A Grim Tale: Nutrition and Childhood Mortality in Nineteenth-Century Philadelphia

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "The Archaeology of the Delaware River Waterfront Symposium of Philadelphia Neighborhoods" , at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Childhood mortality was a fact of life in the nineteenth century, with children succumbing to illnesses and issues at rates far greater than those seen today. The historical research done in conjunction with the archaeology for the I-95/Girard Avenue Interchange Project has identified causes of death for children who once lived in the project area. This paper will explore the archaeology of infancy in several nineteenth-century Philadelphia neighborhoods and the history of early childhood nutrition as it relates to infant mortality. The I-95/Girard Avenue Interchange Project allows for a unique opportunity to study Philadelphia neighborhoods on a large scale and to potentially shed light on one of the grimmer aspects of childhood.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Archaeology of the Delaware River Waterfront Symposium of Philadelphia Neighborhoods   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology