Journal
CHILDHOOD IN THE PAST
Volume 15, Issue 1, Pages 15-43Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/17585716.2021.1989211
Keywords
Colonial New Zealand; carbon isotopes; nitrogen isotopes; linear enamel hypoplasia; Vitamin D deficiency
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Funding
- Marsden Fund Fast-Start grant [17-UOO-149]
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago
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Bioarchaeological investigation sheds light on the experiences of colonial children in New Zealand, revealing differences in weaning practices, periods of illness associated with weaning, and potential problems caused by maternal Vitamin D deficiency in the colony.
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 Pakeha (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.
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