Isotopes and new norms: Investigating the emergence of early modern U.K. breastfeeding practices at St. Nicholas Kirk, Aberdeen

Abstract

In this study, we aim to extend the chronological, geographical, and societal scope of previous bioarchaeological research on infant diet and age at weaning in Britain in the past through the analysis of the large medieval and post‐medieval skeletal assemblage from St. Nicholas Kirk, Aberdeen, Scotland. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data were obtained from rib collagen from 67 sub‐adults across the two phases and were compared with mean adult female dietary isotope values. Nitrogen isotope data were modelled using the R Package WARN, along with previously published data sets, to provide quantitative age estimates for the commencement and completion of weaning at St. Nicholas Kirk and other medieval and post‐medieval sites. Data from Phase A (12th–15th century AD) suggest that breastfeeding may have continued up to and beyond the age of 2 years, likely in combination with other foods. This complements previously published data from urban and rural medieval contexts in England, highlighting similarities in infant feeding practices across very different contemporary populations. Data from post‐medieval Phase B at St. Nicholas Kirk (15th–18th century AD) give new insights into early modern period breastfeeding and weaning practices, indicating that weaning commenced soon after birth and was completed relatively early (within a year). These data bridge the gap between previously published studies on medieval and late 18th‐ to 19th‐century populations from the British Isles and suggest that trends observed at later urban sites may be rooted in preceding centuries, although the underlying reasons for this change are difficult to elucidate. Contributing factors may include the social and religious changes that occurred in the post‐reformation period, such as the decrease in the use of wet nurses, changes in the availability and acceptability of artificial feeding, increased urbanism, and even changes in the socio‐economic status of those interred in the Kirk.

Paleodiet in the Iberian Peninsula: exploring the connections between diet, culture, disease and environment using isotopic and osteoarchaeological evidence

“…This fits well with elsewhere in Medieval Europe in terms of historical documents (Fildes 1986) and isotopic studies (e.g. see Britton et al 2018 for a review of UK populations).…”

Societal perceptions and lived experience: Infant feeding practices in premodern Japan

“…Historical demographic studies have revealed that during the 18th–19th century, big merchants developed in Osaka (where SKT871 locates) and lower status groups were employed as residential employees, but commerce was carried out by a large number of small family merchants in Edo (where Hitotsubashi is located) during the same period (Saito, , ). Evidence from modern (Dennis, ; Saadeh et al, ; WHO, ) and historical European (Britton et al, ; Fildes, ; but see Nitsch, Humphrey, & Hedges, ) human populations indicates that maternal employment outside the home leads to a lower age at the end of weaning. Because Sakai City was a merchants’ city and was located within Osaka, most lower status people in Sakai City, including women, might be employees of big merchants, and so the weaning process ended earlier.…”

Oxygen isotopes in bioarchaeology: Principles and applications, challenges and opportunities

“…Scotland (Britton et al, 2018). By comparison, a far smaller number of studies have employed oxygen isotope analysis to investigate breastfeeding practices and determine weaning age in past societies.…”