Infant and childhood morbidity and mortality risks in archaeological populations

TLDR

Infants and children are among the most vulnerable groups, and their health reflects overall population health, with repeated illnesses during rapid development causing lasting effects, making them a key focus for archaeological health studies. The study presents a framework for assessing infant and childhood health in archaeological populations, reviews skeletal methods, and illustrates their sensitivity and adaptive significance using data from Dickson Mounds and Wadi Haifa. The authors review skeletal methods and apply them to samples from Dickson Mounds and Wadi Haifa to illustrate the framework. These methods collectively reveal patterns and consequences of health in prehistoric populations.

Abstract

Abstract Infants and children are nearly universally found to be among the most vulnerable subgroups of a population. Their health can be a sensitive indicator of the health of the population as a whole. Furthermore, repeated bouts of illness during infancy and childhood, periods of rapid development, can have lasting functional effects on the individual and the group. In this paper we provide a framework for studying infant and childhood health in archaeological populations, briefly review methods for studying infant‐childhood health in skeletal remains, and provide examples of the sensitivity and adaptive significance of this segment of the population by examining infant and childhood health at Dickson Mounds, Illinois and Wadi Haifa, Sudanese Nubia. A variety of methods are available for studying infant and childhood health in archaeological groups. Taken together, these methods can provide insights into the patterns and consequences of health in prehistory.