Child labour is the most common form of child abuse in the world today, with almost half of child... more Child labour is the most common form of child abuse in the world today, with almost half of child workers employed in hazardous industries. The large-scale employment of children during the rapid industrialisation of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in England is well documented. During this period, the removal of pauper children from workhouses in cities to work as apprentices in rural mills in the North of England was commonplace. Whilst the experiences of some of these children have been recorded historically, this study provides the first direct evidence of their lives through bioarchaeological analysis. The excavation of a rural churchyard cemetery in the village of Fewston, North Yorkshire, yielded the skeletal remains of 154 individuals, including an unusually large proportion of children aged between 8 to 20 years. A multi-method approach was undertaken, including osteological and palaeopathological examination, stable isotope and amelogenin peptide analysis. The bioar...
Carbon and nitrogen isotope profiles were obtained from incremental dentine analysis of 19 non‐ad... more Carbon and nitrogen isotope profiles were obtained from incremental dentine analysis of 19 non‐adults from a cemetery in Riga, Latvia. The research compared the life histories and diet between people buried in two mass graves and the general cemetery. The δ13C profiles of several children from the mass graves were similar but did not resemble the patterns seen in children from the general cemetery, suggesting that they probably represented a different population group. The rise in δ15N values towards the end of the life of four individuals from one mass grave suggests they were victims of an historically documented famine.
ABSTRACT Experiences of childhood in colonial New Zealand are difficult to reconstruct from the h... more ABSTRACT Experiences of childhood in colonial New Zealand are difficult to reconstruct from the historical record alone. Many of those who came to the colony were illiterate, and the Victorian tendency to avoid discussion of pregnancy and breastfeeding practices restricts our understanding of this important period. Bioarchaeological investigation, however, has the potential to illuminate the life stories of these first-generation Pākehā (European) settlers. Here we use isotopic evidence combined with dental pathology from children interred in a historic cemetery from Otago, New Zealand, to examine colonial childhood. We show how weaning practices in the colony differ from those experienced by their emigrant parents, highlight periods of illness likely associated with the weaning process, and bring to light the potential problems caused by maternal Vitamin D deficiency in the colony.
The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, ... more The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full DRO policy for further details.
The Netherlands is one of the few countries in Europe where predictive models, used to predict ar... more The Netherlands is one of the few countries in Europe where predictive models, used to predict archaeological site location in order to guide future developments in the modern landscape, play an important role in cultural heritage management. While many scholars consider the application of predictive models for this purpose highly controversial, the contributors to this volume bring together their insights into strategic research in developing new methods for predictive modelling and applied, interdisciplinary 'action research' focusing on how the models are, or should be, used by stakeholders in cultural heritage management in the Netherlands.
Child labour is the most common form of child abuse in the world today, with almost half of child... more Child labour is the most common form of child abuse in the world today, with almost half of child workers employed in hazardous industries. The large-scale employment of children during the rapid industrialisation of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in England is well documented. During this period, the removal of pauper children from workhouses in cities to work as apprentices in rural mills in the North of England was commonplace. Whilst the experiences of some of these children have been recorded historically, this study provides the first direct evidence of their lives through bioarchaeological analysis. The excavation of a rural churchyard cemetery in the village of Fewston, North Yorkshire, yielded the skeletal remains of 154 individuals, including an unusually large proportion of children aged between 8 to 20 years. A multi-method approach was undertaken, including osteological and palaeopathological examination, stable isotope and amelogenin peptide analysis. The bioar...
Carbon and nitrogen isotope profiles were obtained from incremental dentine analysis of 19 non‐ad... more Carbon and nitrogen isotope profiles were obtained from incremental dentine analysis of 19 non‐adults from a cemetery in Riga, Latvia. The research compared the life histories and diet between people buried in two mass graves and the general cemetery. The δ13C profiles of several children from the mass graves were similar but did not resemble the patterns seen in children from the general cemetery, suggesting that they probably represented a different population group. The rise in δ15N values towards the end of the life of four individuals from one mass grave suggests they were victims of an historically documented famine.
ABSTRACT Experiences of childhood in colonial New Zealand are difficult to reconstruct from the h... more ABSTRACT Experiences of childhood in colonial New Zealand are difficult to reconstruct from the historical record alone. Many of those who came to the colony were illiterate, and the Victorian tendency to avoid discussion of pregnancy and breastfeeding practices restricts our understanding of this important period. Bioarchaeological investigation, however, has the potential to illuminate the life stories of these first-generation Pākehā (European) settlers. Here we use isotopic evidence combined with dental pathology from children interred in a historic cemetery from Otago, New Zealand, to examine colonial childhood. We show how weaning practices in the colony differ from those experienced by their emigrant parents, highlight periods of illness likely associated with the weaning process, and bring to light the potential problems caused by maternal Vitamin D deficiency in the colony.
The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, ... more The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full DRO policy for further details.
