Childhood in Colonial Otago, New Zealand: Integrating Isotopic and Dental Evidence for Growth Disturbance and Oral Health

Experiences of childhood in colonial New Zealand are difficult to reconstruct from the historical record alone. Many of those who came to the colony were illiterate, and the Victorian tendency to avoid discussion of pregnancy and breastfeeding practices restricts our understanding of this important period. Bioarchaeological investigation, however, has the potential to illuminate the life stories of these first-generation Pākehā (European) settlers. Here we use isotopic evidence combined with dental pathology from children interred in a historic cemetery from Otago, New Zealand, to examine colonial childhood. We show how weaning practices in the colony differ from those experienced by their emigrant parents, highlight periods of illness likely associated with the weaning process, and bring to light the potential problems caused by maternal Vitamin D deficiency in the colony.

仅依靠历史记录，难以复原新西兰殖民时代的童年经历。彼时抵达该殖民地的移民多为文盲，且维多利亚时期的社会风气讳于谈论妊娠与哺乳行为，进一步限制了学界对这一关键历史阶段的认知。不过，生物考古学调查（bioarchaeological investigation）有望揭示初代帕卡哈（Pākehā，即欧洲裔）定居者的生平过往。本研究依托新西兰奥塔哥（Otago）地区一处历史墓园出土的儿童遗骸，结合同位素证据与牙齿病理特征，对殖民时期的童年生活展开探究。研究结果不仅阐明了殖民地区的断奶习俗与其移民父母所经历的习俗存在差异，还明确了与断奶过程相关的患病时段，并揭示了殖民时期母体维生素D缺乏可能引发的诸多潜在问题。