Correspondence Between Stable Carbon, Oxygen and Nitrogen Isotopes in Human Tooth Enamel and Dentine: Infant Diets at Kaminaljuyú

Wright, Lori E.; Schwarcz, Henry P.

doi:10.1006/jasc.1998.0351

Cited by 194 publications

(123 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In addition, the pattern observed in infant ribs corresponds to the observed changes in tooth dentine from adults at the same site, which was formed at the same stage of infancy, confirming that rib collagen values are useful for tracking the weaning process (Wright and Schwarcz, 1999;Richards et al, 2002).…”

Section: Stable Isotopes and Breastfeedingsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…Nitrogen stable isotope ratios in skeletal material are widely used for the interpretation of weaning in the past (e.g., Katzenberg et al, 1993;Schurr. 1997;Wright and Schwarcz, 1999;Dupras et al, 2001;Mays et al, 2002;Fuller et al, 2003;Schurr and Powell, 2005;Clayton et al, 2006;Dupras and Tocheri, 2007;Jay et al, 2008;Pearson et al, 2010). There is also a slight trophic level effect associated with d…”

Section: Stable Isotopes and Breastfeedingmentioning

confidence: 91%

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Using stable isotope analysis to examine the effect of economic change on breastfeeding practices in Spitalfields, London, UK

Nitsch¹,

Humphrey²,

Hedges³

2011

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

103

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Breastfeeding patterns were subject to a number of fads in 18th and 19th century Britain. Feeding infants by hand, rather than maternal breastfeeding or wet-nursing, became more prevalent among both the wealthy and poor. Substitute foods may have been a convenient alternative for mothers employed away from the household. This study used stable isotope ratio analysis to examine the weaning schedule in the 18th and 19th century skeletal assemblage from Spitalfields, London, UK. Analysis of 72 juvenile ribs revealed δ(15) N elevations of 2-3‰ above the adult mean for individuals up to the age of two, while elevations of 1-2‰ were observed in δ(13) C for the first year of life. This suggests that the introduction of solid foods took place before the end of the first year, and that breastfeeding had entirely ceased by 2 years of age. The age at death of many of these infants is known from historical records, and can be used to pinpoint the amount of time required for the breast milk signal to be observed in the stable isotope ratios of rib collagen. Results show that a δ(15) N elevation can be detected in the ribs of individuals who died as young as 5-6 weeks. Not all individuals at Spitalfields were breastfed, and there may not have been a single uniformly practiced weaning scheme. There is, however, more evidence for prolonged breastfeeding during the 19th century than the 18th century.

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Section: Stable Isotopes and Breastfeedingsupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Stable Isotopes and Breastfeedingmentioning

confidence: 91%

Using stable isotope analysis to examine the effect of economic change on breastfeeding practices in Spitalfields, London, UK

Nitsch¹,

Humphrey²,

Hedges³

2011

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

103

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“…Assuming that the milk of cows and goats was about 2.6‰ enriched with respect to the milk of mothers, this would suggest that during weaning, about half of the food they received was milk of cows and/or goats. However, this is a minimum estimate, because we would have expected a decrease in ␦ 13 C of collagen of children being fed on their mother's milk (as noted by Wright and Schwarcz, 1999). Therefore the actual contribution of 13 C-enriched dairy milk may have been even larger than this estimate.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 77%

Infant feeding and weaning practices in Roman Egypt

Dupras

Schwarcz

Fairgrieve

2001

American J Phys Anthropol

167

111

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Current knowledge of infant feeding and weaning practices during the Roman period in Egypt is limited to scanty documentary and iconographic evidence. Stable nitrogen and carbon isotope analysis provides another avenue to explore this question. A sample of 49 infant and juvenile human skeletal remains from the Kellis 2 cemetery in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, was used to determine patterns of infant feeding and weaning. delta(15)N values indicate that supplementary foods were introduced at around 6 months of age, and that weaning was complete by 3 years of age. By 6 months of age, delta(13)C values become increasingly enriched over adult values, and reach peak enrichment at approximately 1.5 years of age. Beyond this age, delta(13)C gradually declines to approach adult values. This enrichment in infant delta(13)C values is indicative of consumption of (13)C-enriched supplementary foods. Based on isotopic study of faunal and botanical remains from the ancient village of Kellis, we conclude that at approximately 6 months of age, infants were fed milk of goat and/or cow.

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“…Wright and Schwarcz (1999) 15 N values of tooth dentin extracted from the sections of three parts of subsamples (i.e., crown, cervical, and apical sections), and revealed that weaning ended before 2 years of age in a medieval village population in England. Stable isotope analysis of serial micro-samples of human tooth dentin (typically 1 mm in thickness) has recently been introduced, and provides more detailed reconstruction of BWPs only from one tooth (Eerkens et al, 2011).…”

Section: Isotope Analysis Of Tooth Dentin Collagenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices using stable isotope and trace element analyses: A review

Tsutaya

Yoneda

2014

American J Phys Anthropol

192

188

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Biogeochemical methods using stable isotopes and trace elements have been increasingly developed and applied to reconstruct modern and ancient breastfeeding and weaning practices of mammals, including humans, because they offer direct proxies for the dietary intake of subadults. Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopes have been used to evaluate breast milk lipid, protein, and water intake, respectively. Carbon and sulfur isotopes have been used to estimate the content of weaning foods. The elemental concentrations of Sr and Ba in subadult tissues differ because of the dietary change during the weaning process. For analyses, various tissues have been used, such as hair, nail, blood, and feces for modern mammals and bone and teeth for ancient ones. Of these, trace element analysis of tooth enamel offers a good opportunity for the reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices of the more distant past at finer resolution, although further understanding of the metabolism of trace elements is necessary. There are various tissue-and element-specific advantages and disadvantages, and a combination of different proxies can illuminate practices from various viewpoints. Finally, applying the geochemical reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices to human ecology, primatology, and paleoanthropology is important; basic studies of the underlying physiological mechanisms and technical improvements in the analyses will further highlight avenues for future research. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 156:2-21, 2015. V C 2014 American Association of Physical AnthropologistsThe reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices (BWPs) of ancient human and other mammalian species is one of the most important fields in anthropology, archaeology, evolutionary biology, and history. Infant feeding practices affect the overall health of the population because diet, health status, and growth at a young age have profound effects on an individual's later life (Dettwyler and Fishman, 1992;Katzenberg et al., 1996;WHO, 1998WHO, , 2009Lewis, 2007). Breastfeeding and weaning practices can be viewed from the evolutionary perspectives of life history theory, parental investment, child development, social system, and reproductive strat-

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Correspondence Between Stable Carbon, Oxygen and Nitrogen Isotopes in Human Tooth Enamel and Dentine: Infant Diets at Kaminaljuyú

Cited by 194 publications

References 23 publications

Using stable isotope analysis to examine the effect of economic change on breastfeeding practices in Spitalfields, London, UK

Using stable isotope analysis to examine the effect of economic change on breastfeeding practices in Spitalfields, London, UK

Infant feeding and weaning practices in Roman Egypt

Reconstruction of breastfeeding and weaning practices using stable isotope and trace element analyses: A review

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