The Netherlands is one of the few countries in Europe where predictive models, used to predict ar... more The Netherlands is one of the few countries in Europe where predictive models, used to predict archaeological site location in order to guide future developments in the modern landscape, play an important role in cultural heritage management. While many scholars consider the application of predictive models for this purpose highly controversial, the contributors to this volume bring together their insights into strategic research in developing new methods for predictive modelling and applied, interdisciplinary 'action research' focusing on how the models are, or should be, used by stakeholders in cultural heritage management in the Netherlands.
One of the key problems of predictive modelling is the lack of tools to incorporate and map the u... more One of the key problems of predictive modelling is the lack of tools to incorporate and map the uncertainties of the predictions made. As the models are usually based on archaeological and environmental data of varying quality, without an explicit description of biases and errors in data recording, there is a real risk that statistical methods may come up with predictions that are far off the mark. Because of the lack of adequate descriptions of bias and error we are therefore often forced to rely on expert judgment for prediction. In early 2005, a case study was carried out to find out whether expert judgment could be quantified in such a way, that predictions could be made that would satisfy the experts’ views, and at the same time quantify the uncertainties in the experts’ opinions as well as in the available data. It was decided to test two potentially useful techniques for this, Bayesian statistics and Dempster-Shafer theory. Both are well-developed statistical techniques, but have not really found their way into predictive modelling yet. The results of the case study were on the one hand encouraging, as it proved possible to produce maps of uncertainty of the predictions made. However, we are now facing new questions regarding the utility of uncertainty mapping in archaeological heritage management. Which of these methods used is best suited for heritage management purposes? And what will it take to actually implement uncertainty mapping on a larger scale? While not pretending to have the ultimate answers to this, we will try to highlight the main issues involved. These are centred around the complexity of the techniques themselves, the question of what to do with the knowledge of uncertainty, the need for adequate software tools to apply and visualise them, and the enduring problems of funding and the organisation of archaeological heritage management in the Netherlands.
Koch, J.T. and Cunliffe, B.W. (eds), Celtic from the West 2: Rethinking the Bronze Age and the Arrival of Indo-European in Atlantic Europe, pp. 157-183, 2013
The site, excavated by Wessex Archaeology in 2004/05, contains as yet unparalleled evidence for r... more The site, excavated by Wessex Archaeology in 2004/05, contains as yet unparalleled evidence for ritual and funerary activity dating to the Late Bronze Age as well as the Early and Middle Iron Age. More than 100 radiocarbon determinations provide a tight chronological framework. Strontium/Oxygen isotope analysis of 20 individuals indicates a large proportion of migrants with probable origins in Scandinavia and the western Mediterranean.
The Fens of eastern England, a region of now-drained wetlands occupying large areas of the modern... more The Fens of eastern England, a region of now-drained wetlands occupying large areas of the modern counties of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk, have long occupied a role as a geographic and cultural other. Commemorated as the home of Beowulf’s monster Grendel and renowned from the time of Felix’s Life of St. Guthlac as a marginal landscape of peril, miasma, and demons, the Fens were characterised through much of written history as a wasteland offering few benefits alongside significant dangers. Historically the Fens were also known to be afflicted with “ague,” identified in the early 20th century as Plasmodium vivax, a relapsing form of endemic malaria. In order to cope with the burden of illness, Fenlanders were known from at least the postmedieval period to be chronic consumers of opium. Opium was also reported to be used to sedate infants during their mother’s absences or to ease them during ague fits, resulting in abnormally high infant mortality.
However, little of the mythos of the Fens or its people originated with Fenlanders themselves. Renowned for their insularity, Fenlanders appear to have had little urge to explain themselves or their culture to the outside world. Instead, the majority of sources on the Fens have been written by non-native observers. While some perceptions of the landscape and environment may be outright dismissed based on available evidence, the lives of past Fenlanders themselves, particularly those of children, remain more enigmatic, and significant challenges still exist to the interpretation of past practices of care. This paper discusses obstacles to understanding the ethos of care in the pre-drainage Fens, particularly for the more distant past, and critically examines available evidence for parental care.
Breastfeeding as an Adaptive Strategy to Environmental Pressures in Early Anglo-Saxon England
... more Breastfeeding as an Adaptive Strategy to Environmental Pressures in Early Anglo-Saxon England
Ellen Kendall1 , Andrew Millard1, Janet Montgomery1, Angela Lamb2, Jane Evans2 and Becky Gowland1
1 Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, DH1
3LE e.j.kendall@durham.ac.uk 2 NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, British Geological
Survey, Keyworth, NG12 5GG
Early childhood diet is known to have importance in both child morbidity and long-term health. Many studies have attempted to characterize the pattern and duration of infant feeding practices in the past, while acknowledging the complex array of factors which determine these: cultural tradition, familial structure, fertility, and environment. The last of these has rarely been deconstructed, despite having a significant effect on all other factors, heavily influencing disease ecology and life expectancy. This study presents pilot data examining the role of environment in breastfeeding and weaning patterns at two early Anglo-Saxon (5th-6th century AD) cemetery sites in Cambridgeshire. Littleport was a Fen island community which would have faced significant threats to health from waterborne diseases inherent to living in a marshy environment, as well as “ague” (malaria), which was known to be endemic to the Fens during the pre-drainage era. The second site, Edix Hill (Barrington A), was a non-Fen upland site. Comparison of skeletal “indicators of stress” supports the identification of these sites as differing in states of health and environmental pressure. First permanent molar dentine from four adult females was sequentially sectioned for high-resolution analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. Results tentatively suggest that decline in δ15N values at Littleport occurred later in childhood than at Edix Hill, although a larger study will clarify this picture. This will contribute to our understanding of early childhood diet during the early Anglo-Saxon period, a timespan for which there is currently a paucity of data.
