RESEARCH ARTICLE
Early Childhood in Precolonial South America: Breastfeeding, Infant Mortality, and Stable Isotopes Analysis in Southeastern Shell Mound Builders During the Middle Holocene (7th–5th Millennium BP)
Marina Di Giusto,
Estelle Herrscher,
Klervia Jaouen,
Murilo Bastos,
Leïa Mion,
Veronica Wesolowski,
Corresponding Author
Marina Di Giusto
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Correspondence:
Marina Di Giusto ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorEstelle Herrscher
CNRS, Université Aix-Marseille, LAMPEA, Marseille, France
Search for more papers by this authorKlervia Jaouen
CNRS, Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France
Search for more papers by this authorMurilo Bastos
National Museum, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorLeïa Mion
School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Search for more papers by this authorVeronica Wesolowski
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorMarina Di Giusto,
Estelle Herrscher,
Klervia Jaouen,
Murilo Bastos,
Leïa Mion,
Veronica Wesolowski,
Corresponding Author
Marina Di Giusto
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Correspondence:
Marina Di Giusto ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorEstelle Herrscher
CNRS, Université Aix-Marseille, LAMPEA, Marseille, France
Search for more papers by this authorKlervia Jaouen
CNRS, Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France
Search for more papers by this authorMurilo Bastos
National Museum, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorLeïa Mion
School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Search for more papers by this authorVeronica Wesolowski
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 25 December 2024
Funding: This work was supported by the Coordination of Superior Level Staff Improvement (CAPES, Brazil) and the ERC ARCHEIS project (803676).
ABSTRACT
This article presents and discusses isotopic data on breastfeeding, weaning, and complementary diet during early childhood in Middle Holocene southeastern Brazil. The study focuses on human individuals from two contemporaneous shell mounds, Piaçaguera (7151–5668 yBP) and Moraes (6791–5590 yBP), which show distinct patterns of infant mortality. We conducted δ15N and δ13C analyses on collagen extracted from subadult bones (Piaçaguera: n = 13; Moraes: n = 13) and sequential dentine slices from permanent (Piaçaguera: n = 7; Moraes: n = 11) and deciduous teeth (Moraes: n = 5). Our findings indicate that weaning ended between 2 and 4 years old in Piaçaguera, with complementary foods similar to the adults. At Moraes, weaning ended between 2 and 5 years old, with a higher consumption of freshwater fish during early childhood and by pregnant women. The weaning ages at Piaçaguera and Moraes align with those documented in other precolonial South American groups. However, our study suggests different dietary preferences and strategies within each group, possibly linked to distinct patterns of infant mortality, particularly evident in the Moraes group.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available in the Supporting Information of this article.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| oa3381-sup-0001-Table_S1-S6.docxWord 2007 document , 75 KB |
Table S1. Analyzed individuals from Piaçaguera and Moraes series. Table S2. δ13CV-PDB and δ15NAIR values of bone collagen from Piaçaguera and Moraes series. Table S3. δ13CV-PDB and δ15NAIR values of dentine collagen from Piaçaguera and Moraes series. Table S4. Check samples values. Table S5. Correlation test for bone values from Piaçaguera and Moraes series. Table S6. Correlation test for dentine values from Piaçaguera and Moraes series. |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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