A new method of dentine microsampling of deciduous teeth for stable isotope ratio analysis

Burt, Nicole M.; Garvie‐Lok, Sandra

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.05.022

Cited by 60 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…A re-examination of the previous studies which have used dentine sections to examine breastfeeding and weaning (Burt and Garvie-Lok 2013;Eerkens et al 2011;Eerkens and Bartelink 2013;Henderson et al, 2014Fuller et al 2003 shows that their data also demonstrate considerable isotope variability during infancy. Fuller et al (2003) use the means for each dentine section to match the current interpretation model, but if the data for each individual are analyzed, for five of the 21 deciduous teeth and two of the eight permanent teeth, the differences acknowledge that this may be due to differences either in breastfeeding/weaning behavior, or an increased male susceptibility to nutritional deprivation.…”

Section: Re-evaluating Previous Studiesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Infant mortality and isotopic complexity: New approaches to stress, maternal health, and weaning

Beaumont

Montgomery

Buckberry

et al. 2015

American J Phys Anthropol

210

162

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M (2015) Infant mortality and isotopic complexity: new approaches to stress, maternal health and weaning. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 157(3): 441-457, which will be published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ ajpa.22736. Materials and MethodsChildhood dentine collagen  13C and  15N profiles were produced from horizontal sections of permanent and deciduous teeth following the direction of development. These were from two 19 th -century sites (n = 24) and a small number (n = 5) of prehistoric samples from Great Britain and Ireland. ResultsThese high-resolution data exhibit marked differences between those who survived childhood and those who did not, the former varying little and the latter fluctuating widely. DiscussionBreastfeeding and weaning behavior have a significant impact on the morbidity and mortality of infants and the adults they become. In the absence of documentary evidence, archaeological studies of bone collagen of adults and juveniles have been used to infer the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding. These interpretations rely on certain assumptions about the relationship between isotope ratios in the bone collagen of the adult females and the infants who have died. The data from this study suggest a more complex situation than previously proposed and the potential for a new approach to the study of maternal and infant health in past populations. 3Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios from archaeological bone and dental tissues have been used for more than 20 years to investigate breastfeeding and weaning practices. Early studies, which revolutionized the use of bone collagen stable isotopes, identified patterns within the tissues of fetuses (less than 28 weeks gestation), neonates (28-40 weeks gestation) and infants (28 days to 1 year post-birth)(Lewis and Gowland 2007) which revealed the potential to investigate the duration of breastfeeding and weaning in past populations (e.g. Fogel et al. 1989;Katzenberg et al. 1993;Schurr 1997;White and Schwarcz 1994). Katzenberg (1996) reviewed previous interpretations of the method and cautioned against the potential effect of using the tissues of dead infants without knowing the cause of death and the potential for stress, bone turnover and growth to alter the isotope ratios of both mother and infant. Subsequently, a simplified method, based on a mathematical model of the isotope ratio variations which should be associated with a dietary change from breastmilk to the prevailing diet of the adult population, was proposed and widely accepted (Schurr 1997;Millard, 2000;Jay, 2008). This method has since been applied to data from modern, historical and archaeological tissues to estimate the timing of weaning and whether breastfeeding occurred over prolonged periods.The mathematical model has been used pragmatically despite the often-acknowledged fact that it makes several assumptions about the relationships of mother and infant body tissues, their diets, and the comparability of individual members of a population with the o...

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Section: Re-evaluating Previous Studiesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Infant mortality and isotopic complexity: New approaches to stress, maternal health, and weaning

Beaumont

Montgomery

Buckberry

et al. 2015

American J Phys Anthropol

210

162

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This facilitates comparison of age at weaning against measures of health (e.g., stature, enamel hypoplasia), sex, and status, among others, for individuals within a population. Such micro-sampling combined with stable isotope analysis has been applied to dental tissues of animals (e.g., Balasse and Tresset, 2002;Balasse et al, 2001;Zazzo et al, 2006;Humphrey et al, 2008aHumphrey et al, , 2008bKirsanow et al, 2008), but to our knowledge has only recently been applied to human teeth (Burt and Garvie-Lok, 2011).…”

Section: Reconstructing Age Of Weaning In Archaeological Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating weaning and early childhood diet from serial micro-samples of dentin collagen

Eerkens

Berget

Bartelink

2011

Journal of Archaeological Science

201

217

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“…We sectioned only dentine roots from the EDJ, rather than the entire dentine length, as research suggests that the root growth at this junction corresponds to 1.7 years (Anemone et al, 1991). While extending dentine sectioning above the neonatal line can render isotopic data on fetal life (Burt and Garvie-Lok, 2013), our study focused on the isotope signal of weaning. Therefore, given the confirmation of a lack of weaning prior to 2 years from our deciduous dentition, we felt that sampling the entire root length was unnecessarily destructive.…”

Section: Sample Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable nitrogen isotope analysis of dentine serial sections elucidate sex differences in weaning patterns of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Fahy

Richards

Fuller

et al. 2014

American J Phys Anthropol

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Offspring provisioning is one of the most energetically demanding aspects of reproduction for female mammals. Variation in lactation length and weaning strategies between chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), our closest living relative, and modern human societies have been reported. When and why these changes occurred is frequently debated. Our study used stable nitrogen isotope data of tooth root dentine from wild Western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire, to quantify weaning in these chimpanzees and explore if infant sex plays a role in maternal investment. We analyzed serial sections of deciduous lateral incisor root dentine from four Taï chimpanzees to establish the δ(15) N signal of nursing infants; we then analyzed serial sections of first permanent mandibular molar root dentine from 12 Taï chimpanzees to provide quantitative δ(15) N data on weaning in this population. Up to 2 years of age both sexes exhibited dentine δ(15) N values ≈2-3‰ higher than adult female Taï chimpanzees, consistent with a nursing signal. Thereafter a steady decrease in δ(15) N values consistent with the onset, and progression, of weaning, was visible. Sex differences were also evident, where male δ(15) N values decreased at a significantly slower rate compared to females. Confirmation of sex differences in maternal investment among Taï chimpanzees, demonstrates the viability of using isotope analysis to investigate weaning in non-human primates. Additionally, assuming that behaviors observed in the Taï chimpanzees are illustrative of the ancestral pattern, our results provide a platform to enable the trajectory of weaning in human evolution to be further explored.

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A new method of dentine microsampling of deciduous teeth for stable isotope ratio analysis

Cited by 60 publications

References 37 publications

Infant mortality and isotopic complexity: New approaches to stress, maternal health, and weaning

Infant mortality and isotopic complexity: New approaches to stress, maternal health, and weaning

Estimating weaning and early childhood diet from serial micro-samples of dentin collagen

Stable nitrogen isotope analysis of dentine serial sections elucidate sex differences in weaning patterns of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

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