CONICET-Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, CABA, Argentina.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2021 Nov;176(3):504-520. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.24381. Epub 2021 Aug 2.
In this study, we analyze breastfeeding and weaning practices in pre-Columbian complex hunter-gatherers from the lower Paraná River basin (South America).
We carried out bone isotope analyses concerning δ C in collagen and apatite, the spacing between both carbon sources and δ N in a sample of 23 subadult and adult individuals of both sexes recovered from Late Holocene archaeological sites, ranging from 1665 ± 45 to 680 ± 80 C years BP.
The results indicate that exclusive breastfeeding continued until the age of ~2 years, and weaning probably until 4 years of age. Supplementary foods included C plants and probably animal fats and C carbohydrates. A high fractionation of 4.9‰ in δ N values was recognized between breastfeeding infants and adult females, perhaps reflecting episodic hyper-protein diets in women linked to men's food provisioning during women's gestational/postpartum period. Additionally, male adults present a higher protein intake than females. Although this difference is not statistically significant with the current sample size, it could be a clue related to a sexual division in food procurement.
本研究旨在分析巴西南部下巴拉那河流域（南美洲）前哥伦布时期复杂狩猎采集者的母乳喂养和断奶实践。
我们对 23 名来自全新世考古遗址的亚成体和成年男女样本进行了骨同位素分析，包括胶原和磷灰石中的 δ¹³C、两种碳源之间的间距以及 δ¹⁵N。这些样本的年代范围为 1665±45 至 680±80 年 BP。
结果表明，纯母乳喂养持续到约 2 岁，断奶可能持续到 4 岁。补充食物包括 C 类植物，可能还有动物脂肪和 C 类碳水化合物。母乳喂养婴儿和成年女性之间的 δ¹⁵N 值存在 4.9‰的高分馏，这可能反映了女性在怀孕期间/产后期间，与男性提供食物相关的间歇性高蛋白饮食。此外，成年男性的蛋白质摄入量高于女性。尽管这种差异在当前的样本量下没有统计学意义，但它可能是与食物获取的性别分工相关的线索。
