Évolution des pratiques du sevrage à Montréal (XVIIe – XIXe siècles) : analyse isotopique des concentrations en azote 15 par micro-échantillonnage de la dentine
Weaning is the time when the contribution of breast milk decreases relatively to the child's total diet compared to an increase in other foods. Decisions when to stop breastfeeding may reflect a large variety of socio-economic conditions. For this paleochemical research, we explore the differences and similarities in weaning practices (presence or absence of breastfeeding, age of weaning, post-weaning diet) between two colonial populations, both located on the island of Montreal: Pointe-aux-Trembles (N=17) and Notre-Dame (N=26). These two cemeteries (the first one being rural and the second one urban) provided us the opportunity to compare weaning practices in two different environments. This study was done on individuals that both survived or died during childhood, allowing us to explore the possible effects of stress on weaning (e.g. shortened period of breastfeeding, poor post-weaning diet). The isotopic analysis of nitrogen of dentine micro-samples permitted us to observe the trophic enrichment between an infant and a mother at an individual level. We were able to determine that the weaning process started at around 18-24 months for the two groups. However, Pointe-aux-Trembles’ population weaned their children much earlier (before 12 months) than Notre-Dame’s population (between 18 and 24 months) or did not breastfeed at all. In fact, in the countryside mothers tended to give to their infants post-weaning food during the first months of life. According to historical sources, they were employed as wet nurses to breastfeed children from the city and this could explain these results. We also detected no difference for the age of weaning between sexes, but boys seemed to have consumed more proteins than girls during the post-weaning period. An early weaning (before twelve months), or a complete absence of breastfeeding (N=19) could also reflect variation in weaning practices amongst individuals and/or communities (First Nations) and colonists that peopled the Island of Montreal.
Weaning Bioarchaeology Montreal Nitrogen Micro-sampling Wet-nursing