Breastfeeding and Weaning in Roman Thessaloniki. An Investigation of Infant Diet based on Incremental Analysis of Human Dentine

ABSTRACT

In the present study, we report isotope (δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C) measurements on dentine increments from first permanent molars, to investigate breastfeeding practices in Thessaloniki, a provincial capital of the Roman Empire in northern Greece (168 BC–324 AD). For this purpose, we reconstructed diets from birth to seven yoa and estimated weaning ages for 20 individuals. We compared the individuals in relation to their biological sex and investigated diet during three distinct phases i.e. breastfeeding, weaning and fully weaned. The results of our study show a general trend in breastfeeding duration (mean weaning age: two yoa) for seventeen individuals and no breastfeeding for three male individuals. Moreover, males (n = 10) were fully weaned approximately six months earlier than females (n = 10). The weaning diet consisted mainly of terrestrial sources (C₃ and C₄ plants, animals/animal-byproducts) or small fish. Our observations are in accordance with ancient texts (e.g. Gynaecology of Soranus) and other isotopic studies on Roman period datasets highlighting the pivotal role of Thessaloniki as a cultural hub of the Empire.

KEYWORDS:

• Palaeodiet
• ancient Greece
• incremental dentine analysis
• physiological stress
• stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Olalla López-Costas for the invitation in the Special Issue ‘Imperium sine fine: environmental and human fingerprints of the Roman period’, the Ephorate of Antiquities of the city of Thessaloniki for entrusting us the human skeletal material, Frank Siegmund and Angelos Souleles for their valuable help in data visualisation and statistical analysis, and Asterios Aidonis, Christina Kakasa, Maria Christodoulou, Eugenia Mantatzi for providing anthropological data and Steven Brookes for analytical measurements.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research is funded in the context of the project ‘Breastfeeding and weaning in antiquity: the case of Thessaloniki' (MIS 5049509) under the call for proposals ‘Researchers' support with an emphasis on young researchers- 2nd Cycle' (EDULLL 103). The project is co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Social Fund ESF) through the Operational Programme ‘Human Resources Development, Education and Lifelong Learning 2014 – 2020'.

Notes on contributors

Elissavet Ganiatsou

Elissavet Ganiatsou is a PhD student at the Laboratory of Physical Anthropology at the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH) specialising in the reconstruction of breastfeeding in past populations with the implementation of the analysis of incremental dentine. She holds a Bachelor's degree (BA) in Archaeology from the University of Athens and a Master' s Degree (MSc) in Archaeometry from the University of Aegean. Her main research interests focus on the temporal evolution of infant diet in the past in conjunction to cultural and archaeological context and the application of novel statistical methods for its reconstruction. She is currently working at the Laboratory of Physical Anthropology in research projects (BIOMUSE, ECHOES) aiming at the reconstruction of ancient biographies through genetic, macroscopic, analytical and digital applications.

Efrossini Vika

Efrossini Vika is an archaeologist currently holding a Marie Sklodowska Curie fellowship at the University of York. She has a PhD in Archaeological Sciences (Bradford), an MSc in Human Osteology and Paleopathology (Bradford) and an undergraduate degree in Archaeology (Thessaloniki). Her research focuses on the use of isotopes of C, N, S, and Sr for the reconstruction of subsistence, mobility, and social structure in the Bronze Age. She has worked extensively as an isotope specialist in many laboratories in Europe, she has supervised several fieldwork projects and has taught Bioarchaeology at Universities in the UK. She regularly publishes the outcomes of her research in scientific journals and books, and organises outreach activities aimed at familiarising children with archaeology.

Angeliki Georgiadou

Angeliki Georgiadou is a PhD student at the Laboratory of Physical Anthropology at the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH). Her research focuses on the investigation of the Ancient Greek Colonisation and the reflection of dietary shifts and mobility during this period of intense cultural and demographic dispersal. She has a Bachelor's degree in Ethnology from DUTH and a Master's Degree (MSc) in Biological Anthropology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and DUTH. Her research interests lie in the investigation of paleodiet, mobility and their macroscopical and chemical imprint on the human skeleton. She is currently working at the Laboratory of Physical Anthropology in the project APOIKIA focusing on the reconstruction of the genetic and demographic makeup of the colony of Ambracia.

Tania Protopsalti

Tania Protopsalti is an archaeologist in the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports, in the Ephorate of Antiquities of City of Thessaloniki. She is responsible for the archaeological excavations during the construction of the Metropolitan Subway of Thessaloniki and a member of the scientific board. She studied Archaeology at the Department of History and Archaeology (BA) and Conservation and Reconstruction of Ancient Monuments in the Polytechnic School (MA) both at the Aristoteles University of Thessaloniki. Since 1987 she participated in many archaeological excavations in Crete, Thrace, Chalkidiki and Thessaloniki. Her main research focuses in the pottery of the Hellenistic period and the topography of the ancient city of Thessaloniki. Currently, she studies a Classical Period settlement revealed in Thessaloniki. She has numerous contributions in archaeological conferences and workshops.

Christina Papageorgopoulou

Christina Papageorgopoulou is an Associate Professor at the Department of History and Ethnology at the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH) and Director of the Laboratory of Physical Anthropology. She studied Anthropology at DUTH and the University of Florence. She acquired her Ph.D. from the University of Basel. During a postdoctoral fellowship from the Humboldt Foundation she specialised in the study of ancient DNA at the University of Mainz. She has published numerous articles in scientific journals (CELL, PNAS, AJPA, JAS, PLOS One etc) and edited volumes. She has led several research projects. Her interests focus in paleogenetics of south-eastern Europe, paleopathology, paleodiet and the application of novel analytical methods in osteology. She is actively involved in the promotion of the results to the public by co-organising exhibitions in Museums and cultural centres.