THREE small spouted drinking vessels collected from ancient graves of small children may have been used as prehistoric baby bottles. The artefacts, found in Bronze and Iron Age settlements in Germany, contain traces of animal milk.
The pots are a window on a key stage in human history when there was rapid population growth aided by the ability to nourish babies with something other than human breast milk, says Julie Dunne at the University of Bristol, UK. 鈥淭hey bring you very close to the past, to prehistoric mothers and children.鈥�
Over a hundred spouted clay vessels in assorted shapes have been found in various European prehistoric settlements dating as far back as 7000 years.
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The idea that such vessels were used for babies is long-standing, especially as a few were found in infants鈥� graves, but an alternative idea is that they were for feeding watery foods like gruel to sick or older people.
Dunne鈥檚 team analysed chemical residues from spouted pots that were found in the graves of three young children, which dated back around 3000 years.
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Two vessels had fatty acids found in milk from goats, sheep or cattle. The third had a profile suggesting it had contained both animal and breast milk at various times (Nature, DOI: ).
The vessels could have been used to wean babies off breast milk or given to those whose mothers had died, says Dunne.
The appearance of animal milk in children鈥檚 diets is important because when women are breastfeeding, they are less able to get pregnant. Modern hunter-gatherers tend to breastfeed their infants for up to five years, which then spaces out their children. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e on the go, they don鈥檛 want to have to carry and manage lots of babies,鈥� says Dunne.
When people took up farming, feeding infants with something other than breast milk would have let families have children in quicker succession and boost the population, says Dunne.
Animal milk wouldn鈥檛 have been the only alternative baby food to breast milk, says Francesca Fulminante, also at the University of Bristol, who wasn鈥檛 involved in the study. 鈥淐ereals and pulses might also have allowed women to stop breastfeeding earlier.鈥�
Other studies looking at children鈥檚 bones from this time period suggest that solid foods were given from around six months of age and that children were fully weaned by two to three years.
Feeding babies with animal milk would have increased their risk of infections, says Dunne, and it wouldn鈥檛 have had the same balance of nutrients as breast milk. However, 鈥渨hile animal milk may have some drawbacks, it always beats starving to death鈥�, says Amy Tuteur, who writes about breastfeeding at her website, The Skeptical OB.
Some spouted vessels found at other prehistoric sites have intricate designs. One seems designed to appeal to a child: it has an animal鈥檚 head that could have been used as a handle and two feet to stand on, with the drinking spout emerging from its bottom. 鈥淚t shows real love and care,鈥� says Dunne. 鈥淭hey think a young infant is going to laugh at this.鈥�
Dunne鈥檚 team made a replica of one bottle and gave it to a friend鈥檚 1-year-old, filled with apple sauce. His mother reported that he seemed to enjoy wolfing down its contents.
