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Breastfeeding is known to be a powerful mediator of maternal and childhood health, with impacts throughout the life course. Paleodietary studies of the past 30 years have accordingly taken an enduring interest in the health and diet of young children as a potential indicator of population fertility, subsistence, and mortality patterns. While progress has been made in recent decades toward acknowledging the agency of children, many paleodietary reconstructions have failed to incorporate developments in cognate disciplines revealing synergistic dynamics between maternal and offspring biology. Paleodietary interpretation has relied heavily on the "weanling's dilemma," in which infants are thought to face a bleak choice between loss of immunity or malnutrition. Using a review of immunological and epidemiological evidence for the dynamic and supportive role that breastfeeding plays throughout the complementary feeding period, this article offers context and nuance for understanding past feeding transitions. We suggest that future interpretative frameworks for infant paleodietary and bioarchaeological research should include a broad knowledge base that keeps pace with relevant developments outside of those disciplines., (© 2021 American Association of Physical Anthropologists.)

After the Battle Dunbar between English and Scottish forces in 1650, captured Scottish soldiers were imprisoned in Durham and many hundreds died there within a few weeks. The partial skeletal remains of 28 of these men were discovered in 2013. Building on previous osteological work, here we report wide-ranging scientific studies of the remains to address the following questions: Did they have comparable diet, health and disease throughout their lives? Did they have common histories of movement (or lack of movement) during their childhoods? Can we create a collective biography of these men? Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel investigated childhood movement. Carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of incrementally sampled dentine addressed childhood diet and nutrition. Metaproteomic analysis of dental calculus investigated oral microbiomes and food residues; this was complemented by microscopic analysis of debris in calculus from ingested materials. Selected individuals were examined for dental microwear. The extent of hydroxylation of proline in collagen was examined as a potential biomarker for scurvy. An osteobiography for each man was created using the full range of data generated about him, and these were synthesised using an approach based on the historical method for a collective biography or prosopography. The childhood residences of the men were primarily within the Midland Valley of Scotland, though some spent parts of their childhood outside the British Isles. This is concordant with the known recruitment areas of the Scottish army in 1650. Their diets included oats, brassicas and milk but little seafood, as expected for lowland rather than highland diets of the period. Childhood periods of starvation or illness were almost ubiquitous, but not simultaneous, suggesting regionally variable food shortages in the 1620s and 1630s. It is likely there was widespread low-level scurvy, ameliorating in later years of life, which suggests historically unrecorded shortages of fruit and vegetables in the early 1640s. Almost all men were exposed to burnt plant matter, probably as inhaled soot, and this may relate to the high proportion of them with of sinusitis. Interpersonal violence causing skeletal trauma was rare. Based on commonalities in their osteobiographies, we argue that these men were drawn from the same stratum of society. This study is perhaps the most extensive to date of individuals from 17th century Scotland. Combined with a precise historical context it allows the lives of these men to be investigated and compared to the historical record with unprecedented precision. It illustrates the power of archaeological science methods to confirm, challenge and complement historical evidence., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Objectives: Colonial period New Zealand was lauded as a land of plenty, where colonists could improve their station in life and secure a future for their families. Our understanding of colonial experience, however, is often shaped by historical records which communicate a state-sponsored version of history. This study aims to reconstruct the lives of settlers using isotopic evidence from the colonial skeletons themselves., Materials and Methods: We use skeletal remains from recently excavated colonial sites in Otago (South Island, New Zealand) to illustrate the information that can be gleaned from the isotopic analysis of individuals. We use 87 Sr/ 86 Sr to identify European settlers, and δ 13 C and δ 15 N from collagen and hair keratin, as well as dental enamel carbonate δ 13 C to trace dietary change over their life-courses., Results: Strontium isotope analysis shows that all adults in our sample are non-local. Dietary isotopes show that while most individuals had relatively consistent childhood diet, one individual with more rural origins likely had seasonal use of resources during childhood. While some members of the population seem to have increased their meat intake in the new colony most do not have clear evidence for this., Discussion: We show the diversity of human experience in first-generation New Zealanders both prior to emigration and in the new colony. Despite colonial propaganda claiming that circumstances in New Zealand were improved for all settlers, we have little evidence for this, aside from among individuals of potentially high status., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

