feeding, although the weaning period in general was associated with higher frequencies of accentuated lines when compared to exclusive breastfeeding, bottle feeding, and mixed feeding prior to the onset of weaning. Exclusive breastfeeding was also not associated with improved mortality rates. Interestingly, feeding behavior between sites varied (open full item for complete abstract)

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Committee: Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg (Advisor); Douglas Crews (Committee Member); Mark Hubbe (Committee Member); Clark Larsen (Advisor)