We’re all in this together: accessing the maternal-infant relationship in prehistoric Vietnam

Book Chapter ResearchOnline@JCU
Adams, Alisha B.;Halcrow, Siân E.;King, Charlotte L.;Miller, Melanie J.;Vlok, Melandri;Millard, Andrew R.;Gröcke, Darren R.;Buckley, Hallie;Domett, Kate;Hoang Trinh, Hiep;Thi Minh, Tran;Oxenham, Marc F.
Abstract

The human skeleton reflects an individual’s biocultural life-course, recording information on diet, health, and stress. Using new methods for inferring phys-iological stress during the foetal, infant, and childhood periods, this chapter investigates the early lives of two subadult individuals through the lens of the maternal-infant nexus from the Neolithic site of Man Bac in Vietnam. We apply a novel approach that incorporates stable isotopic evidence for weaning and diet, with a quantitative method of identifying and measuring linear enamel hypoplasia to assess physiological stress during development. These case studies are interpreted within a bioarchaeology of infant- and child-care theoretical model approach that focuses on the maternal-infant nexus, and incorporates information on fertility, palaeopathological data, archaeological data on the natural and social environment, and social organisation.

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Publication Name

The Family in Past Perspective: an interdisciplinary exploration of familial relationships through time

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ISBN/ISSN

978-0-367-40400-0

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Pages Count

30

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Publisher

Routledge

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Publisher Location

London, UK

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DOI

10.4324/9780429355912-10