During the 12 th and 13 th centuries, numerous leprosy hospitals were founded in Europe. Given that leprosy was not considered infectious, this may reflect social dimensions of the disease. Aiming at exploring the impact of leprosy on medieval people and the organisation of the Danish leprosarium at Næstved, we reconstructed the diet of twenty patients using stable isotopes, and compared our results with relevant historical data. The isotope results revealed a terrestrial C 3 diet with a small contribution of aquatic foods. Contrary to historical evidence of daily fish consumption in the leprosy hospital, only six individuals consumed relatively large amounts of freshwater fish. Leprosaria have been considered monastic institutions, and thus a varied diet, poor in aquatic protein, questions the monastic nature of the hospital and points to a social stratification. A multi-isotope analysis of a larger sample set would add to our understanding of the diet of the leprosy patients, as well as their treatment in the leprosarium .

This research explores oral health indicators and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data to explore diet, and differences in diet, between people buried in the four different contexts of the St Gertrude Church cemetery (15th- 17th centuries AD): the general cemetery, two mass graves, and a collective mass burial pit within the general cemetery. The main aim is to assess whether people buried in the mass graves were rural immigrants, or if they were more likely to be the victims of plague (or another epidemic) who lived in Riga and its suburbs. The data produced (from dental disease assessments and isotope analyses) were compared within, as well as between, the contexts. Most differences emerged when comparing the prevalence rates of dental diseases and other oral health indicators in males and females between the contexts, while isotope analysis revealed more individual, rather than context-specific, differences. The data suggested that the populations buried in the mass graves were different from those buried in the general cemetery, and support the theory that rural immigrants were buried in both mass graves. Significant differences were observed in some aspects of the data between the mass graves, however, possibly indicating that the people buried in them do not represent the same community.

This article investigates the diets of neighboring Christians and Muslims in late medieval Spain (here 13th-16th centuries) through the analysis of the stable isotopes of carbon (δ(13) C) and nitrogen (δ(15) N) in adult human and animal bone collagen. Twenty-four Christians and 20 Muslims are sampled from two adjacent and contemporaneous settlements in the township of Gandía on the Mediterranean coast, together with the remains of 24 animals. Statistical differences in both δ(13) C and δ(15) N reveal that the diets of the two faith communities differed, despite living side-by-side. These differences may relate to inequalities in their access to foodstuffs, particularly to C3 /C4 grain and/or possibly terrestrial meat sources, though cultural preferences are also highlighted. Isotopic values for animals were also found to vary widely, both between and within species, and this provides a window into the local livestock economy., (Copyright © 2014 The Authors. American Journal of physical Anthropology published by Wiley Periodicals,Inc.)

Human and animal diet reconstruction studies that rely on tissue chemical signatures aim at providing estimates on the relative intake of potential food groups. However, several sources of uncertainty need to be considered when handling data. Bayesian mixing models provide a natural platform to handle diverse sources of uncertainty while allowing the user to contribute with prior expert information. The Bayesian mixing model FRUITS (Food Reconstruction Using Isotopic Transferred Signals) was developed for use in diet reconstruction studies. FRUITS incorporates the capability to account for dietary routing, that is, the contribution of different food fractions (e.g. macronutrients) towards a dietary proxy signal measured in the consumer. FRUITS also provides relatively straightforward means for the introduction of prior information on the relative dietary contributions of food groups or food fractions. This type of prior may originate, for instance, from physiological or metabolic studies. FRUITS performance was tested using simulated data and data from a published controlled animal feeding experiment. The feeding experiment data was selected to exemplify the application of the novel capabilities incorporated into FRUITS but also to illustrate some of the aspects that need to be considered when handling data within diet reconstruction studies. FRUITS accurately predicted dietary intakes, and more precise estimates were obtained for dietary scenarios in which expert prior information was included. FRUITS represents a useful tool to achieve accurate and precise food intake estimates in diet reconstruction studies within different scientific fields (e.g. ecology, forensics, archaeology, and dietary physiology).

