Stable Isotope Measurements of Weaning Age and Early Childhood Diet in the Ancient Andes: Variation in Early Life Experiences in Tiwanaku Society

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Understanding the complex roles and meanings of breastfeeding practices and childhood provisioning may help bioarchaeologists contextualize paleodietary studies and the role of foodways in the construction and maintenance of social identities. Here, we employ stable isotope measurements (δ15N and δ13C) of weaning age and early childhood diet derived from serial micro-samples of first molar dentin from 12 individuals dating to the Middle Horizon (ca. CE 500-1000) interred in the urban core of Tiwanaku, in the Titicaca Basin. These data allow us to examine interpersonal variation in breastfeeding and weaning practices, along with childhood provisioning, across site sectors, osteologically determined sex, and human body modification. We find a high degree of heterogeneity in weaning ages across Tiwanaku, ranging from 30 to 48 months. Irrespective of the sector within the urban core, females’ mean weaning age is older than males’ (43.3 vs. 37.3 months). Moreover, the median weaning age of individuals varies by both site sector and cranial modification. These data on breastfeeding, weaning practices, and early childhood provisioning, in concert with cranial shape modification, offer a novel avenue for understanding how age-specific perceptions of social identities were constructed and maintained in the multi-ethnic, urban core of the Tiwanaku state.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37445.0