RECONSTRUCTING THE CHILDHOOD DIET OF AN 18TH TO 19TH CENTURY LAND-OWNING FAMILY IN BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA

Abstract

Breastfeeding and weaning practices can greatly impact a child's immune system development and nutritional status, later causing long-term health effects. This research explores the relationships between weaning practices, metabolic disease, and childhood frailty in an 18th to 19th century coastal North Carolina land-owning family. Ten individuals were recovered from the 2017 and 2018 field seasons at the Gause cemetery at Seaside (GCAS), and six of the ten individuals were under the age of eight. Most of the GCAS individuals experienced non-specific physiological stress in the form of either dental enamel hypoplasias (DEH) and/or cribra orbitalia. The [delta]¹⁵N and [delta]¹³C values received from incremental dentin collagen of 13 teeth and 10 bone collagen samples were used to analyze dietary and trophic level shifts that occurred during weaning and post-weaning periods. Additionally, radiographic and histological analysis were performed on the first permanent molars of the adult from Grave 2, and two subadults from Grave 9 and Grave 10 Burial 1, to determine whether they experienced a metabolic disease during childhood. The GCAS sample had a diet consisting of C3 plants with supplementation of marine sources or C4 plants. The GCAS sample ceased weaning at age 2.5 years with a weaning diet that largely consisted of C3 plants with a larger contribution of C4 plants than adults. Stable isotopes incremental dentin values were compared to DEH formation ages. Much but not all of the DEH coincided with the weaning period of the GCAS sample. Only the adult individual from Grave 2 experienced interglobular dentin (IGD) between the ages of 2.5 and 3 years suggesting they were vitamin D deficient. Evidence from analysis of stable isotopes and dental histology indicates that weaning age and metabolic disease did not notably increase childhood frailty in this family.