Koch, J.T. and Cunliffe, B.W. (eds), Celtic from the West 2: Rethinking the Bronze Age and the Arrival of Indo-European in Atlantic Europe, pp. 157-183, 2013
The site, excavated by Wessex Archaeology in 2004/05, contains as yet unparalleled evidence for r... more The site, excavated by Wessex Archaeology in 2004/05, contains as yet unparalleled evidence for ritual and funerary activity dating to the Late Bronze Age as well as the Early and Middle Iron Age. More than 100 radiocarbon determinations provide a tight chronological framework. Strontium/Oxygen isotope analysis of 20 individuals indicates a large proportion of migrants with probable origins in Scandinavia and the western Mediterranean.
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Papers by Andrew Millard
However, little of the mythos of the Fens or its people originated with Fenlanders themselves. Renowned for their insularity, Fenlanders appear to have had little urge to explain themselves or their culture to the outside world. Instead, the majority of sources on the Fens have been written by non-native observers. While some perceptions of the landscape and environment may be outright dismissed based on available evidence, the lives of past Fenlanders themselves, particularly those of children, remain more enigmatic, and significant challenges still exist to the interpretation of past practices of care. This paper discusses obstacles to understanding the ethos of care in the pre-drainage Fens, particularly for the more distant past, and critically examines available evidence for parental care.
Ellen Kendall1 , Andrew Millard1, Janet Montgomery1, Angela Lamb2, Jane Evans2 and Becky Gowland1
1 Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, DH1
3LE [email protected]
2 NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, British Geological
Survey, Keyworth, NG12 5GG
Early childhood diet is known to have importance in both child morbidity and long-term health. Many studies have attempted to characterize the pattern and duration of infant feeding practices in the past, while acknowledging the complex array of factors which determine these: cultural tradition, familial structure, fertility, and environment. The last of these has rarely been deconstructed, despite having a significant effect on all other factors, heavily influencing disease ecology and life expectancy. This study presents pilot data examining the role of environment in breastfeeding and weaning patterns at two early Anglo-Saxon (5th-6th century AD) cemetery sites in Cambridgeshire. Littleport was a Fen island community which would have faced significant threats to health from waterborne diseases inherent to living in a marshy environment, as well as “ague” (malaria), which was known to be endemic to the Fens during the pre-drainage era. The second site, Edix Hill (Barrington A), was a non-Fen upland site. Comparison of skeletal “indicators of stress” supports the identification of these sites as differing in states of health and environmental pressure. First permanent molar dentine from four adult females was sequentially sectioned for high-resolution analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis. Results tentatively suggest that decline in δ15N values at Littleport occurred later in childhood than at Edix Hill, although a larger study will clarify this picture. This will contribute to our understanding of early childhood diet during the early Anglo-Saxon period, a timespan for which there is currently a paucity of data.