The aims of this study were to explore the origins of 19 children buried in two mass graves and the general cemetery at the post‐medieval St Gertrude Church cemetery in Riga, Latvia, using strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr), and to establish local soil Sr biosphere ranges from faunal samples from two areas of Latvia. The results confirmed the presence of one clear outlier in the population and one child who may have had originated from the region of Vidzeme. The lack of significant differences in 87Sr/86Sr between the other individuals analysed suggested that they were representative of one population. A strong correlation between 87Sr/86Sr ratios and previously obtained mean δ13C and δ15N values in children from mass graves suggested possible short‐term dietary changes with increased proportion of marine resources and food sources subject to sea spray. The study has yielded the first comparative 87Sr/86Sr data from archaeological skeletons in Latvia, which will be essential for future research addressing comparative mobility studies in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This is the first regional analysis of the impact of Romanisation on subadult dietary patterns and related health parameters in Britain. A sample of 200 subadults from late Iron Age (LIA) and Romano-British (RB) Dorset were examined for dental health and specific metabolic diseases, and a sub-sample of 29 individuals were selected for nitrogen and carbon isotope analysis. The results showed that dental health declined in the Romano-British period and the incidence of scurvy and rickets rose. Increased consumption of marine foods in the RB period is indicated by an increase in δ13C between the LIA and RB subadults. After early childhood, there was no age-dependent variation in dietary protein in the RB and LIA populations from Dorset. We propose that these changes related to the introduction of urban living, Romanised diets and population migration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Multiple isotopic systems (C, N, O, S, Sr, Pb) are applied to investigate diet and mobility amongst the Middle Neolithic populations at Schipluiden and Swifterbant (Netherlands). A review of carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses of European Mesolithic and Neolithic populations shows a shift in diet from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic, but also great variety in Neolithic diets, several of which incorporate fish. At Swifterbant (c.4300-4000 BC) the population had a diet largely based on terrestrial and freshwater resources, despite proximity to tidal waters. Only one individual (of 10) showed evidence for migration. In contrast at Schipluiden (c.3600-3400 BC) there were migrants who had a diet lower in marine resources than those without evidence for migration. The faunal spectrum and isotopic similarities with sites in the Iron Gates Gorge suggest that sturgeon may have been important. There is some evidence that migrants at Schipluiden were not accorded the formal burial given to locally born people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the ancestry, childhood residency and diet of 22 individuals buried at an A.D. 2nd and 4th century cemetery at Lant Street, in the southern burial area of Roman London. The possible presence of migrants was investigated using macromorphoscopics to assess ancestry, carbon and nitrogen isotopes to study diet, and oxygen isotopes to examine migration. Diets were found to be primarily C 3 -based with limited input of aquatic resources, in contrast to some other populations in Roman Britain and proximity to the River Thames. The skeletal morphology showed the likely African ancestry of four individuals, and Asian ancestry of two individuals, with oxygen isotopes indicating a circum-Mediterranean origin for five individuals. Our data suggests that the population of the southern suburb had an ongoing connection with immigrants, especially those from the southern Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colonial New Zealand was built on the ideal of creating better lives for settlers. Emigrants came looking to escape the shackles of the class system and poor conditions in Industrial Revolution–period Britain. Colonial propaganda claimed that most emigrants achieved their aims, but the lives the colonists actually experienced upon reaching New Zealand remain relatively unexplored from a biosocial perspective. In this article we present a pilot study of stable-isotope test results of bone collagen from seven adults interred in St. John's Cemetery, Milton, New Zealand (ca. 1860–1900). We interpret the diet at Milton and broadly compare our isotopic results with contemporaneous samples from Britain. We show that, as in contemporary Britain, the diet of our studied individuals was focused on C3 crops and terrestrial meat sources. Despite higher δ15N values in contemporary UK populations (which can be simplistically interpreted as indicative of higher meat intake), consideration of different local baselines makes it likely that this New Zealand population had relatively similar levels of meat intake. Interestingly, marine resources did not form an important part of the Milton diet, despite the site's proximity to the ocean, hinting at the possible stigmatization of local resources and the development of a European New Zealand (pākehā) food identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]