2nd of two edited volumes exploring predictive modelling in archaeology: goals, techniques, stake... more 2nd of two edited volumes exploring predictive modelling in archaeology: goals, techniques, stakeholder issues. The first volume (see elsewhere on this page) reviews the state of affairs circa 2004 and presents a research agenda; the second volume focuses on potential solutions. The PDF made available here is based on the final proofing stage, so small differences with respect to the published version may occur.
C. Marro et H. Hauptmann (éd.), Chronologie des pays du Caucase et de l'Euphrate aux IVe-IIIe millénaires, Actes du Colloque d'Istanbul (16-19 décembre 1998)(= Varia Anatolica XI), Paris, Institut français d'Etudes Anatoliennes d'Istanbul, 2000
Celtic from the West 2. Rethinking the Bronze Age and the arrival of Indo-European in Atlantic Europe, 2013
Report on a unique form of Late Bronze Age to middle Iron Age mortuary deposits from Kent feat... more Report on a unique form of Late Bronze Age to middle Iron Age mortuary deposits from Kent featuring a range of mortuary activities including curation, excarnation and ritual sacrifice across a broad temporal range. Isotopic analysis demonstrated individuals within each phase of activity were drawn from a wide geographic range including 'Scandinavian' and 'Southern European' individuals in addition to locals.
The Trypillia mega-sites (‘TMS’) form an exceptional aspect of the broader Cucuteni–Trypillia gro... more The Trypillia mega-sites (‘TMS’) form an exceptional aspect of the broader Cucuteni–Trypillia group in the Balkan and East European Neolithic and Chalcolithic. The TMS are currently the largest sites and the earliest urban complexes in Eurasia in the fourth millennium cal. bc. In this article, we chart the trajectories of theoretical and methodological development of TMS research. We build on the social implications of the Visibility Graph Analysis of Nebelivka and Bayesian modelling of three significant TMS. In the key section, we examine TMS in the light of three points made in Graeber and Wengrow’s book The Dawn of Everything: cultural schismogenesis, the three elementary forms of freedom, and those of domination. The integration of the latest analytical results and political theory provides a new platform for future investigations of TMS.
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However, little of the mythos of the Fens or its people originated with Fenlanders themselves. Renowned for their insularity, Fenlanders appear to have had little urge to explain themselves or their culture to the outside world. Instead, the majority of sources on the Fens have been written by non-native observers. While some perceptions of the landscape and environment may be outright dismissed based on available evidence, the lives of past Fenlanders themselves, particularly those of children, remain more enigmatic, and significant challenges still exist to the interpretation of past practices of care. This paper discusses obstacles to understanding the ethos of care in the pre-drainage Fens, particularly for the more distant past, and critically examines available evidence for parental care.
Ellen Kendall1 , Andrew Millard1, Janet Montgomery1, Angela Lamb2, Jane Evans2 and Becky Gowland1
1 Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, DH1
3LE e.j.kendall@durham.ac.uk
2 NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, British Geological
Survey, Keyworth, NG12 5GG
Early childhood diet is known to have importance in both child morbidity and long-term health. Many studies have attempted to characterize the pattern and duration of infant feeding practices in the past, while acknowledging the complex array of factors which determine these: cultural tradition, familial structure, fertility, and environment. The last of these has rarely been deconstructed, despite having a significant effect on all other factors, heavily influencing disease ecology and life expectancy. This study presents pilot data examining the role of environment in breastfeeding and weaning patterns at two early Anglo-Saxon (5th-6th century AD) cemetery sites in Cambridgeshire. Littleport was a Fen island community which would have faced significant threats to health from waterborne diseases inherent to living in a marshy environment, as well as “ague” (malaria), which was known to be endemic to the Fens during the pre-drainage era. The second site, Edix Hill (Barrington A), was a non-Fen upland site. Comparison of skeletal “indicators of stress” supports the identification of these sites as differing in states of health and environmental pressure. First permanent molar dentine from four adult females was sequentially sectioned for high-resolution analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. Results tentatively suggest that decline in δ15N values at Littleport occurred later in childhood than at Edix Hill, although a larger study will clarify this picture. This will contribute to our understanding of early childhood diet during the early Anglo-Saxon period, a timespan for which there is currently a paucity of data.