Assessing maternal and infant health through stable isotope analysis of auditory ossicles

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The first 1000 days of life from conception are crucial for future health outcomes. Stressors experienced during this phase, including poor maternal health, affect the well-being of individuals throughout their lifespans and across future generations. Motherhood and infancy have been marginalised in archaeological studies to date, however, new methods are providing unique opportunities for studying pregnancy, motherhood, and infant care. This project will examine maternal and infant health in the past through the refinement of novel biomolecular technique - the isotopic analysis of human auditory ossicles - and its integration with incremental isotope and palaeopathological data.