Weening Among Human Ancestors

Archaeologists have discovered that since the Pleistocene, humans lave always suckled infants for several years. Using biochemical analysis given human population when its children moved from breast milk to other foods. In one group of skeletons from South Dakota dated between 5500-2000 b.c., children were apparently depending on food other than mother's milk by the time they were twenty months of age.^' Recorded history also tells a similar story. Middle Eastern groups in 3000 B.C. were breast-fed for two to three years, which was the common age of weaning for Hebrew populations. At another North American site near the Missouri River dated to the seventeenth century, researchers were able to determine that infants were breast-fed exclusively for one year and that weaning was between two and six years of age. This work has been confirmed at other sites, where researchers have also found evidence that not so long ago there typically was no abrupt change from breast milk to other foods, as we often think weaning should be, but a gradual change.^ ^

In all cases, this hominid blueprint of the way babies were fed for 99 percent of human history indicates breast milk as the primary or sole Food until two years of age or so, and nursing commonly continuing for several more years.

Notes:

A survey of ancient cultures and estimates of when they weened their children onto other foods.

Folksonomies: evolution breastfeeding

Taxonomies:
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Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent

Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Small , Meredith (1999-05-04), Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way We Parent, Anchor, Retrieved on 2011-06-29

Folksonomies: parenting pregnancy babies infancy parenthood

Schemas

01 JAN 2010

Baby Care Memes

A collection of memes to help me keep track of what behaviors to emulate and avoid during and after pregnancy.

Folksonomies: pregnancy obstetrics baby childbirth